Tiger Woods celebrates his 50th birthday. We look back on a nearly unmatched professional golf career.
Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, to Kultida Woods, who is of Thai descent, and Earl Woods, a United States Army lieutenant colonel. Nicknamed \”Tiger\” by his father in honor of a fellow soldier from the Vietnam War, Woods grew up on the West Coast near Los Angeles with two half-brothers and a half-sister. By six months old he was imitating his father’s golf swings, and shortly before his second birthday, he appeared as a golf prodigy on the Mike Douglas Show, demonstrating swings and putts alongside his father and comedian Bob Hope on television.
From College Star to Amateur Champion
Tiger Woods won his first significant amateur tournament, the Junior World Golf Championship, at the age of eight in 1984. Further junior titles followed until 1994 when he won the NCAA title while studying economics at Stanford University, gaining nationwide recognition in the U.S.
He turned professional in August 1996 and signed the most lucrative endorsement deals in golf history up to that point, including a $40 million contract with Nike. In his rookie season, he won two tournaments and qualified for the Tour Championship. He was named Sports Illustrated Athlete of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year following that season.
Woods claimed his first major victory in 1997 with an outstanding performance at the Masters, shooting 18 under par and winning by 12 strokes at Augusta National. He was the first player of African American descent to win the Masters, a significant milestone in the traditionally white-dominated professional golf world. Just 42 weeks after turning pro, he became world number one in June 1997.
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