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Tiger Woods is a name synonymous with golf
greatness. Since turning professional in
1996 the American has gone on to win over 100 career tournament titles as well
as numerous major championships. Making
him a worldwide sports superstar and having comparisons to golfing greats like
Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer swirl around him for most of his
career.
Born in December 1975 in Cypress,
California, Woods is of African American and Thai descent. His father, Earl Woods, is credited with
nurturing his son’s love of the game from a very early age. With the young Woods imitating his father’s
golf swing from six months old!
When he was two years old, Woods appeared
on the Mike Douglas Show, putting with golf enthusiast Bob Hope. At three, he shot a 48 during nine holes and
at five was featured in Golf Digest. An
impressive amateur career soon followed with Woods gaining national attention
and playing for Stanford University in 1994.
Here, the incredible golfer won an astounding six USGA National
Championships, as well as the NCAA title before turning professional in August
1996.
Woods’ professional career took off quite
quickly, with the talented golfer adapting to the hectic schedule and holding
his own against players twice his age.
By June 1997, Woods reached the number one spot in the Official World Golf
Ranking, in only his 42nd week as a pro. At just 21 years and 24 weeks, he became the
youngest-ever world number one.
With his win at the 2000 British Open,
Woods became the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam of
professional major championships and only the fifth-ever to do so, following
Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. Between 2003 and 2006, Woods won an
astounding 20 times on the PGA Tour. He
led the Tour’s money list twice and won an incredible four major championship
titles.
During 2008 the Nike player won four out of
six PGA Tour events, including his 14th major title at the year’s
U.S. Open before sustaining a season-ending knee injury. Woods returned to the PGA Tour the following
year with fairly good success, securing six events and topping the money list
but failing to win a major for the first time since 2004.
Woods took a leave of absence at the end of
2009 until April 2010 to focus on his personal life. He returned to the PGA Tour for the 2010
Masters, finishing T4 at the year’s first major. Following poor showings at many events and
changing coaches Woods failed to win any titles during the season, the first
time this had happened to the golfer in his entire professional career. Injuries continued to plague the golfer
throughout the next couple of seasons.
But he was still able to remain amongst the top players in the
world.
2013 proved to be a quality year for the
American. After winning numerous
tournaments, the then 37-year-old was able to regain his number one ranking in
the world. For a while the Tiger of the
past seemed to be well and truly back. Unfortunately,
Woods’ high performance level didn’t last long.
By 2014, the golfer was plagued with back injuries, forcing him to
withdraw from events and ultimately take a leave of absence from the Tour to
have surgery.
By 2015, the former number one was back
competing but not to the standards many have come to expect from the golfing
legend, missing the cuts at both the
U.S. Open and the Open Championship that year.
In September, Woods underwent another back surgery and
subsequently missed over a year of competitive play. He would return in December 2016 to play at
his foundation’s Hero World Challenge. In August 2016 Woods’ long-time sponsor Nike
stated it was pulling out of the golf equipment business. Leaving the former number one without an equipment
deal. After trying out numerous options
Woods announced he would be signing with TaylorMade in January 2017. Using the new TaylorMade M2 Driver and
Fairway Woods at his first appearance of the year at the Farmers Insurance
Open.
2018 saw an improvement in Woods’ playing ability, with the former number one returning to the winner’s circle at the Tour Championship. But many still doubted if the golf legend had another major victory in him.
In April 2019 Woods would put an end to the speculation with a stunning performance at The Masters. Taking advantage of Francesco Molinari’s collapse at Augusta on Sunday, Woods made his move and secured his fifth career Masters win, and his 15th major title. Twenty-two years after he first won here, Woods walked off the 18th green to be congratulated by his mum and two children. A moment of redemption the entire world was witnessing.
“When I tapped the [final] putt, I don’t know what I did, but I know I screamed,” Woods said afterwards. “To have my kids there, it’s come full circle. My dad was here in ‘97, and now I’m the dad with two kids there.”
PGA Tour Career Win Totals:
1996 – 2 PGA Tour
Wins
1997 – 4 PGA
Tours Wins; 1 Major Title
1998 – 1 PGA Tour
Win
1999 – 8 PGA Tour
Wins; 1 Major Title
2000 – 9 PGA Tour
Wins; 3 Major Titles
2001 – 5 PGA Tour
Wins; 1 Major Title
2002 – 5 PGA Tour
Wins; 2 Major Titles
2003 – 5 PGA Tour
Wins
2004 – 1 PGA Tour
Win
2005 – 6 PGA Tour
Wins; 2 Major Titles
2006 – 8 PGA Tour
Wins; 2 Major Titles
2007 – 7 PGA Tour
Wins; 1 Major Title
2008 – 4 PGA Tour
Wins; 1 Major Title
2009 – 6 PGA Tour
Wins
2012 – 3 PGA Tour
Wins
2013 – 5 PGA Tour
Wins
2018 - Tour Championship
2019 - Masters Tournament
2019 - Zozo Championship
