McIlroy’s Team Victory Reignites Tiger Woods Wins Record Debate

Rory McIlroy picked up his first PGA Tour win in close to a year on Sunday, and it was a milestone victory – the 25th of his storied career, surpassing Dustin Johnson and Gary Player on the all-time list.

But that win that goes on McIlroy’s record was also thanks in part to Shane Lowry, who was his teammate at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

The key takeaway, besides learning that McIlroy can have quite a good time after winning a tournament, is a question on how team wins should be measured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee believes team wins should be measured separately. That opinion has an interesting take on the tie atop the all-time wins list on the PGA Tour.

Team wins should have their own category amongst “tour wins”… most golf fans, if not ALL golf fans assume “individual” wins when a player’s total tour wins are named… but Sam Snead has 5 team wins counted amongst his 82 wins while Tiger has ZERO team wins in his 82 wins… so I… https://t.co/TYC1ItRlwJ

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) April 29, 2024

Tiger Woods and Sam Snead top the list with 82 wins, with Woods matching the legend’s feat at the 2019 ZOZO Championship.

But as Chamblee pointed out, none of Woods’ victories came in a team format, whereas five of Snead’s did.

Given that Woods hasn’t won in five years and still doesn’t quite seem the same after a February 2021 car crash that severely injured his leg, that tie for first may stand for quite some time. So, if you’re looking for an asterisk to put one ahead of the other, Chamblee believes you should consider all of Woods’ victories coming in individual events as the tiebreaker.

Cover Image via CNN