Woods, Tiger (1975-…), an American golfer, created a sensation in the sports world with his brilliant play. Woods is known for his long, accurate drives, his complete game, and his competitive intensity.
Woods became the youngest golfer to win the four major tournaments in a career. He is also the first professional player to hold all four major titles at the same time. The four “majors” are the Masters Tournament, the United States Open, the British Open, and the U.S. PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) Championship. Woods holds or shares the record for the lowest total score for each tournament. He won his first Masters in 1997 at age 21, becaming the youngest golfer and the first with African American heritage to win the tournament. Woods won the Masters again in 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2019. He won the U.S. PGA Championship in 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2007; the U.S. Open in 2000, 2002, and 2008; and the British Open in 2000, 2005, and 2006.
From 1998 to 2005, Woods “made the cut” in a record 142 consecutive tournaments. To make a cut, a golfer must shoot a score low enough in the early rounds of a tournament to qualify for the final two rounds. Woods was ranked the number-one golfer in the world for a record 281 straight weeks from June 2005 to October 2010. He was ranked number one again for 60 weeks from March 2013 to May 2014. In 2013, Woods won his 79th PGA tournament, the second most career PGA victories behind Sam Snead’s 82 wins. Woods tied Snead’s record of 82 wins when he claimed victory in a PGA tournament in October 2019.
Beginning in 2009, Woods struggled on the PGA tour as he dealt with injuries and personal problems. He was able to enter only a few tournaments, either finishing low in the standings or dropping out during the tournaments because of physical problems. Woods’s performance improved dramatically in 2018. He finished sixth in the U.S. Open and second in the PGA Championship. It was the first year Woods finished in the top 10 twice in major tournaments since 2010, when he finished fourth in both the Masters and U.S. Open. At the end of the 2018 season, Woods won the Tour Championship, his first victory on the PGA tour since 2013. In 2019, he won the Masters Tournament, his first major since 2008.
Eldrick Woods was born in Cypress, California, on Dec. 30, 1975. His father named him “Tiger” after an Army buddy. Woods won the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in 1991, 1992, and 1993. He won the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1994, 1995, and 1996. He won the Division I men’s title in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships in 1996 while attending Stanford University. Woods turned professional in 1996. He won two tournaments as a pro that year.
Woods has had a great international impact on golf because of his diverse ethnic background, which is African American, Native American, Chinese, European, and Thai. He has written an instructional guide called How I Play Golf (2001) as well as an account of his first Masters victory, The 1997 Masters: My Story (2017). Woods has also designed or redesigned several golf courses. In 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, for his successful comeback.
