In a world of sports, there are always athletes which are more famous than other athletes. Everybody knows about Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and how can you not know the Big 3 of tennis, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
In the world of golf, the big names would be Arnold Palmer, Sam Sneads, Jack Nicklaus and of course, Tiger Woods. Woods is one of the biggest names in golf, one of the most popular and most famous, not to mention, richest athletes in the world. It is rare that a single person is synonymous with a sport, but Woods is, particularly for people who are unfamiliar with golf. Here is more on Tiger Woods, a brief overview of his career and achievements.
Early Life and Start of Career
Tiger Woods, under the name of Eldrick Tont Woods, son to Earl Woods and Kultida Woods, was born in 1975. He was introduced to golf at a very early age, because of his father. His father was an athletic person, interested in multiple sports, from baseball to golf, which is how Tiger was introduced to the sport. Earl had access to a Navy golf course because of his military career, located at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, so that means Tiger also had where to practice.
Other than being a child prodigy he also graduated from Western High School in Anaheim and enrolled at Stanford University. He was highly invested in golf at the time and dropped out of university to pursue a professional career in 1996.
Professional Career
The professional career of Tiger Woods started in 1996, at the age of 20. He immediately signed with Nike, for an endorsement deal which was unheard of at the time, particularly for such a young athlete.
His first major win was a major tournament, the Masters in 1997. The way the tournament was won, however, is what captivated most people’s attention. At the time, he was so good that people wondered whether he was good for the sport of golf, given that the competition would be fighting for second place, rather than first.
In 1999, he won eight tournaments, as well as the PGA Championship, something not done since 1974, when Johnny Miller did the same.
Woods, being myopic, had a second laser eye surgery in 1999 and proceeded to win in the following years.
He had an amazing 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006 season. His wins were intermittent from 2007 to 2019. In 2019 he won the Masters once more, the first major win after 11 years.
His 2020 season was lackluster.
2021 Car Crash
On February 23rd, Tiger Woods was involved in a rollover crash in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. He was the single person in the vehicle, a Genesis GV80. Woods sustained multiple injuries, particularly to his legs, some of which were open fractures. His life was not in danger, however.
Tiger Woods, the world’s most famous golfer, after his 2021 car crash, might not return to the professional scene, although Woods is known for his surprises.