After winning six junior championships between the ages of eight and 15, Tiger went on to become the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur Champion in history, a feat he would repeat the following year, making him also the only player to ever win more than once. He would even go on to win it for a third consecutive time the following year. At 16 he competed in the Nissan Los Angeles Open, his first PGA Tour event. At 18, Woods won the U.S. Amateur Championship, the youngest to accomplish this feat. Next, he enrolled at Stanford University and at 19 successfully defended his Amateur Championship title, the second of three consecutive titles.In August 1996 Tiger turned pro and immediately was approached by Nike and Titleist to sign endorsement deals worth a total of $60 million. On the golf course he nearly earned his first million through his play in just eight events. Subsequently he was named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine. In 1997, at age 21, Tiger became the youngest winner of The Masters tournament, his first major win, setting a record for the largest margin of victory ever at the event (an astounding 12 strokes). He also led the tour in earnings with a record $2.06 million; and in just his 42nd week as a pro Woods had claimed the number-one spot in the world golf rankings.
1998 would prove to be a bit of a slump for Tiger. While focusing more on improving his swing than winning, due to his changing body, he only won one event and dipped to fourth overall on the money list. This was somewhat a good thing, because at the onset of his career there was criticism and speculation about the possibility that Tiger was so good that he would ultimately be bad for the game. His early run of domination led some to believe that the sport would become less competitive as it seemed no one could catch him or compete evenly with him. But in 1999, Tiger bounced back and began a period of sheer dominance over every other golfer. He entered 21 events and won eight (including the final four events of the year), finishing in the top ten 16 times. He shattered the previous mark for yearly earnings with $6.6 million. Tiger began 2000 in true form, winning the first two events to increase his consecutive win streak to six, the longest such streak since 1948 when Ben Hogan accomplished the feat. Next, he went on to win the U.S. Open by the largest margin of strokes in a major at 15; and after four years as a pro he became the all-time tour money winner. He finished the year winning three consecutive majors after a fifth-place finish at The Masters, becoming only the second player in history (after Ben Hogan) to win three in a single season.
Tiger began the 2001 season by winning The Masters to become the reigning champ in all four majors concurrently and the first player to win each major consecutively, though not in the same season. In 2002, he won his third Masters and his second U.S. Open, the sixth and seventh of his 11 career majors. But Tiger's game declined over the next few years, and speculation arose that he was indeed human after all. In 2003 he won five of the 18 tournaments he participated in, but none of those were in any of the majors. In 2004, after a record 264 weeks at the top, Tiger lost the number-one ranking to Fijian Vijay Singh. However, that same year he passed the career earnings mark of $40 million, the first player ever to do so.Early in 2005, Tiger won the Buick Invitational, putting him on the fast track back to possible golf dominance. Next, he defeated Chris DiMarco on a playoff hole to win The Masters for the fourth time, joining Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the only other golfer to win the event four or more times. Tiger also won his second British Open, which put him in the company of Jack Nicklaus as the only two golfers to win each major twice. In April, he regained his number-one ranking from Singh, and the two flip-flopped first and second for a couple months before Tiger began breaking away.
So far, during two periods of his career he has slumped, citing focus on honing his swing each time, after which he successfully rebounded. But interest in the game has remained, and since Tiger began professional play televised golf ratings have steadily raised and currently top baseball and basketball. However, viewership skyrockets when Tiger is playing well or leading. In turn, despite the negative press at the beginning of his career, Tiger has almost single-handedly revolutionized the game, spawning a huge boom of interest in the sport by casual viewers.
Throughout the course of his illustrious career, Tiger has won 10 Majors, 46 PGA Tournaments, and a combined 36 wins between the Asian Tour, PGA European Tour, World Cup of Golf, and several other unofficial events. He's established several charity organizations, including the Tiger Woods Foundation, a charity that benefits children, which he created with his father.
Professional Golf Player - Tiger Woods (Also known as Tiger, Eldrick)
born : Eldrick Woods, United States of America 1975, December 30
famous for : Being one of the most successful golfers of all time and for promoting the game of golf among those of different races because of his multiracial ethnicity.lives: USA.Tiger Woods was born on the 30th of December, 1975 as "Eldrick Woods". Tiger Woods was born to parents "Earl Woods" and mother "Kultida Woods" in Cypress, California. His parents are of mixed racial backgrounds with his father being African American/Caucasian and mother being Thai/Chinese (born in Thailand).Tiger Woods got his nickname "Tiger" from "Vuong Dang Phong", a Vietnamese soldier/friend of his father (who was lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army that served in the Vietnam War). Woods was interested in golf from a very young age, entering competitions at just 8 years of age. His winning ways started very early with the "Optimist International Junior" golf tournament being won by the young Tiger Woods 6 times at the ages of 8, 9, 12, 13, 14 & 15 years.
At the age of 16 in 1992 Tiger Woods played in his first professional golf tournament. He moved from the amateur circuit to become a professional golfer in 1996. The following year the young golfer won the prestigious Masters Tournament by an amazing 12 shots. At the young age of just 21 and just 42 weeks after turning professional, Tiger Woods was ranked the number 1 golfer in the world and was the youngest to ever have the number 1 Official World Golf Ranking.
Tiger Woods has won many of the most prestigious golfing tournaments in the world, including the US Masters, US Open, British Open, and PGA Championship. His tournament earnings have totaled more than a million US dollars every year since 1997, making him one of the highest all time money earners of the game. Woods is also one of the most well known faces in golf, which has made him very wealthy through lucrative sponsorships and endorsement contracts from some the major sporting brands in the world. His earnings from sponsorships surpass his golf tournament winnings..
Tiger Woods Golf Tournament Earnings by Year
1996 Tournament earnings - $790,594
1997 Tournament earnings - $ 2,066,833
1998 Tournament earnings - $ 1,841,117
1999 Tournament earnings - $ 6,616,585
2000 Tournament earnings - $ 9,188,321
2001 Tournament earnings - $ 6,687,777
2002 Tournament earnings - $ 6,912,625
2003 Tournament earnings - $ 6,673,413
2004 Tournament earnings - $ 5,365,472
2005 Tournament earnings - $ 10,628,024
2006 Tournament earnings - $ 9,941,563
2007 Tournament earnings - $ 10,867,052
Tiger Woods is married to the Swedish model Elin Nordegren. The couple had their first child in 2007, a daughter called Sam Alexis Woods.Athlete. Born Eldrick Tont Woods on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, as the only child of an African-American Army officer father and a Thai mother. His father began calling Woods by the nickname "Tiger" in honor of a fellow soldier and friend who had the same moniker.
Woods learned to play golf as a child. His father, Earl, served as his teacher and mentor. Around the age of eight, Woods had become extremely proficient at the game, showing off his skills on such television shows as Good Morning America.
He studied at Stanford University, and won a number of amateur U.S. golf titles before turning professional in 1996. Woods shot to fame after winning the U.S. Masters at Augusta in 1997—with a record score of 270—at the age of 21. Woods was the youngest man to earn the title, and the first African-American to accomplish this feat.
In his first appearance at the British Open later that year, Woods tied the course record of 64. The next few years brought even more successes, including four US PGA titles, three U.S. Open wins, three Open Championship wins, and three U.S. Masters wins.
In 2003, among Woods' five wins were the Buick Invitational and the Western Open. The next year, Woods won only one official PGA Tour championship. While he may have had some challenges on the course, his personal life was running smoothly. Woods married his longtime girlfriend Elin Nordegren, a Swedish model, in October of 2004.
Returning to dominate the sport, he won six championships in 2005 and was voted the PGA Tour Player of Year for the seventh time in nine years.
Woods experienced a great personal loss in 2006. His father died in May after battling prostate cancer. Woods remarked on his website at the time, "My dad was my best friend and greatest role model, and I will miss him deeply." Despite his grief, Woods returned to golf and won several events, including the PGA championship and the British Open.
The next season was marked by many wins personally and professionally. His wife gave birth to the couple's first child, Sam Alexis Woods, on June 18, 2007. After taking some time off to welcome his daughter, he won the World Golf Championship and US PGA Championship in August 2007.
The next month, Woods' winning ways continued, garnering the top spot at the BMW Championship and The Tour Championship. He was named Player of the Year by the other participants in the PGA Tour and won his eighth Arnold Palmer Award for being the lead money earner on the tour.
Woods won the U.S. Open on June 16, 2008, in a 19-hole playoff, overcoming sporadic pain in his left knee from arthroscopic surgery performed on April 15. Woods shot a par four on the first and only hole of sudden death while American Rocco Mediate, 45, settled for a bogey.
The sudden death duel at Torrey Pines in San Diego followed an 18-hole playoff, which saw the two finish at par. In that playoff, Woods led Mediate by three shots after the first ten holes. Mediate then birdied three of the next five holes and took the lead. But on the final hole, Woods birdied while Mediate shot par, forcing the sudden death playoff."I think this is probably the best ever," Woods said. "All things considered, I don't know how I ended up in this position, to be honest with you." The victory gave Woods his third U.S. Open championship and 14th major title. He's now just four behind the all-time record held by Jack Nicklaus.
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