Tiger Woods grew up in California, and was born Eldrick Tont Woods. He has African American, Native American, Dutch, Thai, and Chinese ancestry. His father was an athlete, and introduced Woods to golf while his son was still a toddler. At the age of two, Tiger Woods appeared on television alongside Bob Hope and stunned audiences with his golfing prowess.
Woods won junior and amateur awards throughout his childhood and teens. He won the US Junior Amateur Championship several, and held a record for youth and number of times won for many years. He made his mark as a prodigy long before he finished high school. Woods’ prodigious golfing talent was also useful in furthering his education. He was recruited to the Stanford golf team, and was also given a scholarship. He ended up majoring in economics.
Tiger Woods officially went pro in 1996. This was the year he signed multimillion-dollar endorsement deals with Nike and Titleist, a company that makes golf equipment like balls and clubs. Once again, he made records. No other golfer had been paid such high fees for endorsement before. 1996 was a breakout year for Woods in areas other than signing contracts. He also made his first appearances in “real” professional tournaments. Though he did not win major professional championships (yet), so amazing was his potential that Sports Illustrated named him their Sportsman of the Year anyway.
The next year, 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest person ever to win The Masters. Some sources also cite him as the first African-American to do so. However, saying anything about Woods’ ethnicity and how it connects to his performance is rather complicated, given his abovementioned mixed ancestry. He won several other PGA competitions in 1997, as well. This string of victories culminated in his rise to the very top of the Official World Golf Rankings, after less than a year as a professional player.
Despite a consistently high performance in competitions, Woods is not always at the very top of his form. Following his astounding victories in 1997, he underwent a brief “slump” period. Several other such bumps in the road have occurred in his career. Sometimes, these have roots in professional occurrences, such as changes in his training regimes with his coach. Other times, the roots are personal, such as in the period immediately following his father’s death, when he (understandably) spent several weeks with his family instead of practicing, and showed up at a competition in rather rusty form. Now, following his recent marital infidelities, Woods has announced that he will not be competing, and will instead devote time to his relationship with his wife.
Now, a few words about Tiger Woods the man, not just the athlete. Though not as public with his religion as, say, Richard Gere, Tiger Woods was raised Buddhist and says that his faith has had a huge impact on his life. In fact, he attributed his infidelity to (among other things) losing touch with his religion. Woods credits Buddhism with teaching temperance and restraint, and is hoping that a renewed commitment to it will get him back on track.
Though he has been in the news lately more for his love life than for his athletic prowess, Tiger Woods was and still remains one of golf’s greatest stars. Hopefully, he can overcome present problems (and avoid future ones) so that his sports legacy does not become overshadowed by scandals.