Tiger Woods celebrates his 50th birthday. We look back on a professional career that will remain nearly unbeatable.
Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, to Kultida Woods, originally from Thailand, and Earl Woods, a United States Army lieutenant colonel. Nicknamed \”Tiger\” by his father in honor of a Vietnam War comrade, Woods grew up on the U.S. West Coast in the Greater Los Angeles area with two half-brothers and a half-sister. At six months old, young Tiger was said to mimic his father’s golf swings, and shortly before his second birthday, he appeared on the Mike Douglas Show as a golf prodigy, demonstrating swings and putts on television with comedian Bob Hope alongside his father.
Path to College Star and Amateur Champion
Tiger Woods’ early successes began at age eight when he won his first major amateur tournament, the Junior World Golf Championship in 1984. He accrued further junior amateur titles and, in 1994, won the NCAA title for Stanford University in California, where he studied economics, gaining nationwide recognition in the U.S.
He started his professional career in August 1996, simultaneously signing the most lucrative endorsement deals in golf history at the time, including a $40 million contract with sportswear giant Nike. In his rookie season, he won two tournaments and qualified for the Tour Championship. After that season, Sports Illustrated named him \”Sportsman of the Year,\” and the PGA Tour honored him as Rookie of the Year.
Woods’ first major victory came in 1997 at the Masters Tournament at Augusta National, where he triumphed with a score of 18 under par and a 12-stroke lead. This made him the first Masters champion of color in a sport previously dominated by white players. In June 1997, just 42 weeks after turning professional, Woods became the world number one in golf rankings for the first time.
