* Birthplace: Cypress, California
* Best Known As: The worldwide golf superstar who admitted infidelity
Name at birth: Eldrick Tont Woods
The winner of 14 major championships, Tiger Woods was golf's dominant superstar when a sex scandal interrupted his career in 2009. Woods had been a golfer and a celebrity for decades: his father Earl allegedly introduced Tiger to golf at age 9 months, and at age 2 the youngster made a now-famous appearance putting with Bob Hope on The Mike Douglas Show. Woods won three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles (1994-96), and in 1996 turned pro with a $40 million contract from Nike and a fame usually reserved for movie stars. Woods made good on the hype, winning 46 PGA tournaments in his first ten seasons on the tour. He won the 1997 Masters in his first attempt as a pro and later won the PGA Championship (1999), the British Open (2000) and the U.S. Open (2000) to become one of the few golfers to win all four major tournaments during their careers. In April of 2001 Woods won the Masters again, becoming the first golfer in the modern era to hold all four major tournament titles at once (2000 U.S Open, British Open and PGA Championship, and 2001 Masters). In 1999-2000 Woods won six consecutive tournaments, making him the first man to do so since Ben Hogan in 1948. Woods wed Elin Nordegren on 5 October 2004 in Barbados; a Swede, she was the former nanny to golfer Jesper Parnevik. Although 2005 and 2006 were tough on Woods -- his father died 3 May 2006 -- he won the British Open in 2005 and 2006, and the PGA Championship in both 2006 and 2007.
But in 2009 things took a major turn when The National Enquirer alleged that Woods was having an affair with an event planner named Rachel Uchitel. Uchitel told The New York Post that she and Woods had "never had an affair," but the story gained traction after Woods had an early-morning car crash outside his home on 27 November 2009, with gossip sites reporting that it followed an argument with his wife. Soon other women, including Jaimee Grubbs, came forward to claim they had slept with Woods before and during his marriage. On December 11th, Woods released a statement admitting "infidelity" and he then took a break from golf, reportedly attending a rehabilitation clinic. He returned to playing golf in the spring of 2010. Woods and Nordegren announced their divorce in August of 2010.
Tiger Woods has won all of pro golf's major tournaments at least three times: The Masters in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005, the PGA Championship in 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007, the British Open in 2000, 2005 and 2006, and the U.S. Open in 2000, 2002 and 2008... Woods's father served in Vietnam and nicknamed his son "Tiger" after a South Vietnamese army officer. Woods's mother, Kultida, is from Thailand. Tiger's middle name, Tont, is a traditional Thai name, according to Australian newspaper The Age... Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have a daughter, Sam Alexis Woods (born on 18 June 2007), and a son, Charlie Axel (born on 8 February 2009). Woods told reporters that "Sam" was a nickname his father sometimes called him as child... By winning The Masters in both 2001 and 2002, Woods joined Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only men to win in consecutive years... Tiger Woods once told Oprah Winfrey that as a child he had decided he was "Cablinasian" -- a mixture of Caucasian, black, American Indian and Asian. His mother Kutilda is from Thailand, his father is an American of multiple ethnic backgrounds... Before his marriage to Elin Nordegren, Tiger Woods's longtime girlfriend was UCLA law student Joanna Jagoda.
(born Dec. 30, 1975, Cypress, Calif., U.S.) U.S. golfer. The child of a Thai mother and an African American father, Woods was a golf prodigy and won the first of three consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur Championships (1991 – 93) when he was 15 years old. In 1994 at age 18 he became the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur competition, which he also won in 1995 and 1996. In 1997 Woods at age 21 became the youngest player and the first of African or Asian descent ever to win the Masters Tournament, winning by a record margin of 12 strokes. Winner of five other PGA tournaments in 1997, Woods became the youngest player ever ranked first in world golf competition. On July 23, 2000, Woods became the fifth player — after Gene Sarazen, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, and Gary Player — in golf history, and the youngest, to achieve a career grand slam of the four major championships (the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship). In 2005 he completed his second career grand slam.
American athlete Tiger Woods (born 1975) is the youngest man ever, and the first man of color, to win the Masters Tournament of golf.
On April 13, 1997, Tiger Woods made golfing history when he won the prestigious Masters tournament of golf. The win was a record breaker in many ways. Woods, at age twenty-one, was the youngest person ever to win the Masters Tournament. He beat the competition with a record-breaking score of 270 for seventy-two holes. He secured the win with a twelve-stroke lead, the largest victory margin in the history of the tournament. Woods, a man of ethnic complexity, further distinguished himself as the first non-white to win the Masters, and in doing so he helped to dissolve many stereotypical notions and attitudes regarding minorities in the sport of golf.
Tiger Woods was born Eldrick Woods on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California. He was the only child of Earl and Kultida Woods. His parents identified their son's talent at an unusually early age. They said that he was playing with a putter before he could walk. The boy was gifted not only with exceptional playing abilities, but he also possessed a passion for the sport itself. Woods first came to notoriety on a syndicated talk show when he beat the famed comedian and avid golfer Bob Hope in a putting contest. The young boy was only three at the time, and he was quickly hailed as a prodigy. Not long after that, when he was five years old, Woods was featured on the popular television magazine That's Incredible!
Woods' father has never denied that he devoted his energies to developing his son's talent and to furthering the boy's career as a golfer. During practice sessions, Tiger learned to maintain his composure and to hold his concentration while his father persistently made extremely loud noises and created other distractions. "I was using golf to teach him about life…. About how to handle responsibility and pressure," his father explained to Alex Tresniowski of People.
All the while, Tiger's mother made sure that her son's rare talent and his budding golf career would not interfere with his childhood or his future happiness. His mother was a native of Thailand and very familiar with the mystical precepts of Buddhism, and she passed this philosophy on to her son.
As Woods' special talents became increasingly evident, his parents stressed personality, kindness, and self-esteem. They impressed upon their son that he was not to throw tantrums or be rude or think of himself as any better than the next person. John McCormick and Sharon Begley of Newsweek said of his parents, "[Tiger Woods is] best-known as perhaps the finest young golfer in history. But to his parents, it's more important that Tiger Woods is a fine young man. It took love, rules, respect, confidence and trust to get there."
In many ways Woods grew up as a typical middle-class American boy. He developed a taste for junk food and an affection for playing video games. He also spent a fair share of his time clowning around in front of his father's ever-present video camera. As for playing golf, there is no question that the sport was the focus of his childhood. He spent many hours practicing his swing and playing in youth tournaments. Woods was eight years old when he won his first formal competition. From that point he became virtually unstoppable, amassing trophies and breaking amateur records everywhere. Media accounts of the boy prodigy had reached nearly legendary proportions by 1994, when he entered Stanford University as a freshman on a full golfing scholarship.
During his first year of college, Woods won the U.S. Amateur title and qualified to play in the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, in the spring of 1995. Although he played as an amateur-not for prize money-Woods' reputation preceded him. Biographer John Strege wrote about that first Masters tournament in Tiger: A Biography of Tiger Woods, "Golf great Nick Price was there. So were Nick Faldo, John Daly and Fuzzy Zoeller, all of them consigned to relative obscurity on this Monday of Masters week. All eyes were on Woods." By 1996, Woods had won three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles, an unprecedented accomplishment in itself. Woods was only twenty years old, yet there was not much else for him to accomplish as an amateur. He carefully weighed the advantages of finishing college against the prospect of leaving school and entering the sport of professional golf. The temptation to turn professional was enhanced by lucrative offers of endorsement contracts. In August of 1996, Woods decided to quit college in order to play professional golf.
Four months later in December, Woods celebrated his twenty-first birthday. He marked the occasion with a legal name change, from Eldrick to Tiger. Woods had been called Tiger by his father even as a youngster. The nickname stuck, and Woods had always been known to his friends, and to the press, as Tiger. It soon became evident that he was destined for success. Sports Illustrated named him 1996 "Sportsman of the Year," and by January of 1997, he had already won three professional tournaments. He was a media sensation.
In April of 1997, and only eight months into his professional career, Woods played in the prestigious Masters tournament held at Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club. The Masters title is perhaps the most coveted honor in the world of golf. In addition to a hefty prize purse, first-place winners are awarded a green blazer to symbolize their membership among the most elite golfers in the world. Contestants are typically well into their thirties or even their forties by the time they win the Masters Tournament. That year Woods competed against golfing greats, but managed to best the most seasoned competition.
When the tournament was over, Woods had made history as the youngest person ever to win the Masters title. His score was an unprecedented 270 strokes. His victory margin set another record-twelve strokes ahead of the runner-up. This feat was enhanced by the fact that Woods was the first man of color ever to win the title. He accepted all of these honors with grace and humility, and gave tribute to the black golfers who came before him and helped pave the way. He also honored his mother (who is Asian) by reminding the world of his diverse ethnic background; he is African-American, Thai, Chinese, Native American, and Caucasian. He discouraged the press from labeling him exclusively as African American, because it showed complete disregard for his mother's Asian heritage. During an interview for the Oprah Winfrey Show, he reiterated an innovative description that he had coined for himself as a child, "I'm a Cablinasian." He was quoted also by John Feinstein of Newsweek, concerning the issue of race, "I don't consider myself a Great Black Hope. I'm just a golfer who happens to be black and Asian."
Less than three months passed until July 6, 1997, when Woods won the Western Open. Critics attributed his astounding success to uncanny persistence and an extraordinary desire to win. "He thinks, therefore he wins," reported the Detroit News, on the day after the Western Open. Woods seemed unstoppable. Some of the greatest golfers in the world offered sportsmanly tribute to the young hero. His enormous popularity and unprecedented success prompted Frank Deford of Newsweek to write, "It's getting so that the only other famous person on the golf circuit is Tiger's caddie … suddenly you understand: there is no second-best golfer in the world…. It is just Tiger Woods." In less than one year as a professional golfer Woods' career winnings totaled over $1,000,000. In addition to prize money earned, he signed multi-million dollar contracts to endorse a variety of products, from sports equipment to investment funds.
To many observers, Tiger Woods' rise to fame is tied to issues of race and ethnicity as well as to outstanding athletic performance on the golfing course. "Tiger threatened one of the last bastions of white supremacy," wrote Strege in his biography of Woods. Although accusations of racial discrimination had been leveled against the Professional Golf Association (PGA) for many years, little was done. According to Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated, the Augusta National Tournament founder, Clifford Roberts, once remarked, "As long as I'm alive, golfers will be white, and caddies will be black." Policies were slowly changed to ensure that black golfers would be allowed to compete on a par with whites, but the Augusta National Golf Club didn't accept its first African American member until 1990.
Woods, with his easy style, his unpretentious disposition, and his powerful 300-yard drives, successfully commanded the respect and attention of golf's predominantly white culture. "Golf has shied away from [racism] for too long," Woods commented to Time. "Some clubs have brought in tokens, but nothing really has changed. I hope what I'm doing can change that." Robert Beck of Sports Illustrated called the ethnically diverse golfer, "A one-man Rainbow Coalition." By all reports, he rises graciously to every occasion, handling the media as well as his peers, with tact and aplomb. Joe Stroud of the Detroit Free Press commented, "He is a photogenic young man…. He is about as remarkable a combination of power and finesse as I've ever seen."
Woods is credited too with popularizing the sport of golf, not only among blacks and other minorities, but among children of all backgrounds. Jennifer Mills of Cable-TV explained the depth of the Tiger Woods phenomenon, "He is bringing a whole new set of people to the golf course who have never been here before…. Kids of every race are dying to see him. They look up at what he's doing and for the first time feel, 'Hey, maybe I could do that."' His personal sponsorship of programs for children has been reported for years, and at least one corporate sponsor found that in order to secure an endorsement from Tiger Woods the price would include the added cost of a generous donation to the Tiger Woods Foundation for inner city children. A Time review of the twenty-five most influential people of 1997 reported, "Woods doesn't simply take his money and play. He conducts clinics for inner-city kids, and he … will create opportunities for youngsters who would otherwise never get a chance."
Further Reading
Strege, John, Tiger: A Biography of Tiger Woods, Broadway Books, 1997.
Christian Science Monitor, December 5, 1996.
Detroit Free Press, January 13, 1997; April 14, 1997, p. 1D; April 23, 1997, p. 1D; May 2, 1997, p. 10A; May 7, 1997, p. A1; May 20, 1997; June 11, 1997, p. 3C.
Detroit News, July 7, 1997, 1C.
Newsweek, September 9, 1996, pp. 58-61; December 9, 1996, pp. 52-61; April 28, 1997, pp. 58-62; June 2, 1997, p. 62.
People, April 28, 1997, pp. 89-92; June 16, 1997, pp. 96-102.
Sports Illustrated, December 23, 1996, pp. 29-52; April 21, 1997, pp. 30-46.
Time, April 21, 1997, p. 40.
USA Weekend, May 9-11, 1997, p. 2.
"Unofficial Tiger Woods Web Page," www.geocities.com/Colosseum/2396/tiger.html (January 6, 1998).
"Welcome to Tiger Watch," www.tiger-woods-golf.com/ (January 6, 1998).
Personal Information
Born Eldrick Woods, on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, CA; son of Earl D. (a U.S. Army officer) and Kultida "Tida" (a U.S. Army secretary) Woods; married Elin Nordegren (a nanny and model), October 5, 2004.
Education: Attended Stanford University, 1994.
Career
Appeared on television's Mike Douglas Show with Bob Hope, 1978; hit first hole in one, 1981; broke score of 70 (18 holes), 1987; U.S. Golf Association, National Junior Amateur Champion, 1991-94; Insurance Youth Golf Classic Champion, 1992; youngest player to compete in PGA tournament, the 1992 Los Angeles Open (16 years and two months); Jerry Pate Intercollegiate Golf Tournament, 1994; U.S. Amateur Golf Championship, 1994; youngest player to compete in the Masters, 1995; turned professional, August 27, 1996; exempted from the 1997 Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour Qualifying Tournament, October, 1996; won Las Vegas Invitational, 1996; won Masters, 1997, 2001, 2002; won Buick Invitational, 1999; won PGA Championship, 1999, 2000; won Memorial Tournament, 1999, 2000, 2001; won British Open, 2000; won U.S. Open, 2000, 2002; won Bay Hill Invitational, 2002, 2003; won American Express Championship, 2002, 2003; won Buick Open, 2002; won Match Play Championship, 2003, 2004; won Western Open, 2003; won Dunlop Phoenix (Japan), WGC Accenture Match, and Target World Challenge, 2004; won WGC American Express Championship, WGC Bridgestone Invitational, British Open, Masters, Ford Championship at Doral, and Buick Invitational, 2005.
Life's Work
Tiger Woods is a great athlete, and well on the road to becoming a hero. Before the age of 20, he'd already attracted thousands of worshippers. For example, Sports Illustrated, the American bible of sports coverage rarely reserves ten pages to profile a college kid. But the magazine fairly gushed with reverence over the young golfer in March of 1995, exclaiming, "Only 19, amateur sensation Tiger Woods has the golf world shaking its head in awe." Likewise, Newsweek heralded Woods's prodigious talent, declaring in bold print: "He can hit like [Greg] Norman, putt like [Jack] Nicklaus, and think like a Stanford freshman. He's already the best 19-year-old American golfer ever." According to the Cincinnati Post, on August 27, 1996, he sent a message to the tour officials at the Greater Woods that read, "This is to confirm that, as of now, I am professional golfer." Reasoned The Source, Woods turned pro, "because there were no challenges left for him at the amateur level...."
Writers had ample reason to employ so many superlatives. At the age of 15, Woods had become not only the first black man to win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, but also its youngest victor. He was also the first male to win three U.S. Junior titles--1991, 1992, 1993--and had enjoyed a few casual rounds with professional golfers Sam Snead, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, and John Daly. Woods's amateur title also qualified him for a trio of prestigious professional events--the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the British Open. Perhaps more importantly, the Stanford freshman captured the latter championship by staging the greatest comeback in a game in the 99-year history of the tournament. It was a dazzling performance that suggested Woods was a champion of the highest order.
Tom Watson, a tried and true legend himself, called Woods "the most important young golfer in the last 50 years." Another golfing great, Bryon Nelson, told Newsweek that compared to the youthful games of Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson, Woods stood alone. "I've seen 'em all," he said, adding, "This fellow has no weakness." Coach Butch Harmon, who tutored Greg Norman and later Woods, declared, "He handles pressure like a 30-year-old. And his creativity is amazing. Some of the shots I've seen him hit remind me of Norman and Arnold Palmer."
Despite the outpouring of professional praise, Woods did not abandon his college studies to join the pro tour following his historic win. The New York Times stated that Woods played golf with the "steadfast persistence of a man many years his senior," and the same could be said of his life off the greens. Woods was committed to his studies at Stanford, determined to maintain a 3.0 grade point average and become the top collegiate golfer in the country. Never mind that millions in endorsements and prize money was essentially his for the asking. Woods, and his parents, weren't yet ready to cash in on his talent. "Money can't buy us," Tiger's mother, Kultida (Tida), a native of Thailand, told Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated. "What [does] he need money for? If you turn him pro, you take his youth away from him."
According to Woods, his youth was a normal one. "I did the same things every kid did," he told Newsweek. "I studied and went to the mall. I was addicted to TV wrestling, rap music, and The Simpsons. I got into trouble and got out of it. I loved my parents and obeyed what they told me. The only difference is I can sometimes hit a little ball into a hole in less strokes than some other people." But that was hardly the only difference. Typical childhoods, after all, are not launched on the golf course: Woods was introduced to the game at nine months. By the age of three, he'd already scored 50 for nine holes and outputted Bob Hope on the Mike Douglas Show. Still, if observers needed further proof that Woods was a child prodi gy, they got it when he hit a hole-in-one at the age of six and broke 80 by the age of eight.
His extraordinary success, in part, stemmed from early psychological training, including a series of subliminal tapes that Woods began listening to at the age of six. The messages intended to shape an unshakable confidence with declarations like: "I focus and give it my all!," "My will moves mountain!," "I believe in me!," and "I will my own destiny!" As Reilly of Sports Illustrated reported, "From the beginning, the boy understood what the tape was for, and he liked it. He would pop in the tape while swinging in front of the mirror or putting on the carpet or watching videos of old Masters tournaments. In fact, he played the tape so often that it would have driven any other parents quite nuts." Hardly the stuff of a normal childhood.
Earl and Kultida Woods were not ordinary parents. Earl, a former Green Beret and U.S. Army officer, discovered golf at the age of 42, after he had served his time in Vietnam and Thailand and met and married Tida, a woman 14 years his junior. A gifted athlete, Earl had competed in collegiate baseball; a catcher, he was the first black player at Kansas State. When Tiger came along, Earl was determined that his son start golf early. Taking him to the Navy Golf Course--just five minutes from their home--Earl put a putter into Tiger's hands before he could walk and taught him the fundamentals of the game before he could barely talk. By the age of two, Tiger could offer rather advanced criticism of other people's swings. By second grade, Woods won his first international tournament. 10-year-old Tiger began taking formal lessons with golf pro legend John Anselmo and would continue to do so until he was 17. At 11, he had played some 30 junior tournaments in Southern California, winning every title.
Woods's adeptness was not limited to golf. During his teen years he participated in many sports. Newsweek acknowledged that Woods was "a natural switch-hitter [in baseball], loved playing shooting guard [in basketball], was a wide receiver [in football], and a 400-meter runner [in track]." But golf always seemed to be his main love, so much so that his parents often had to remind or encourage him to do other things. The pleasure he derived from doing so well on the course was always apparent. Even as a pro, Sports Illustrated's Gary Van Sickle noted, "He smiles on the course and looks as if he's having fun. He emotes, whether it's punching the air with an uppercut ... or straight-arming a putt into the hole." And the tougher the challenge, the more Woods enjoyed himself. As Van Sickle remarked, "Woods ... is a dangerous golfer. Difficult situations bring out the best in him."
If one single secret to Tiger's early success exists, it was mental toughness. Earl Woods tried to ensure that his son's swing would not unravel during the pressure of competition. When Tiger practiced, Earl made it his mission to drive his son to distraction by jingling change, dropping golf bags, tearing open the Velcro on his glove, anything to unnerve the young golfer. As Reilly reported, "What his dad tried to do, whenever possible, was cheat, distract, harass, and annoy him. You spend 20 years in the military, train with the Green Berets, do two tours of [Viet]Nam and one of Thailand, you learn a few things about psychological warfare." The concentration that the elder Woods had to maintain during combat was passed on to his son for the purpose of winning a golf game rather than a war. "The boy learned coldness, too. Eventually, nothing the father did could make him flinch. The boy who once heard subliminal messages under rippling brooks now couldn't hear a thing," Reilly concluded.
Indeed, it was Tiger's ability to focus, his almost otherworldly capacity for concentration and poise, that made all the difference during the 1994 Amateur Championship. When Woods found himself six holes down after 13 holes of the 36-hole final, he began his improbable comeback. Heading into the final nine, he had closed the gap but still held a precarious three-hole deficit. He continued to find his birdies--golf scores of one stroke less than standard on a hole--pulling even with the leader, Trip Kuehne of Oklahoma State, by the 17th hole.
It was then that Woods created some magic, hitting a "fearless tee shot," in the words of some spectators, on a par-3. The ball landed on the green, just four paces from the water's edge. "You don't see too many pros hit it right of that pin," Kuehne later recalled for the New York Times. "It was a great gamble that paid off." Woods dropped a 14-foot putt and played steadily on the 18th to become the youngest winner of America's oldest golf championship, as well as the event's first black champion. "When Tiger won his first U.S. Junior [in 1991]," his father told Sports Illustrated, "I said to him, 'Son, you have done something no black person in the United States has ever done, and you will forever be a part of history.' But this is ungodly in its ramifications."
It is possible that Tiger Woods and his family did not fully anticipate the implications of his success. For one, African Americans promptly heralded Woods as the next "Great Black Hope." Woods, in turn, sought to distance himself from the people who wanted to pigeonhole him. He did not want to assume the role of a crusader. Again and again he pointed out to the press that he was not only African American but also part Thai, part Chinese, and part Indian. On applications requesting ethnic identity, he described himself as Asian.
Tida, in particular, voiced her dismay at the racial stereotyping. "All the media try to put black in him," she told Sports Illustrated. "Why don't they ask who half of Tiger is from? In the United States, one little part black is all black. Nobody wants to listen to me. I been trying to explain to people, but they don't understand. To say he is 100 percent black is to deny his heritage. To deny his grandmother and grandfather. To deny me!" Some writers took offense to the Woods's racial stance. Jet magazine, for example, subtly voiced this retort: "Woods's description of his racial identity led one observer to wonder how he could say he is only 25 percent black, when his father is black." The public exchange was an early sign that Woods's fame was going to force him to confront issues of race.
Other pitfalls emerged in the wake of Woods's great feat. As coach Harmon confessed to Reilly of Sports Illustrated, "This young man is one of the best young players to come out of this country in a long, long time. That is the good news. The bad news is that he has to live up to it now." The question on most everyone's mind was, would Tiger succeed as a professional? It seemed unlikely that the young star would pass up so many millions to be made off his sport, "especially now," as Sports Illustrated noted, "that he has been stamped with the undeniable look of a future superstar." So eager were companies to own a piece of Woods that they called Stanford trying to negotiate deals to start lines of Tiger Woods sporting apparel and Tiger Woods clubs. "Nobody believes," Newsweek suggested, "Woods will live up to his avowed goal of staying at Stanford for four years, passing up the tour and the hundreds of millions of dollars awaiting him in the endorsement villa ge."
Still, heading into his sophomore year, Woods remained an amateur. Tida, for one, was determined that her son earn a degree. No amount of money, in her eyes, could replace the value of a good education. Earl was inclined to leave his son's future open to other possibilities. If Tiger completely dominated college golf during his sophomore and junior years, he told Sports Illustrated, then perhaps his son would joined the tour, juggling tournaments around his Stanford schedule. For all the promise of glamour and gold, the family's decision to invest in education was a prudent one. As the New York Times pointed out, "Winners of the U.S. Amateur do not necessarily go on to become great golfers--the roll call of amateur champions who had marginal careers is a lengthy one."
Speculation about the future of Tiger Woods ended, however, in the late summer of 1996, when the 20-year-old, joined the professional ranks. He quickly won two of his first seven Professional Golf Association (PGA) starts, which Newsweek cheekily noted was "the most successful professional golf debut since dimples on the ball." In just seven weeks, he went from his debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open, where he finished in 60th place, to coming "within range of his stated goal of making the top 125 on the money list and earning a PGA Tour exemption [meaning he would not have to play in the 1997 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament]," according to Gary Van Sickle in Sports Illustrated. Van Sickle further asserted that "By winning in [the] Las Vegas [Invitational], in only his fifth start as a pro, Tiger Woods proved beyond a doubt that his time had come."
Though some felt his initial pro games were shaky--for example, in his third professional event, the Quad City Classic, he blew the lead in the final round--Woods steadily improved. And, as Reilly assessed, Woods was "making history almost daily." Having found his rhythm, Woods was the picture of confidence, telling Reilly, "I really haven't [even] played my best golf yet." Woods was scoring off the field as well having signed $60 million in endorsements with Nike and Titleist. Still, PGA Tour veteran and friend Davis Love III cautioned to Van Sickle, "He's not playing for the money. He's trying to win. He thinks about winning and nothing else."
Despite being driven, Love's comment was not exactly true, however. Like many young adults, Woods anticipated the many rites of passage. The same article mentioned that Woods, "was looking forward to returning to Las Vegas in a year, when he'll be 21. 'I'll be legal,' Woods said, smiling. I can actually do some stuff around here." Though he feels he had a "normal" childhood, Woods has worked harder than most of his peers in order to accomplish all that he has. "You guys don't understand," he chastised Reilly. "When I played in those [early] tournaments, I was either in high school or college. I'd get dumped into the toughest places to play, and I usually was trying to study, get papers done and everything else."
In 1997 Woods proved again he was capable of doing anything he set out to do. At 21, he became the youngest player and first African American to win the Masters. This important win had many repercussions, both positive and negative. Golfer Ron Townsend, the first African-American member of the Augusta National told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "What [Woods is] doing is great for America and great for golf. He's just an amazing talent, and it's pleasure to watch him play."
But one incident threatened to tarnish Wood's star. At the ceremony, while Woods accepted his green jacket and trophy, one of the other golfers, Fuzzy Zoeller, made a tasteless joke that many thought was racist. Woods brushed it off and Zoeller apologized.
Since winning the Masters, Woods has become Mr. Golf. Swarms of people followed him all over the golf courses watching his every move. Instead of quietly following the sport, many of the "new" crowd behaved as if it were a contact sport, not one of subdued concentration. Every time Woods played, ratings went up and when he won, they were astronomical. "He has changed the way the public looks at golf. Tiger has become one of the most prominent worldwide personalities in current times," former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His face has been on the box of Wheaties and promptly turned into a collector's item. Woods has been compared to golf great Jack Nicklaus and basketball legend Michael Jordan.
Both Woods' winnings and endorsement deals, with Nike and Buick among others, has made him one of the highest paid athletes. He was ranked number two in Forbes magazine. He has been the subject of many books, including his own, How I Play Golf, published in October of 2001. His father has also been published, his tome aptly titled, Training A Tiger: A Father's Account of How to Raise a Winner in Both Golf and Life. Woods has also been the topic of sports videos and he has his own video games.
In six years, Woods has 29 PGA Tour victories. He has won six majors, including the PGA Championship and U.S. Open. He even did a Grand Slam, by winning four majors consecutively. According to the Cincinnati Post, he played 52 consecutive rounds at par or better. During the 2000 season, Woods played under par at every tournament. He has even shattered or matched many records. He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, " My goal is to obviously be the best. It's a lofty goal, and if I do, great. If I don't, at least I tried." His father told the Cincinnati Post, "He finally reached maturity last year. Now, he's trying to bring under control the resources that he has."
In 2001 Wood's golf game, according to many, was below average. Many blamed everything from his swing to injury to Woods suffering from burnout. Some have even blamed love. According to Sports Illustrated, rumors floated that he was infatuated with a well-known volleyball star and model. But Woods shrugged it off. He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "That's golf. It's part of playing sports. You can't play well all of the time. You can't have everything go your way ..."
Though his play may have been off the first half of the year, Woods rallied back and won his second Masters. "This is really special. When I won [the Masters] in '97, I hadn't been pro a full year yet. I was a little young, a little naive. I didn't appreciate what I had done. I have a much better appreciation for major championships now," he was quoted as saying in Jet.
After continuing to serve as golf's public face, win major tournaments in the late 1990s through 2002, and doing well on the tour in general, Woods' dominance eased in 2003 and 2004. Woods won two majors in 2002, the Masters and the U.S. Open, as well as three other events, but also had surgery in December to remove fluid from his knee. After recovering and returning to the PGA Tour, Woods again won five tournaments, including the American Express Championship, in 2003, but no majors. He did not even finish in the top ten at the Masters or U.S. Open. Observers believe Woods was having problems with his game, especially accuracy off the tee, and it suffered in part because of a break with coach Harmon.
Woods struggled on a greater scale in 2004, having problems with his putting and swing for much of the year. After an early victory at the Match Play Championship, he did not do well in most stroke play tournaments for much of the year. Woods continued to not play well at the majors, finishing 22nd at the Masters. Critics were quick to blame his father's poor health and his impending nuptials to Swedish nanny/model Elin Nordegren for Woods' poor golf game. Despite the distractions, Woods finished the year with two victories at Japan's Dunlop Phoenix and the Target World Challenge, and finished second at PGA Tour Championship. He still managed to finish the year ranked second in the world, after Vijay Singh. In keeping with his goal to start a family, he married Nordegren in October 2004.
One reason for Woods' renewal at the end of 2004 was the help of a new coach, Hank Hanley. The pair developed an improved swing that Woods had confidence in. Woods hoped that 2005 would mark his roaring return to dominance of men's professonal golf. He began the year by finishing second at the Mercedes Championship.
Woods won six major tournaments that year, notably the British Open and the Masters. He won the points-based PGA Player of the Year Award for the seventh time in nine years. He told Gary Van Sickle in Sports Illustrated that despite his success, he continually looked for ways to improve his game: "The drive is always to get better. You can always get better, no matter what."
To help keep himself grounded, Woods relies on "The Brothers"--basketball players, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and former football player and sportscaster Ahmad Rashad. These three have been mentoring Woods since he met Jordan after winning the 1997 Masters. The four keep in constant contact and have given or asked for advice from one another. Though he raised him to be a formidable force and taught him all the fundamentals of golf and helped him keep his focus, Earl Woods gave control of his golf career to Woods when the elder Woods became seriously ill with cancer in the late 1990s. His father remained in charge of the Tiger Woods Foundation and Tiger Woods Inc. He also occasionally attended tournaments when his health allowed, but often watched his son's victories on TV.
Perhaps most inspiring about Woods' accomplishments as such a young man is that he has literally, and single-handedly, transformed the image of the game, making it more attractive to a wider spectrum of people while glamorizing it. "Tiger Woods is the biggest draw of any athlete on television these days," ABC Sports president Howard Katz exclaimed to the Dallas Morning News. As Reilly pointed out, "Golf used to be four white guys sitting around a pinochle table talking about their shaft flexes... . Now golf is [supermodel] Cindy Crawford sending Woods a letter." Indeed, Woods's presence has attracted a multitude of new fans to the sport of golf--minorities and young people among them. Van Sickle reiterated Jack Nicklaus's belief that "someone would come along who could hit 30 yards past everyone else, much as he did decades ago, have a great short game, and dominate the sport." In so many ways, Woods already has. Though golf is and will be an integral part of his life for many years to come, as he has matured, he has come to appreciate his victories and his life outside of golf. He commented to Sports Illustrated, "No doubt about it, I have a wonderful balance in my life. I've learned what's best for me."
Awards
American Jr. Golf Association, Player of the Year, 1991-92; Rolex, First Team All American, 1991-92; Golfweek/Titleist, Jr. Golfer of the Year, 1991; PGA Player of the Year, 1997 and 1999-2004; Associated Press, Male Athlete of the Year, 1998; Vardon Trophy, 1999-2003; Player of the Year Award, Golf Writers Association, 1999-2003, 2005; ESPY Award, best male golfer, 2003, 2005.
Further Reading
Periodicals
* Business Wire, September 4, 2001, p. 2319; September 11, 2001, p. 0197.
* The Cincinnati Post, August 28, 2001, p. 6C.
* Dallas Morning News, July 28, 2001, p. 9B.
* Entertainment Weekly, November 15, 1996, p. 16.
* Jet, August 26, 1991, p. 48; September 12, 1994, p. 51; November 14, 1994, p. 49; April 24, 1995, p. 8; September 18, 2000, p. 48; November 27, 2000, p. 48; January 22, 2001, p. 33; April 23, 2001, p. 54; May 21, 2001, p. 35; July 9, 2001, p. 51; January 27, 2003, p. 48; January 5, 2004, p. 48; November 1, 2004, p. 24.
* Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, January 2, 2005.
* Library Journal, July 2001, p. 145.
* Nation's Restaurant, September 3, 2001, p. 36.
* Newsweek, April 10, 1995, p. 70-72; December 9, 1996, p. 52-56; June 18, 2001; December 22, 2003, p. 46.
* New York Times, August 28, 1994.
* People, September 23, 1991, p. 81; October 18, 2004, p. 57.
* PR Newswire, June 10, 2001, p. 7445.
* The San Francisco Chronicle, April 22, 1997, p. B7.
* The Source, November 1996, p. 121.
* Sports Illustrated, September 5, 1994, p. 14-15; March 27, 1995, p. 62-72; October 4, 1996, p. 37-38; October 28, 1996, p. 47-50; April 3, 2000, p. 78+; August 27, 2001, p. 1; February 24, 2003, p. 46; March 10, 2003, p. G6; March 31, 2003, p. G6; August 25, 2003, p. G4; October 13, 2003, p. G15; August 23, 2004, p. G6; September 14, 2004, p. 69; July 25, 2005, p. 42.
* St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 14, 1997, p. 1C; August 20, 2001, p. D7; September 9, 2001, p. 10; September 11, 2001, p. A1.
* Time, April 26, 2004, p. 124.
* Time International, November 27, 2000, p. 60.
* Toronto Sun, January 10, 2005, p. S3.
* USA Today, December 14, 2004, p. 2C; January 6, 2005, p. 7C.
* USA Weekend, July 24-26, 1992, p. 4-6.
Online
* Amazon, http://amazon.com.
* ESPY Awards, msn.espn.go.com/espy2003/s/2003/0716/1581738.html, July 23, 2003.
* "Tiger Woods," PGAtour.com, https://www.pgatour.com/ (November 8, 2005).
* SI.com, sportsillustrated.cnn.com, July 7, 2003; October 6, 2003; December 9, 2003; December 26, 2003.
* SI.com, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/golf/02/29/bc.pga.match.play.ap/index.html, March 1, 2004.
* SI.com, sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/golf/11/09/bc.glf.pgatourawards.ap/index.html, November 30, 2003.
— Ami Walsh, Lorna Mabunda, and Ashyia N. Henderson
Answer of the Day:
Tiger Woods
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Answer of the Day
Pro Golfer Tiger Woods
Pro Golfer Tiger Woods
Happy 30th birthday to Tiger Woods. The champion golfer won his first Masters in 1997, when he was 21, the youngest winner ever. In 2001, he became one of an elite group of golfers to simultaneously hold the four major tournament titles: US Open, British Open, PGA Championship and Masters. By 2005 he had nine major golf championships under his belt. Woods is the only person to be twice named Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year, in 1996 and 2000. Woods' real first name is Eldrick; when he was very young, his father nicknamed him Tiger in honor of his friend, a South Vietnamese army officer.
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From our Archives: Today's Highlights, December 30, 2005
Columbia Encyclopedia:
Tiger Woods
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia - People
Woods, Tiger (Eldrick Woods), 1975-, American golfer, b. Cypress, Calif. The son of a African-American father and a Thai mother, he was a college star at Stanford and became the only three-time (1994-96) U.S. amateur champion before turning professional in 1997. Seeming to justify publicity promoting him as the "future of golf," Woods won the 1997 Masters in a runaway. After mixed success in 1998, he won the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Championship and again dominated golf in 1999. In 2000, Woods won the U.S. and British opens and PGA Championship, setting or tying several records in the process and becoming the youngest of only five golfers to achieve a career Grand Slam. Woods's victory at the Masters in 2001 made him the first golfer to win all four major professional championships in a row. He has since won the Masters (2002, 2005), U.S. Open (2002, 2008), British Open (2005-6), and PGA Championship (2006-7) twice, and achieved more than 50 tournament victories by age 30, a PGA record. In 2007 he won the inaugural FedEx Cup, a four-tournament championship. Lurid revelations of marital infidelities in 2009 tarnished his personal reputation.
Background and family
Woods was born in Cypress, California, to Earl (1932–2006) and Kultida (Tida) Woods (born 1944). He is the only child of their marriage but has two half-brothers, Earl Jr. (born 1955) and Kevin (born 1957), and a half-sister, Royce (born 1958) from the 18-year marriage of Earl Woods and his first wife, Barbara Woods Gray.[citation needed] Earl, a retired lieutenant colonel and Vietnam War veteran, was of mixed African American, Chinese, and Native American ancestry. Kultida (née Punsawad), originally from Thailand, is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. This makes Woods himself half Asian (one-quarter Chinese and one-quarter Thai), one-quarter African American, one-eighth Native American, and one-eighth Dutch.[14] He refers to his ethnic make-up as “Cablinasian” (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, (American) Indian, and Asian).[15]
From childhood he was raised as a Buddhist and actively practised this faith from childhood until well into his adult career.[16] He has attributed his deviations and infidelity to his losing track of Buddhism. He said that "Buddhism teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously I lost track of what I was taught."[17]
At birth, Woods was given 'Eldrick' and 'Tont' as first and middle names. His middle name, Tont (Thai: ต้น), is a traditional Thai name.[18] He got his nickname from a Vietnamese soldier friend of his father, Vuong Dang Phong,[19] to whom his father had also given the Tiger nickname. He became generally known by that name and by the time he had achieved national prominence in junior and amateur golf, he was simply known as 'Tiger' Woods.
Early life and amateur golf career
Woods at age 2 on The Mike Douglas Show. From left, Tiger Woods, Mike Douglas, Earl Woods and Bob Hope on October 6, 1978.
Woods grew up in Orange County, California. He was a child prodigy, introduced to golf before the age of two, by his athletic father Earl, who was a good standard amateur golfer and one of the earliest Negro college baseball players at Kansas State University.[20] In 1978, Tiger putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. Before turning seven, Tiger entered and won the Under Age 10 section of the Drive, Pitch, and Putt competition, held at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress, California.[21] At age three, he shot a 48 over nine holes over the Cypress Navy course, and at age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC's That's Incredible.[22] In 1984 at the age of eight, he won the 9–10 boys' event, the youngest age group available, at the Junior World Golf Championships.[23] He first broke 80 at age eight.[24] He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991.[25][26][27][28][29]
Woods' father Earl wrote that Tiger first beat him when he was 11 years old, with Earl trying his best. Earl lost to Tiger every time from then on.[30][31] Woods's first major national junior tournament was the 1989 Big I, when he was 13 years old. Woods was paired with pro John Daly, then relatively unknown, in the final round; the event's format placed a professional with each group of juniors who had qualified. Daly birdied three of the last four holes to beat Woods by only one stroke.[32] As a young teenager, Woods first met Jack Nicklaus in Los Angeles at the Bel-Air Country Club, when Nicklaus was performing a clinic for the club's members. Woods was part of the show, and impressed Nicklaus and the crowd with his skills and potential.[33]
While attending Western High School in Anaheim at the age of 15, Woods became the youngest ever U.S. Junior Amateur champion in 1991, was voted Southern California Amateur Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and Golf Digest Junior Amateur Player of the Year for 1991.[34] In 1992, he defended his title at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, becoming the first multiple winner, competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Nissan Los Angeles Open, and was named Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year, Golf World Player of the Year, and Golfweek National Amateur of the Year.[35][36]
The following year, Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, and remains the event's youngest-ever and only multiple winner.[37] In 1994, he became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship, a record that stood until 2008 when it was broken by Danny Lee. Woods won over the TPC at Sawgrass in Florida.[38] He was a member of the American team at the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships (winning), and the 1995 Walker Cup (losing).[39][40]
Woods graduated from Western High School in 1994 at age 18, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" among the graduating class. He had starred for the high school's golf team under coach Don Crosby.[41]
College golf career
Woods was recruited very heavily by college golf powers, and chose Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA Division I champion. He obtained a golf scholarship and enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994. He won his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, in September.[42] He declared a major in economics, and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammate Notah Begay III.[43] In 1995, he defended his U.S. Amateur title, at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island[38] and was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year (an award that encompasses all sports).[44][45] He participated in his first PGA Tour major, the 1995 Masters Tournament, and tied for 41st as the only amateur to make the cut. At age 20 in 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles, winning at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon,[46] and won the NCAA individual golf championship.[47] In winning the Silver Medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship, he tied the record for an amateur aggregate score of 281.[48] He left college after two years and turned professional.
Professional career
Tiger Woods giving a driving demonstration aboard the USS George Washington.
1996–98: Early years and first major win
With the announcement "Hello world," Tiger Woods became a professional golfer in August 1996, and signed endorsement deals worth $40 million from Nike, Inc. and $20 million from Titleist.[49][50] These endorsement contracts were the highest in golf history to that stage. He played his first round of professional golf at the Greater Milwaukee Open, tying for 60th place, and would win two events in the next three months to qualify for the Tour Championship. For his efforts, Woods was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.[51] He began his tradition of wearing a red shirt during the final round of tournaments, a link to his college days at Stanford and a color he believes symbolizes aggression and assertiveness.[52][53]
The following April, Woods won his first major, The Masters, with a record score of 18 under par, by a record margin of 12 strokes. The landmark victory made Woods the tournament's youngest-ever winner, as well as its first African-American winner (and its first Asian-American winner).[54] All told, Woods set a total of 20 Masters records in 1997 and tied six others. He went on to win another three PGA Tour events that year, and on June 15, 1997, in only his 42nd week as a professional, rose to number one in the Official World Golf Rankings, the fastest-ever ascent to world No. 1.[55] At the conclusion of the 1997 season, Woods was named PGA Player of the Year, the first time a golfer had won the award in just his second year as a professional.
While expectations for Woods were high, his play faded in the second half of 1997, and in 1998 he only won a single PGA Tour event. He answered critics of his "slump" and what seemed to be wavering form by maintaining he was undergoing extensive swing changes with his coach, Butch Harmon, and was hoping to do better in the future.[56]
1999–2002: Slams
In June 1999, Woods won the Memorial Tournament, a victory that touched off one of the greatest sustained periods of dominance in the history of men's golf. He completed his 1999 campaign by winning his last four starts —- including the PGA Championship -— and finished the season with eight wins, a feat not achieved since 1974.[57] Woods was voted PGA Tour Player of the Year and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years.[57][58]
Picking up where he had left off in 1999, Woods started 2000 with his fifth consecutive victory and began a record-setting season. He extended his win streak to six at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February with a memorable comeback -- trailing by seven strokes with seven holes to play, he finished eagle-birdie-par-birdie for a 64 and a two-stroke victory. His six consecutive wins were the most since Ben Hogan in 1948 and only five behind Byron Nelson's record of eleven in a row. In the 2000 U.S. Open, he broke or tied a total of nine U.S. Open records with his 15-shot win, including Old Tom Morris's record for the largest victory margin ever in a major championship, which had stood since 1862, and became the Tour's all-time career money leader. He led by a record ten strokes going into the final round, and Sports Illustrated called it "the greatest performance in golf history."[59] In the 2000 Open Championship at St Andrews, which he won by eight strokes, he set the record for lowest score to par (−19) in any major tournament, and he holds at least a share of that record in all four major championships. At 24, he became the youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam.[60]
Woods's major championship streak was seriously threatened at the 2000 PGA Championship, when Bob May went head-to-head with Woods on Sunday at Valhalla Golf Club. However, Woods played the last twelve holes of regulation seven under par, and won a three-hole playoff over May with a birdie on the first hole and pars on the next two. He joined Ben Hogan (1953) as the only other player to win three professional majors in one season. Three weeks later, he won his third straight start on Tour at the Bell Canadian Open, becoming only the second man after Lee Trevino in 1971 to win the Triple Crown of Golf (U.S., British, and Canadian Opens) in one year. By the end of Woods' 2000 campaign, he had won three consecutive majors, nine PGA Tour events, and had set or tied 27 Tour records. Of the twenty events he entered, he finished in the top three fourteen times. His adjusted scoring average of 67.79 and his actual scoring average of 68.17 were the lowest in PGA Tour history, besting his own record of 68.43 in 1999 and Byron Nelson's average of 68.33 in 1945. He was named the 2000 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, becoming the first and only athlete to be honored twice.[61] Woods was ranked as the twelfth best golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine just four years after he turned professional.[62]
The following season, Woods continued to dominate. His 2001 Masters Tournament win marked the only time in the modern era of the Grand Slam that any player has held all four major championship titles at the same time, a feat now known as the "Tiger Slam".[63] It is not viewed as a true Grand Slam, however, because it was not achieved in a calendar year. Surprisingly, he was not a factor in the three remaining majors of the year, but finished with the most PGA Tour wins in the season, with five. In 2002, he started off strongly, joining Nick Faldo (1989–90) and Jack Nicklaus (1965–66) as the only men to have won back-to-back Masters Tournaments.[64]
Two months later, Woods was the only player under par at the U.S. Open, and resurrected buzz about the calendar Grand Slam, which had eluded him in 2000.[65] All eyes were on Woods at the Open Championship, but his third round score of 81 in dreadful weather at Muirfield ended his Grand Slam hopes.[66] At the PGA Championship, he nearly repeated his 2000 feat of winning three majors in one year, but bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes in the final round cost him the championship by one stroke.[67] Nonetheless, he took home the money title, Vardon Trophy, and Player of the Year honors for the fourth year in a row.[68]
Playing style
Woods practicing before 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
When Woods first joined the professional tour in 1996, his long drives had a large impact on the world of golf.[147][148] However, when he did not upgrade his equipment in the following years (insisting upon the use of True Temper Dynamic Gold steel-shafted clubs and smaller steel clubheads that promoted accuracy over distance),[149] many opponents caught up to him. Phil Mickelson even made a joke in 2003 about Woods using "inferior equipment", which did not sit well with Nike, Titleist or Woods.[150][151] During 2004, Woods finally upgraded his driver technology to a larger clubhead and graphite shaft, which, coupled with his clubhead speed, made him one of the Tour's lengthier players off the tee once again.
Despite his power advantage, Woods has always focused on developing an excellent all-around game. Although in recent years he has typically been near the bottom of the Tour rankings in driving accuracy, his iron play is generally accurate, his recovery and bunker play is very strong, and his putting (especially under pressure) is possibly his greatest asset. He is largely responsible for a shift to higher standards of athleticism amongst professional golfers, and is known for putting in more hours of practice than most.[152][153][154]
From mid-1993, while he was still an amateur, until 2004, Woods worked almost exclusively with leading swing coach Butch Harmon. From mid-1997, Harmon and Woods fashioned a major redevelopment of Woods' full swing, achieving greater consistency, better distance control, and better kinesiology. The changes began to pay off in 1999.[155] Since March 2004, Woods has been coached by Hank Haney, who has worked on flattening his swing plane. Woods has continued to win tournaments with Haney, but his driving accuracy has dropped significantly since his move from Harmon. In June 2004, Woods was involved in a media spat with Harmon, who also works as a golf broadcaster, when Harmon suggested that he was in "denial" about the problems in his game, but they publicly patched up their differences.[156]
Haney announced that he was stepping down as Woods' coach on May 10, 2010.[157]
On August 10, 2010, Sean Foley helped Woods with his swing during a practice round at the PGA Championship and confirmed the possibility of working with him.[158]
Equipment
As of 2011:[159][160]
* Driver: Nike VR Tour Driver (8.5 degrees; Mitsubishi Diamana Whiteboard 83g shaft)
* Fairway Woods: Nike VR Pro 15° 3-wood with Mitsubishi Diamana Blueboard and Nike SQ II 19° 5-Wood
* Irons: Nike VR Pro Blades (2-PW) (Tiger will put his 5 Wood or 2 Iron in the bag depending upon the course setup and conditions). All irons are 1 degree upright, have D4 swingweight, standard size Tour Velvet grips and True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts.[160]
* Wedges: Nike VR 56° Sand Wedge and Nike SV 60° Lob Wedge
* Putter: Nike Method 003, 35 inches long[159][160]
* Ball: Nike ONE Tour D (with "Tiger" imprint)
* Golf Glove: Nike Dri-FIT Tour glove
* Golf Shoes: Nike Air Zoom TW 2011
* Club Cover: Frank, a plush tiger head club cover created by his mother, which has appeared in several commercials.[161]
* Fairway wood "Kiwi" bird headcover relates to the nationality of his caddie Steve Williams (New Zealand).
Other ventures and aspects
Charity and youth projects
Woods has established several charitable and youth projects.
* The Tiger Woods Foundation: The Tiger Woods Foundation was established in 1996 by Woods and his father Earl. It focuses on projects for children. Initially these comprised golf clinics (aimed especially at disadvantaged children), and a grant program. Further activities added since then include university scholarships, an association with Target House at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee; the Start Something character development program, which reached one million participants by 2003; and the Tiger Woods Learning Center.[162] The Tiger Woods Foundation recently has teamed up with the PGA Tour to create a new PGA tour event that will take place in the nation's capital (Washington, D.C.) beginning in July 2007.[163]
* In The City Golf Clinics and Festivals: Since 1997, the Tiger Woods Foundation has conducted junior golf clinics across the country.[162] The Foundation began the “In the City” golf clinic program in 2003. The first three clinics were held in Indio, California, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and were targeted to all youth, ages 7–17, and their families. Each three-day event features golf lessons on Thursday and Friday of clinic week and a free community festival on Saturday. Host cities invite 15 junior golfers to participate in the annual Tiger Woods Foundation Youth Clinic. This three-day junior golf event includes tickets to Disney Resorts, a junior golf clinic, and an exhibition by Tiger Woods.[164]
* Tiger Woods Learning Center: This is a 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) educational facility in Anaheim, California which opened in February 2006. It is expected to be used by several thousand students each year in grades 4 to 12. The center features seven classrooms, extensive multi-media facilities and an outdoor golf teaching area.[165][166]
* Tiger Jam: An annual fundraising concert which has raised over $10 million for the Tiger Woods Foundation. Past performers at Tiger Jam include Sting, Bon Jovi and Stevie Wonder.[167]
* Chevron World Challenge: An annual off-season charity golf tournament. The event carries generous prize money, and in 2007 Woods donated his $1.35 million first-place check to his Learning Center.[168]
* Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team: An eighteen member team which competes in the annual Junior World Golf Championships.[169]
Woods has also participated in charity work for his current caddy, Steve Williams. On April 24, 2006 Woods won an auto racing event that benefited the Steve Williams Foundation to raise funds to provide sporting careers for disadvantaged youth.[170]
Writings
Woods wrote a golf instruction column for Golf Digest magazine from 1997 to February 2011.[171] In 2001 he wrote a best-selling golf instruction book, How I Play Golf, which had the largest print run of any golf book for its first edition, 1.5 million copies.[172]
Golf course design
Main article: Tiger Woods Design
Woods announced on December 3, 2006 that he will develop his first golf course in the United Arab Emirates through his golf course design company, Tiger Woods Design. The Tiger Woods Dubai will feature a 7,700-yard (7,000 m), par-72 course named Al Ruwaya (meaning "serenity"), a 60,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) clubhouse, a golf academy, 320 exclusive villas and a boutique hotel with 80 suites. Tiger Woods Dubai is a joint venture between Woods and Tatweer, a member of the government-affiliated Dubai Holding. Woods chose Dubai because he was excited about the "challenge of transforming a desert terrain into a world-class golf course." The development was scheduled to be finished in late 2009 at Dubailand, the region's largest tourism and leisure project.[173] However, economic difficulties in Dubai have delayed the completion of this project. A Feb. 1, 2011 report on The Golf Channel stated the project has been abandoned, with only six holes completed.[174]
On August 14, 2007, Woods announced his first course to be designed in the U.S., The Cliffs at High Carolina. The private course will sit at about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina.[175]
Woods will also design a golf course in Mexico. This will be his first oceanfront course. It will be called Punta Brava, which will be located by Ensenada, Baja California. The project will include an 18-hole course designed by Woods, 40 estate lots of up to three acres in size, and 80 villa homes of up to 7,000 square feet (650 m2). Construction will start in 2009 with the project scheduled for completion in 2011.[176]
Endorsements
Woods has been called the world's most marketable athlete.[177] Shortly after his 21st birthday in 1996, he began signing endorsement deals with numerous companies, including General Motors, Titleist, General Mills, American Express, Accenture, and Nike, Inc. In 2000, he signed a 5-year, $105 million contract extension with Nike. It was the largest endorsing deal ever signed by an athlete at that time.[178] Woods' endorsement has been credited in playing a significant role in taking the Nike Golf brand from a "start-up" golf company earlier in the past decade, to becoming the leading golf apparel company in the world, and a major player in the equipment and golf ball market.[177][179] Nike Golf is one of the fastest growing brands in the sport, with an estimated $600 million in sales.[180] Woods has been described as the "ultimate endorser" for Nike Golf,[180] frequently seen wearing Nike gear during tournaments, and even in advertisements for other products.[178] Woods receives a cut from the sales of Nike Golf apparel, footwear, golf equipment, golf balls,[177] and has a building named after him at Nike’s headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon.[181]
In 2002, Woods was involved in every aspect of the launch of Buick's Rendezvous SUV. A company spokesman stated that Buick is happy with the value of Woods' endorsement, pointing out that more than 130,000 Rendezvous vehicles were sold in 2002 and 2003. "That exceeded our forecasts," he was quoted as saying, "It has to be in recognition of Tiger." In February 2004, Buick renewed Woods' endorsement contract for another five years, in a deal reportedly worth $40 million.[178]
Woods collaborated closely with TAG Heuer to develop the world's first professional golf watch, released in April 2005.[182] The lightweight, titanium-construction watch, designed to be worn while playing the game, incorporates numerous innovative design features to accommodate golf play. It is capable of absorbing up to 5,000 Gs of shock, far in excess of the forces generated by a normal golf swing.[182] In 2006, the TAG Heuer Professional Golf Watch won the prestigious iF product design award in the Leisure/Lifestyle category.[183]
Woods preparing for a photo shoot in 2006
Woods also endorses the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of video games; he has done so since 1999.[184] In 2006, he signed a six-year contract with Electronic Arts, the series' publisher.[185]
In February 2007, along with Roger Federer and Thierry Henry, Woods became an ambassador for the "Gillette Champions" marketing campaign. Gillette did not disclose financial terms, though an expert estimated the deal could total between $10 million and $20 million.[186]
In October 2007, Gatorade announced that Woods would have his own brand of sports drink starting in March 2008. "Gatorade Tiger" was his first U.S. deal with a beverage company and his first licensing agreement. Although no figures were officially disclosed, Golfweek magazine reported that it was for five years and could pay him as much as $100 million.[187] The company decided in early fall 2009 to discontinue the drink due to weak sales.[188]
According to Golf Digest, Woods made $769,440,709 from 1996 to 2007,[189] and the magazine predicted that by 2010, Woods would pass one billion dollars in earnings.[190] In 2009, Forbes confirmed that Woods was indeed the world's first athlete to earn over a billion dollars in his career (before taxes), after accounting for the $10 million bonus Woods received for the FedEx Cup title.[191][192] The same year, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $600 million, making him the second richest "African American" behind only Oprah Winfrey.[193]
Honors
On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced that Woods would be inducted into the California Hall of Fame. He was inducted December 5, 2007 at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento.[194][195]
He has been named "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press in December 2009.[196] He has been named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year a record-tying four times, and is the only person to be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year more than once.
Since his record-breaking win at the 1997 Masters Tournament, golf's increased popularity is commonly attributed to Woods' presence. He is credited by some sources for dramatically increasing prize money in golf, generating interest in new audiences, and for drawing the largest TV audiences in golf history.[51][197][198][199][200][201]
Politics
Woods meets with United States President Barack Obama in the White House.
Tiger Woods is registered as an independent.[202] In January 2009, Woods delivered a speech commemorating the military at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.[203][204] In April 2009, Woods visited the White House while in the Washington, D.C. area promoting the golf tournament he hosts, the AT&T National.[205]
Cut streak
In both Byron Nelson's and Woods's eras, "making the cut" has been defined as receiving a paycheck. However, in Nelson's day, only players who placed in the top 20 (sometimes as few as 15)[206] in an event won a paycheck, whereas in Woods's day only players who reach a low enough score (top 70 and ties for most events) within the first 36 holes win a paycheck.[207] Several golf analysts argue that Woods did not actually surpass Nelson's consecutive cuts mark, reasoning that 31 of the tournaments in which Woods competed were "no-cut" events, meaning all the players in the field were guaranteed to compete throughout the entire event regardless of their scores through 36 holes (and hence all "made the cut," meaning that they all received a paycheck). These analysts argue that this would leave Woods's final consecutive cuts made at 111, and Nelson's at 113.[208]
However, at least ten of the tournaments in which Nelson played did not have modern-day cuts; that is, all of the players in these events were guaranteed to compete past 36 holes. The Masters, for example, did not institute a 36-hole cut until 1957 (which was well after Nelson retired), the PGA Championship was match play until 1958, and it is unclear whether or not three other events in which Nelson competed had 36-hole cuts.[209][210] Therefore, these analysts remove "no 36-hole cut" events from both cut streak measures, leaving Nelson's consecutive cuts made at 103 (or possibly less) and Woods's at 111.[211]
In the tournaments in which Nelson competed that did not have 36-hole cuts (that is: the Masters, PGA Championship and the possible three other tournaments), only the top 20 players received a paycheck even though all players in these events were guaranteed to compete past 36 holes.[207] Hence, in these no-cut events, Nelson still placed in the top 20, so Nelson's 113 cuts made are reflective of his 113 top 20 finishes. Woods achieved a top 20 finish 21 consecutive times (from July 2000 to July 2001) and, in the 31 no-cut events in which he played, he won 10 and finished out of the top 10 only five times. Others, including Woods himself, argue that the two streaks cannot be compared, because the variation of tournament structures in the two eras is too great for any meaningful comparison to be made.[208][211]
A more relevant comparison on cut streaks is the 105 consecutive cuts made by Jack Nicklaus between 1970 and 1976, ending at the 1976 World Open.[212] The cut format from that era was virtually identical to the current PGA Tour practice, and most events in Nicklaus' streak, except for the Tournament of Champions (now the SBS Championship), the World Series of Golf (now the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational), and the U.S. Professional Match Play Championship (10 events for Nicklaus) had a cut made after 36 holes.
Tiger-proofing
Early in Woods's career, a small number of golf experts expressed concern about his impact on the competitiveness of the game and the public appeal of professional golf. Sportswriter Bill Lyon of Knight-Ridder asked in a column, "Isn't Tiger Woods actually bad for golf?" (though Lyon ultimately concluded that he was not).[213] At first, some pundits feared that Woods would drive the spirit of competition out of the game of golf by making existing courses obsolete and relegating opponents to simply competing for second place each week.
A related effect was measured by economist Jennifer Brown of the University of California, Berkeley who found that other golfers played worse when competing against Woods than when he was not in the tournament. The scores of highly skilled (exempt) golfers are nearly one stroke higher when playing against Woods. This effect was larger when he was on winning streaks and disappeared during his well-publicized slump in 2003–04. Brown explains the results by noting that competitors of similar skill can hope to win by increasing their level of effort, but that, when facing a "superstar" competitor, extra exertion does not significantly raise one's level of winning while increasing risk of injury or exhaustion, leading to reduced effort.[214]
Many courses in the PGA Tour rotation (including Major Championship sites like Augusta National) began to add yardage to their tees in an effort to slow down long hitters like Woods, a strategy that became known as "Tiger-Proofing". Woods himself welcomed the change as he believes adding yardage to the course does not affect his ability to win.[215]
Ryder Cup performance
Despite his outstanding success on the PGA Tour, Woods had little success in the Ryder Cup early in his career. In his first Ryder Cup in 1997, he earned only 1½ points competing in every match and partnering mostly with Mark O'Meara. Costantino Rocca defeated Woods in his singles match.[216] In 1999, he earned 2 points over every match with a variety of partners.[217] In 2002, he lost both Friday matches,[218] but, partnered with Davis Love III for both of Saturday's matches, won two points for the Americans, and was slated to anchor the Americans for the singles matches, both squads going into Sunday with 8 points.[219] However, after the Europeans took an early lead, his match with Jesper Parnevik was rendered unimportant and they halved the match.[220] In 2004, he was paired with Phil Mickelson on Friday but lost both matches,[221] and only earned one point on Saturday.[222] With the Americans facing a 5–11 deficit, he won the first singles match, but the team was not able to rally.[221] In 2006, he was paired with Jim Furyk for all of the pairs matches, and they won two of their four matches.[223] Woods won his singles match, one of only three Americans to do so that day.[224] Woods missed the 2008 Ryder Cup competition altogether, as he was recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Despite Woods' absence, the United States team posted its largest margin of victory in the event since 1981.
Career achievements
Main article: List of career achievements by Tiger Woods
Woods has won 71 official PGA Tour events including 14 majors. He is 14–1 when going into the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead. He has been heralded as "the greatest closer in history" by multiple golf experts.[225][226][227] He owns the lowest career scoring average and the most career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history.
He has spent the most consecutive and cumulative weeks atop the world rankings. He is one of five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus) to have won all four professional major championships in his career, known as the Career Grand Slam, and was the youngest to do so.[228] Woods is the only player to have won all four professional major championships in a row, accomplishing the feat in the 2000–2001 seasons.
When Woods turned pro, Mike "Fluff" Cowan was his caddie until March 8, 1999.[229] He was replaced by Steve Williams, who has become a close friend of Woods and is often credited with helping him with key shots and putts.[230]
1 Won on the first extra hole of a sudden-death playoff.
2 Won on the seventh extra hole of a sudden-death playoff.
3 Won on the second extra hole of a sudden-death playoff.
4 Won on the fourth extra hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Results timeline
Personal life
Marriage
In November 2003, Woods became engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish former model and daughter of former minister of migration Barbro Holmberg and radio journalist Thomas Nordegren.[231] They were introduced during The Open Championship in 2001 by Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik, who had employed her as an au pair. They married on October 5, 2004 at the Sandy Lane resort on the Caribbean island of Barbados,[232] and lived at Isleworth, a community in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando, Florida.[233] They also have homes in Jackson, Wyoming, California, and Sweden.[234] In January 2006, they purchased a $39 million residential property in Jupiter Island, Florida, intending to make it their primary residence.[234] Jupiter Island residents include fellow golfers Gary Player, Greg Norman, and Nick Price, as well as singers Celine Dion and Alan Jackson. In 2007, a guest house owned by Woods on the Jupiter Island estate was destroyed in a fire caused by lightning.[235]
Early in the morning of June 18, 2007, Elin gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter, Sam Alexis Woods, in Orlando.[236] The birth occurred just one day after Woods finished tied for second in the 2007 U.S. Open.[237] Woods chose to name his daughter Sam because his father said that Woods looked more like a Sam.[238][239] On September 2, 2008, Woods announced on his website that he and his wife were expecting their second child.[240] Five months later, it was announced Elin had given birth to a son, Charlie Axel Woods, on February 8, 2009.[241] Woods and Nordegren divorced on August 23, 2010.
Marital infidelities and career break
On November 25, 2009, supermarket tabloid The National Enquirer published a story claiming that Woods had an extramarital affair with New York City nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel,[242] a claim she denied.[243]
Woods injured in car accident
The story about Woods's infidelity began to attract media attention when Woods had a car accident a day and a half later:[244] as he left his Orlando-area home around 2:30 am in his SUV, a 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Woods hit a hedge, a fire hydrant, and, finally, a tree, just down the street from his house.[245] Woods was treated for minor facial lacerations,[246] and cited for careless driving. He paid a $164 traffic ticket.[245] He refused to speak to the police and the accident fanned intense speculation for two days, until Woods released a statement on his website,[247] taking blame for the crash and adding that it was a private matter; he also praised his wife, Elin, for getting him out of the car.[248]
Woods announced shortly afterward that he would neither play in nor attend his own charity golf tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, nor any other remaining tournaments in 2009.[249]
More women come forward with claims
Interest in the story grew, until San Diego cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs publicly claimed in the gossip magazine Us Weekly that she had a two-and-a-half-year affair with Woods, producing voice and text messages that she said Woods left her. The voice message stated: "Hey it's Tiger, I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone...You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye."[242] Woods released an apology on the day that the story was published, expressing regret for "transgressions" and saying "I have let my family down."[250] Woods was not specific about the reason for the apology, and requested privacy.[251]
After over a dozen women claimed in various media outlets that they had affairs with Woods, media pressure increased.[252] On December 11, he released another statement, admitting to infidelity, offering another apology,[10] and announcing an indefinite hiatus from professional golf.[10] On the same day, lawyers acting on his behalf obtained an injunction in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, preventing the publication in the UK of any images of Woods naked or having sexual intercourse, while denying that Woods was aware of the existence of any such images.[253] Reporting the subject of the injunction was also enjoined.[254] The following week, one of the women who had undertaken media interviews regarding her relationship with Woods admitted having taken photographs of Woods naked, on the pre-meditated premise that she would sell them if they ever broke up.[255]
Sponsorships, business deals ended
The day after the statement, several companies indicated they were reconsidering endorsement deals. Gillette suspended advertising featuring Woods, and said they would not be hiring him for any public appearances for the company.[256] On December 13, management consultancy firm Accenture completely cut its sponsorship of Woods, stating that the golfer was "no longer the right representative."[257]
On December 8, 2009, Nielsen indicated that advertisers had tentatively suspended TV ads featuring Woods after news of his adulteries emerged. Major sponsors initially pledged support and to retain Woods,[258] but he was suspended by Gillette on December 11,[256] and completely dropped by Accenture on December 13.[257] On December 18, TAG Heuer dropped Woods "for the foreseeable future" from its advertising campaigns, only to then change their home page by December 23 to the statement that "Tag Heuer stands with Tiger Woods".[259] On January 1, 2010, AT&T announced the end of its sponsorship of Woods.[260] On January 4, 2010, Electronic Arts, via the blog of President Peter Moore, stated that they would continue to work with Woods and cited their collaboration on a web-based golf game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online.[261] On January 13, General Motors ended a free car loan deal that had been due to end on December 31, 2010.[262]
A December 2009 study by Christopher R. Knittel and Victor Stango, economics professors at the University of California at Davis, estimated that the shareholder loss caused by Woods' extramarital affairs to be between $5 billion and $12 billion.[263][264]
Golf Digest magazine, which had featured monthly instructional articles from Woods on an exclusive basis since 1997, announced in its February 2010 issue that it would suspend publication of articles by Woods while he works out his problems.[265] Woods resumed his articles with the magazine with its September 2010 issue. On January 6, 2011, the magazine announced that its publishing relationship with Woods would end with the February 2011 issue.[266]
Press conference apology
On February 19, 2010, Woods delivered a televised speech from the PGA Tour headquarters in Florida.[267][268] He admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife. He said he used to believe he was entitled to do whatever he wanted to do, and that, due to his success, normal rules did not apply to him. He said he realizes now that he was wrong to have had extramarital affairs, and apologized for the hurt his behavior caused to his family, friends, fans, and business partners. Woods stated he had strayed from Buddhism, his trained faith since childhood, and that he would work to re-embrace his faith in the future. Woods also stated he had been in a therapy program for 45 days, and would be returning there soon. He stated he planned to return to competitive golf in the future, but was unspecific on details. He did not take questions.[269]
On February 27, 2010, energy drink firm Gatorade ended its sponsorship of Tiger Woods. However, Gatorade said it would continue its partnership with the charitable Tiger Woods Foundation.[270] In March Irish bookmaker Paddy Power revealed that Woods had declined a $75 million endorsement deal with them.[271]
Announces return to competition
On March 16, 2010, Woods announced that he would return to golf at the 2010 Masters.[130] However, his wife Elin announced that she planned to return to Sweden at that time, instead of attending the tournament.[272]
Woods admits to multiple infidelities
On March 21, 2010, Woods was interviewed by Tom Rinaldi, his first interview after the incident.[273] On April 29, 2010, the National Enquirer reported that Woods had confessed to his wife that he has had 120 affairs.[274] He also admitted having a one-night-stand with his neighbours' 21-year-old daughter Raychel Coudriet, whom he has known since she was 14.[275]
Woods, Nordegren divorce
Woods and Nordegren officially divorced on August 23, 2010.[276] While the precise financial terms of the divorce are confidential, published reports indicate that Nordegren received a settlement of approximately $100 million; the two will share custody of their two children.
Tiger Woods: The Rise and Fall documentary
Another Woods lover, porn star and exotic dancer Veronica Siwik-Daniels (stage name Joslyn James), was interviewed for the British television documentary Tiger Woods: The Rise and Fall, which was first broadcasted in mid-June 2010, on Channel 4 in the UK, and then by other media worldwide since that time. In her interview on the program, Siwik-Daniels, based in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, claimed that she and Woods had had a relationship lasting three years, with Woods paying to have her travel by air to meet him for trysts at several golf tournaments around the United States. Siwik-Daniels said that Woods had asked her to quit her porn career, since he was bothered by watching her videos. Siwik-Daniels said she had become pregnant by Woods on two occasions, with one pregnancy ending in a miscarriage, and the other ending in an abortion. Siwik-Daniels retained celebrity divorce lawyer Gloria Allred for a lawsuit against Woods.
Orlando waitress Mindy Lawton was interviewed as well; she claimed that she and Woods met frequently for sex, usually in the private den of his home, but sometimes in other locations, over a period of several months. One of their trysts was apparently observed and photographed, on a tip from Lawton's mother, with this information going to the National Enquirer. According to the program, the tabloid then contacted Woods's management team, with the outcome being an arrangement to cover up the affair, in exchange for Woods's appearance on the cover of a fitness magazine, and an article detailing his workout routine; the fitness magazine was part of the same publishing group as the National Enquirer. The program presented an interview with a Las Vegas madam, who stated that Woods had employed high-priced prostitutes from her agency on many occasions, either in Las Vegas or at golf tournaments around the United States, with Woods paying for flights for the women to join him at the tournaments. The program also stated that Woods likely had a child, a boy, with porn star Devin James, from a time before his marriage to Elin Nordegren; a photograph of the child was shown.[277]
Other
In a 1997 GQ profile Woods speculated on the sexual attractiveness of certain athletes: "What I can't figure out," Tiger Woods asks Vincent, the limo driver, "is why so many good-looking women hang around baseball and basketball. Is it because, you know, people always say that, like, black guys have big dicks?".[278]
On December 15, 2009, The New York Times reported that Anthony Galea, a Canadian sports doctor who had previously treated Woods, was under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly providing the drug Actovegin and human growth hormone to athletes.[279] According to the same article, Galea visited Woods at his Orlando home at least four times in February and March 2009 to administer a special blood-spinning technique, and that Woods had responded well to the treatment.
Woods has said he "believes in Buddhism... Not every aspect, but most of it."[280] In his February 19, 2010 public apology statement, Woods said that he had been raised as a Buddhist and had practiced this faith until recent years. He then said that he will turn back to Buddhism to help him turn his life around.[281]
When Woods came to Thailand for a tournament in 2000, Thai officials tried to bestow on him royal decorations, and even offered him Thai citizenship, based on his mother being Thai.[282] Although Woods said the bestowment would bring his family "a lot of honor [and] a lot of pride," he reportedly declined the offer because of tax complications.[283]
Woods has a niece named Cheyenne Woods who, as of 2009, is an amateur golfer at Wake Forest University.[284]
Woods and his former wife own a 155-foot (47 m) yacht called Privacy, berthed in Florida. The $20 million, 6,500 square feet (600 m2) vessel features a master suite, six staterooms, a theatre, gym, and Jacuzzi, and sleeps 21 people. Registered in the Cayman Islands, the boat was built for Woods by Christensen Shipyards, a Vancouver, Washington-based luxury yacht builder.[285] Woods sometimes stays on the yacht when playing tournaments at oceanside golf courses.[286][287][288] In October 2010, Woods moved into a new £30 million home on Jupiter Island with a 4-hole golf course.[289]
