Could Pebble Beach provide another Tiger Woods splash?

Tiger Woods has something to prove next week at Pebble Beach, just as he did 10 years ago, and if history is a guide the world number one could put himself back on track in pursuit of golf's greatest record.  

Derailed first by injury and then by fall-out from revelations about a stunning string of extra-marital flings, Woods has not tasted major success since the 2008 US Open and now his hold on the top spot in the rankings is challenged.

Back in 2000, some wondered whether long-hitting Woods was accurate enough off the tee to win a US Open and questioned the wisdom of re-tooling a swing that had made him famous.

When the fog lifted at the fabled course perched above Carmel Bay on the Monterrey Peninsula, a 24-year-old Woods had humbled a field of 156 with a mind-boggling 15-stroke victory that was two shots better than the major championship record set by Old Tom Morris at the 1862 British Open.

Woods, who vaulted to professional prominence with an Augusta record-setting 12-stroke win at the 1997 Masters at 21, set about finding a more consistent swing to allow him to thrive on the more penal venues used for major championships.

Then, as now, Californian-born Woods was returning to a familiar stomping ground to prove himself and he brought a heightened level of focus to the test. 

When an impressive array of some 40 players came out in the early mist to honour the late Payne Stewart on the eve of the 2000 US Open, lining up along the 18th fairway to hit balls in unison into the Pacific Ocean, Woods was noticeably absent.                                           

Instead of joining in the tribute to Stewart, killed in a plane crash four months after winning the previous championship at Pinehurst, Woods opted to play an early morning practice round by himself to keep his mind on his quest.

After firing a first-round 65 to seize the lead, Woods kept deadline wary reporters fidgeting in the press tent while he went to the practice green because he did not like the way his ball was rolling, despite needing only 24 putts in the round.

Heavy fog caused postponements that had many players finishing their first rounds on Friday and their second rounds on Saturday, but Woods was a picture of consistent brilliance.  

Sprinted away                                   

Booming long drives into narrow fairways, sending approach shots like laser beams into small, hard greens and showing supreme confidence in his putting from 10 feet in, Woods sprinted away from the field.

He led by one stroke after the first round, by an Open record six after the second round and by 10 after the third round following rounds of 65-69-71 on the par-71 layout.

Only 63 players, a low for the U.S. Open, made the cut set at the top 60 players and anyone within 10 shots of the leader. Woods had only 17 players within 10 strokes of him and the cut was set at seven-over 149.

He built his lead to 10 in the third round despite a triple-bogey when he struggled out of rough at the third hole.                                            With no threat to his supremacy, Woods challenged himself to play the final round without a bogey and poured over every putt, grinding out a final-round 67 -- the day's lowest round.

His 12-under-par total 272 marked the first winning Open total in double digits below par for a runaway win that left the rest of the world's best groping for superlatives.

The awesome performance launched Woods on what came to be known as the Tiger Slam.  

Woods followed his romp at Pebble Beach with a lopsided win at the British Open at St Andrews and victory at the US PGA, and he kicked off 2001 with another Masters crown, making him the first professional to hold all four major titles at once.                              

The run put Woods ahead of the pace of his boyhood idol Jack Nicklaus, who went on to amass 18 major golf titles, a record that remains the supreme goal of Woods. 

As a boy, Woods used to gaze at a poster in his bedroom chronicling the long list of Nicklaus's major. He now needs four more to match him, and five to eclipse the Golden Bear.

Could another Pebble Beach splash be in the offing?