Tiger Woods celebrates his 50th birthday. We look back on a professional career that will remain nearly unreachable.
Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, to Kultida Woods, originally from Thailand, and Earl Woods, a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. Nicknamed \”Tiger\” as a child by his father in honor of a Vietnam War comrade, he grew up with two half-brothers and a half-sister in the greater Los Angeles area. Legend has it that Woods was mimicking his father's golf swings at just six months old and appeared as a golf prodigy with his father on the Mike Douglas Show shortly before his second birthday.
Path to College Star and Amateur Champion
Tiger Woods first tasted success at age eight, winning the Junior World Golf Championship in 1984. More junior amateur titles followed until he gained nationwide recognition in 1994 by winning the NCAA title while studying economics at Stanford University in California.
He turned professional in August 1996, signing unprecedented endorsement deals including a $40 million contract with Nike. In his debut season, he won two tournaments and qualified for the Tour Championship. He was named Sports Illustrated’s \”Sportsman of the Year\” and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
His first major victory came in 1997 when he won The Masters at Augusta National with a record 18 under par and a 12-stroke lead, becoming the first person of color to win this traditionally white-dominated tournament. Just 42 weeks after turning pro, he became world number one for the first time.
Tiger Woods first Masters win 1997. (Photo: Getty)
The Tiger Slam: Unprecedented Dominance
Woods' subsequent successes are unparalleled. After winning the PGA Championship in 1999, he achieved the Tiger Slam by holding all four major titles simultaneously in 2000 and 2001, a unique feat in modern golf. Dominating the PGA Tour in the late 1990s and 2000s, he accumulated 14 major titles, completing his 15th with the Masters win in 2019. He shares the record for 82 PGA Tour wins with Sam Snead and featured in eight Ryder Cups for Team USA, winning only once in 1999.
His playing style combined