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Tiger Woods started playing golf when he was two years old. This is when his father, Earl Woods started teaching him the basics of the game and from this point, he was destined to become one of the all-time great golfers. Growing up in the spotlight, Tiger Woods was a child prodigy of golf.
How many years did Tiger Woods play golf?
He was the top-ranked golfer in the world from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 consecutive weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 consecutive weeks). During this time, he won 13 of golf's major championships. The next decade of Woods' career was marked by comebacks from personal problems and injuries.
When did Tiger Woods win his first major?
Woods was named Sports Illustrated ' s 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. On April 13, 1997 , he won his first major, the Masters, in record-breaking fashion and became the tournament's youngest winner at age 21.
Why is Tiger Woods called Tiger Woods?
He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend, South Vietnamese Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger. Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods, who played for the Wake Forest University golf team and turned professional in 2012 when she made her pro debut in the LPGA Championship.
What is Tiger Woods' ethnicity?
Tiger has described his ethnic make-up as " Cablinasian " (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Ca ucasian, Bl ack, American In dian, and Asian ). Woods' first name, Eldrick, was chosen by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida).
Who is Tiger Woods?
Eldrick Tont " Tiger " Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. Woods is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time and one of the most famous athletes in history.
What college did Tiger Woods go to?
College golf career. Woods was heavily recruited by college golf powers. He chose Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA champions. He enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship and won his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, that September.
How many majors has Tiger Woods won?
He has won 15 professional major golf championships (trailing only Jack Nicklaus, who leads with 18) and 82 PGA Tour events (tied for first all time with Sam Snead ). Woods leads all active golfers in career major wins and career PGA Tour wins.
Overview
Professional career
Woods turned professional at age 20 in August 1996 and immediately signed advertising deals with Nike, Inc. and Titleist that ranked as the most lucrative endorsement contracts in golf history at that time. Woods was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. On April 13, 1997, he won his first major, the Masters, in record-breaking fashion a…
Background and family
Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, to Earl and Kultida "Tida" Woods. He is their only child and has two half-brothers and a half-sister from his father's first marriage. Earl was a retired U.S. Army officer and Vietnam War veteran; he was born to African American parents and was also said to have had European, Native American, and possibly Chineseanc…
Early life and amateur golf career
Woods grew up in Orange County, California. He was a child prodigy who was introduced to golf before the age of two by his athletic father Earl Woods. Earl was a single-digit handicap amateur golfer who also was one of the earliest African-American college baseball players at Kansas State University. His father was a member of the military and had playing privileges at the Navy golf course beside the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, which allowed Tiger to play there. …
College golf career
Woods was heavily recruited by college golf powers. He chose Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA champions. He enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship and won his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, that September. He selected a major in economics and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammate Notah Begay III. In 1995, he successfully defended his U.S. Amateur title at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Islandand wa…
Playing style
When Woods first joined the PGA Tourin 1996, his long drives had a large impact on the world of golf, but he did not upgrade his equipment in the following years. He insisted upon the use of True Temper Dynamic Gold steel-shafted clubs and smaller steel clubheads that promoted accuracy over distance. Many opponents caught up to him, and Phil Mickelson even made a joke in 2003 about Woods u…
Other ventures
The TGR Foundationwas established in 1996 by Woods and his father Earl as the Tiger Woods Foundation with the primary goal of promoting golf among inner-city children. The foundation has conducted junior golf clinics across the country, and sponsors the Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team in the Junior World Golf Championships. As of December 2010, TWF employe…
Personal life
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. 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 in B…