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Tiger Woods

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

Eldrick "Tiger" Woods

Personal Information
Birth: December 30, 1975,
Cypress, California
Height: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
Nationality: Flag of United States United States
Residence: Jupiter Island, Florida
Career
College: Stanford University for 2 years, did not graduate
Turned Professional: 1996
Current Tour: PGA Tour joined 1996
Professional wins: 74, PGA Tour 54, other individual 18, 2-man team 2
Majors: Masters 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005
U.S. Open 2000, 2002
The Open Championship 2000, 2005, 2006
PGA Championship 1999, 2000, 2006
Awards: Rookie of the Year 1996
No. 1, PGA Tour Money List 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006
PGA Tour Player of the Year 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006
Vardon Trophy 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
Byron Nelson Award
1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006
Mark H. McCormack Award 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

Eldrick "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975 in Cypress, California) is an American golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, Woods was the highest paid professional athlete in 2005, having earned an estimated $87 million.[1] In 2006, at the age of 30, he won his eleventh and twelfth professional major golf championships[2] and has more wins on the PGA Tour than any other active golfer. He is the only active golfer currently in the top 10 in either career major wins or career PGA Tour wins.

Woods, who is multiracial, is credited with prompting a major surge of interest in the game of golf among minorities and young people in the United States.[3]


Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Amateur career

Woods was a child prodigy who began to play golf at the age of two. In 1978, he demonstrated his golf skills in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. At age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC's That's Incredible.[4] In 1984, he won the 9–10 boys' event at the Junior World Golf Championships. He was only eight years old at the time, but 9–10 was the youngest age group available. Woods went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991. Woods won the U.S. Junior Amateur title in 1991, 1992, and 1993; he remains the event's youngest-ever and only multiple winner. He then won three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles over the next three years, the only person to achieve this feat. He was a member of the American team at the 1994 World Amateur Golf Team Championships. With his first US Amateur win in 1994, he became the youngest player ever to win that event. In 1994, he enrolled at Stanford University where he stayed two years, winning one NCAA individual golf championship. His teammates jokingly nicknamed him "Urkel", a reference to the nerd character Steve Urkel from the 1990s sitcom Family Matters. He left college after two years to become a professional golfer.

[edit] Professional career

Tiger Woods giving a driving demonstration aboard the USS George Washington.
Enlarge
Tiger Woods giving a driving demonstration aboard the USS George Washington.

With the announcement, "Hello World,"[5] Tiger Woods became a professional golfer in August 1996, playing his first round of professional golf at the Greater Milwaukee Open. Woods tied for 60th place in his pro debut, but he would go on to win two events in the next three months, and was named 1996's "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated for the impact he had on the game of golf. He was also named PGA Rookie of the Year by the PGA Tour, and is the only golfer to win PGA Player of the Year in the year following his rookie season.[6] The following April, Woods won his first golf major, The Masters, by a record margin of 12 strokes, and in the process set 20 Masters records and tied 6 others. He has been the highest-profile golfer in the world ever since. On June 15, 1997,[7] Woods rose to the number one spot in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time.

While expectations for Woods were high, Woods' form began to fade in the second half of 1997, and in 1998 he only won one PGA Tour event. Woods answered the critics of his "slump" and what seemed to be his wavering form by maintaining that he was undergoing extensive swing changes with his coach, Butch Harmon,[8] and was hoping to do better in the future.

In June 1999, Woods won the Memorial Tournament, a victory that marked the beginning of perhaps one of the greatest sustained periods of dominance in the history of men's golf. He would go on to win seventeen PGA Tour events in the two calendar years that followed, and 32 in the next five, achievements that had not been rivaled in several decades. He completed his 1999 campaign by winning his last four starts, and finishing the season with eight wins — a feat that had not been achieved in the past 25 years. Also in late 1999, Woods embarked on a record-setting streak of 264 consecutive weeks atop the Official World Golf Rankings. He has been number one in the rankings more weeks than anyone. During the run, Woods won seven out of the eleven major championships, starting with the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club and finishing with the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Woods broke Old Tom Morris's record for the largest victory margin ever in a major championship, which had stood since 1862, with his 15-shot win in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

Woods rang in the new millennium with his fifth consecutive victory and began what would be a record-setting season, where he would win three consecutive majors, 9 PGA Tour events, and set or tie 27 TOUR records. He went on to capture his sixth consecutive victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a comeback for the ages. Trailing by seven strokes with seven holes to play, Woods finished eagle-birdie-par-birdie for a 64 and a two-stroke victory. His six consecutive wins were the most since Hogan in 1948 and only five behind Byron Nelson’s record of 11 in a row. In the 2000 Open Championship at St Andrews, which he won by eight strokes, Woods set the record for lowest score to par (−19) in any major tournament, and he holds at least a share of that record in all four major championships. His major championship streak was seriously threatened at the 2000 PGA Championship, however, when Bob May went head-to-head with Woods on Sunday at Valhalla in Louisville, matching Woods stroke-for-stroke. Woods only escaped with his third straight major after winning a three-hole playoff, with a heart-pumping birdie on the first hole and pars on the next two. The next season, Woods went back to dominating: his 2001 Masters win marked the only time — within the era of the modern "grand slam" — that any player was the holder of all four major championship titles at the same time. This feat has become known as the "Tiger Slam". His adjusted scoring average of 67.79 in 2000 was the lowest in PGA Tour history, lower than his 68.43 average in 1999. His actual scoring average of 68.17 in 2000 was the lowest in PGA Tour history as well, besting Byron Nelson's 68.33 average in 1945.

The next phase of Woods' career saw him remain among the top competitors on the tour, but lose his dominating edge. He did not win a major in 2003 or 2004, falling to second in the PGA Tour money list in 2003 and fourth in 2004. In September 2004, Woods' record streak as the world's top-ranked golfer came to an end at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Massachusetts, when Vijay Singh won the tournament and overtook Woods in the rankings. Even though no one has held the number one ranking for more total weeks than Woods, many commentators were puzzled by Woods' "slump," offering explanations that ranged from Woods' rift with swing coach Butch Harmon to his recent marriage to Elin Nordegren. At the same time, Woods let it be known that he was once again working on changes to his swing — this time in hopes of reducing the wear and tear on his surgically-repaired left knee, which was subjected to severe stress in the 1998–2003 version of his swing.[9][10] Again, Woods anticipated that once the adjustments were complete, he would return to his previous form.

Following the 2004 Masters Tournament, Woods went with his father, Retired Colonel Earl Woods, to Fort Bragg, N.C. Earl Woods wanted his son to learn first hand how military personnel "look out for each other, support each other and love each other." For four days Woods trained with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Woods later compared the mental toughness required to play golf to the training he received.[11]

In the 2005 PGA Tour season, Woods quickly returned to his winning ways. On March 6, 2005 he outplayed Phil Mickelson to win the Ford Championship at Doral, and returned to the Official World Golf Rankings' number one position in the process (though Singh displaced him once again two weeks later). On April 10, 2005, Woods finally broke his "drought" in the majors by winning the 2005 Masters in a tie-breaking playoff (after holing a historic chip-in on the 16th hole), which also assured him the number one spot in the World Rankings again. Singh and Woods swapped the number 1 position several times over the next couple of months, but by early July, Woods had established a substantial advantage, propelled further by a victory in the Open Championship, a win that also gave him his 10th major. Woods went on to win six official money events on the PGA Tour in 2005, topping the money list for the sixth time in his career. Woods' 2005 wins also included two at the World Golf Championships.

For Woods, the year 2006 was markedly different from 2005. While he began just as dominantly (winning the first two tournaments he entered on the year) and was in the hunt for his fifth Masters championship in April, Woods surprisingly never mounted a Sunday charge to defend his title at Augusta, allowing Phil Mickelson to claim the green jacket. Shortly thereafter (May 3, 2006), Woods' father/mentor/inspiration, Earl, died after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. The loss was devastating to Woods, who took a nine-week-long hiatus from the PGA Tour to be with his family in the wake of Earl's death. When he finally returned for the 2006 U.S. Open, the rust was evident — he would eventually miss the cut at Winged Foot, the first time he had failed to qualify for the weekend at a major in his professional career, and thereby ending his record-tying streak of 39 consecutive cuts made at major championships. A tie for second at the Western Open just three weeks later went a long way toward silencing doubts about his game, though, and Woods seemed poised to defend his Open crown at Hoylake despite his grief. At The Open Championship, Woods would stage a tour de force in successful course management, putting, and accuracy with irons. Using almost exclusively long irons off the tee (he hit driver only one time the entire week — the 16th hole of the first round), Woods missed just four fairways all week (hitting the fairway 86 percent of the time), and his score of -18 to par (three eagles, 19 birdies, 43 pars, and only seven bogeys) was just one off of his major championship record -19, set at St Andrews in 2000. The victory was an emotional one for Woods, who dedicated his play to his father's memory. Several weeks later, at the PGA Championship, Woods once again won in dominating fashion. He finished the tournament at -18 to par and added more records to his already-impressive resume, equaling the to-par record in the PGA that he shares with Bob May. Woods now holds at least a share of the scoring record in relation to par in all four majors, and also holds the margin of victory record in two majors, The Masters and the U.S. Open. (Old Tom Morris holds this record in the The Open Championship, and Nicklaus holds this record in the PGA Championship.)

As of October 2006, Woods has won 54 official money events on the PGA Tour and at 30 years and 7 months old became the youngest to the 50-win mark. He also has 18 other individual professional titles, and two team titles in the two-man WGC-World Cup. With his victory at the 2006 WGC-American Express Championship, he became the first player in PGA Tour history to win at least eight times in three seasons. It also placed him tied for 2nd for the longest PGA Tour win streak at 6 straight, tied with himself (99–00) and Ben Hogan (1948). Only Byron Nelson's streak of 11 wins in 1945 is longer. He has successfully defended a title 16 times on the PGA Tour, has finished runner-up 20 times, and has won 27% (54 out of 200) of his professional starts on the PGA Tour. He has a 38–3 winning record when leading after 54 holes in TOUR events, and owns the lowest career scoring average and the most career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history. Woods is one of five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player) to have won all four professional major championships in his career (known as the "Career Grand Slam"). Bobby Jones won all four of what were in his era considered major championships. With Woods's win in The Open Championship of 2005, he became the second golfer, after Nicklaus to have won all four majors more than once. At the 2003 TOUR Championship, it was widely reported in the print media that he set "an all-time record for most consecutive cuts", starting in 1998, with 114 (passing Byron Nelson's previous record of 113) and that he extended this mark to 142 before it ended on May 13, 2005 at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.[12] Many[13][14][15][16] consider this to be one of the most remarkable golf accomplishments of all time, given the margin by which he broke the old record (and against stronger fields in terms of depth than those in Nelson's day)[17][18][19] and given that during the streak, the next longest streak by any other player was usually only in the 10s or 20s.

Woods won the "World Sportsman of the Year" award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000 and 2001. He is the only individual two-time winner of Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award (1996, 2000).

When Woods turned pro, Mike "Fluff" Cowan was his caddie until March 8, 1999.[20] He was replaced by Steve Williams, who has become a close friend of Woods and is often credited with helping Woods with key shots and putts.[21]

[edit] Playing style

When Woods burst onto the professional golf scene in 1996, one of the things that made the biggest impact with fans was his long driving. However, when he did not upgrade his equipment in the following years (insisting upon the use of True Temper Dynamic Gold steel-shafted clubs and smaller steel clubheads that promoted accuracy over distance), many opponents caught up to him, a trend that became all too obvious during the 2002–2003 PGA Tour seasons — Phil Mickelson would even make a joke in 2003 about Woods using "inferior equipment", which did not sit well with either Nike or Woods. During 2004, Woods finally upgraded his driver technology to a larger clubhead and graphite shaft, which coupled with his prodigious clubhead speed to make him one of the Tour's lengthier players off the tee once again.

Despite his power advantage, Woods has always focused on developing an excellent all-around game. Although in recent years he has typically been near the bottom of the Tour rankings in driving accuracy,[22] his iron play is generally as accurate as any player ever to play (including Jack Nicklaus), his recovery and bunker play is often brilliant (for example, his miraculous 30-foot chip-in at Augusta's 16th during the 2005 Masters), and his putting (especially under pressure) is possibly his greatest asset. He is largely responsible for a shift to higher standards of athleticism amongst professional golfers, and is known for putting in more hours of practice than most.[citation needed]

Early in his professional career, Woods worked almost exclusively with leading swing coach Butch Harmon, but since March 2004, he has been coached by Hank Haney. In June 2004, Woods was involved in a media spat with Harmon, who also works as a golf broadcaster, when Harmon suggested that he was in "denial" about the problems in his game, but they publicly patched up their differences.

Although he is considered one of the most charismatic figures in golf's history, Woods' approach is, at its core, cautious. He aims for consistency. Although he is better than any other Tour player when he is in top form, his dominance comes not from regularly posting extremely low rounds, but instead from avoiding bad rounds. To illustrate, the standard deviations of Woods' 18-hole scores are typically lower than those of most Tour players.[citation needed] Woods plays fewer tournaments than most professionals (20–23 per year, compared to the typical 25–30), and focuses his efforts on preparing for (and peaking at) the Majors and the most prestigious of the other tournaments. Woods' manner off of the course is cautious as well, as he carries himself in interviews and public appearances with a carefully controlled demeanor reminiscent of the corporate athlete persona developed between Nike and Michael Jordan. One of the few breaches of Woods' fan-friendly image occurred during the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, on the 18th tee in the second round. Using a driver, Woods snap-hooked his tee shot into the Pacific Ocean, then let loose with a stream of expletives that NBC's microphones broadcast live. The USGA received several calls from offended viewers, and Woods quickly apologized.

Though he is known to be extremely focused and almost machine-like during tournaments, many golfers have mentioned how Woods is easy to get along with and has a good sense of humor. John Daly mentioned in his autobiography that "Tiger Woods is one of my favorite golfers to play with. The kid is an absolute riot and is just hysterical. Everyone who thinks he is just robotic during tournaments needs to walk 18 holes with him to realize how funny and genuine of a guy he really is."

Woods almost always wears a shirt in the shade of various reds on the final round (usually on Sundays) of every tournament in which he plays, as he believes the color red symbolizes aggression and assertiveness.[23]

[edit] Major Championships

[edit] Wins (12)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin of Victory Runners Up
1997 Masters 9 shot lead -18 (70-66-65-69=270) 12 strokes United States Tom Kite
1999 PGA Championship Tied for lead -11 (70-67-68-72=277) 1 stroke Spain Sergio García
2000 U.S. Open 10 shot lead -12 (65-69-71-67=272) 15 strokes South Africa Ernie Els, Spain Miguel Jiménez
2000 The Open Championship 6 shot lead -19 (67-66-67-69=269) 8 strokes South Africa Ernie Els, Thomas Bjørn
2000 PGA Championship (2) 1 shot lead -18 (66-67-70-67=270) Playoff United States Bob May
2001 Masters (2) 1 shot lead -16 (70-66-68-68=272) 2 strokes United States David Duval
2002 Masters (3) Tied for lead -12 (70-69-66-71=276) 3 strokes South Africa Retief Goosen
2002 U.S. Open (2) 4 shot lead -3 (67-68-70-72=277) 3 strokes United States Phil Mickelson
2005 Masters (4) 3 shot lead -12 (74-66-65-71=276) Playoff United States Chris DiMarco
2005 The Open Championship (2) 2 shot lead -14 (66-67-71-70=274) 5 strokes Colin Montgomerie
2006 The Open Championship (3) 1 shot lead -18 (67-65-71-67=270) 2 strokes United States Chris DiMarco
2006 PGA Championship (3) Tied for lead -18 (69-68-65-68=270) 5 strokes United States Shaun Micheel

[edit] Records and trivia

In all of his major victories, he has had the outright lead or a share of the lead after the third round.

Woods also won the Silver Medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship in 1996 before he turned professional.

After his victory in the 2000 PGA Championship, Tiger Woods became only the second player in professional golfing history to hold three majors in the same year at the same time. This matched Ben Hogan's feat in 1953.

With his victory in The Masters in 2001, Woods became the only player ever to hold all four professional majors at once (although this did not occur in a calendar year, and is therefore not considered a true Grand Slam). The achievement has been nicknamed "The Tiger Slam".

Tiger Woods and Lee Trevino have been the only two players to have captured the three national opens (U.S., British, and Canadian) in one year: Trevino in 1971 and Woods in 2000.

In the 2006 PGA Championship, Woods made only three bogeys, tying the record for fewest bogeys in a major.

Woods holds at least a share of the record for lowest 72-hole score in relation to par in all four majors, and at least a share of the low-72 holes record in two of them. Note that the "to par" and "low 72-holes" records are not always the same because, while most championship golf courses have a par of 72, or 288 for four rounds, some have a par of 71 or 70:

  • The Masters: −18 (270), 1997 (outright to-par and low 72 holes record)
  • US Open: −12 (272), 2000 (outright to par record)
  • The Open Championship: −19 (269), 2000 (outright to-par record)
  • PGA Championship: −18 (270), 2000; −18 (270), 2006 (to-par record shared with Bob May)
    • David Toms holds the low 72-holes record at 265.

The above performances have also given him the record for victory margin in two majors:

  • The Masters: 12 strokes, 1997
  • U.S. Open: 15 strokes, 2000 (record for all majors)

Woods is the only player to have won multiple professional majors in consecutive years, 2005 and 2006. Bobby Jones won multiple majors in consecutive years in 1926 and 1927 [24], when the US Amateur and the British Amateur were both considered majors.[25]

Woods has won two or more majors in a year four times. He trails only Nicklaus, who won two majors in a season five times (1963, '66, '72, '75 and '80).[26][27]

Woods is one of the few players to have finished in the Top 5 in all four majors in a year. He has done this twice, first in 2000 and then in 2005.

Woods and Bobby Jones are the only golfers to have won 10 majors before the age of 30. Jones achieved 13 major victories in 21 attempts,[28] making his winning percentage 62 percent, while Woods achieved 10 wins in 44 attempts for a winning ratio of 23 percent. When Woods' three consecutive US Junior Amateur wins and three consecutive US Amateur wins are included, Woods can be said to have won 16 'majors' before age 30 in 50 attempts for a winning ratio of 32 percent.

[edit] Results timeline

Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters T41 LA CUT 1 T8 T18
U.S. Open WD T82 T19 T18 T3
The Open Championship T68 T22 LA T24 3 T7
PGA Championship DNP DNP T29 T10 1
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
The Masters 5 1 1 T15 T22 1 T3
U.S. Open 1 T12 1 T20 T17 2 CUT
The Open Championship 1 T25 T28 T4 T9 1 1
PGA Championship 1 T29 2 T39 T24 T4 1

LA = Low Amateur
DNP = did not play
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Summary of major championship performances:

  • Starts – 46
  • Wins – 12
  • 2nd place finishes – 2
  • Top 3 finishes – 17
  • Top 5 finishes – 20
  • Top 10 finishes – 24
  • Longest streak of top-10s in majors – 8

[edit] World Golf Championships

[edit] Wins (12)

  • WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship 2003, 2004
  • WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006
  • WGC-American Express Championship 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006
Tournament Starts Top-10s Victories Earnings ($) Scoring Average
Accenture Match Play 7 5 2 3,137,500 --
Bridgestone Invitational 8 8 5 6,602,500 67.53
American Express 7 7 5 5,962,500 68.04
Totals 22 20 12 15,702,500 67.76

[edit] Records and trivia

  • Has won at least one World Golf Championships event every year since they began in 1999
  • Has won 12 out of 22 total appearances, for an incredible 54.5% winning rate
  • Has won at least five times in two different events on the PGA Tour, trailing only Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead, who have won at least five times in three different events
  • Only player in WGC history to enter the final round outside the lead and come back to win
  • All time money leader in World Golf Championships events
  • All time wins leader in World Golf Championships events
  • Won the World Cup with David Duval in 2000, an unofficial money WGC event – a total of 13 World Golf Championships titles.

[edit] Bridgestone Invitational

  • Lowest 18-hole total – 61 (tied with José María Olazábal)
  • Lowest 36-hole total – 125
  • Lowest 54-hole total – 192
  • Lowest 72-hole total – 259
  • Largest margin of victory – 11 strokes
  • Only player to record top-10 finishes in all seven appearances

Note: All Bridgestone Invitational records were set in 2000, when the tournament was known as the NEC Invitational

[edit] American Express

  • Lowest first 18-hole total 63 set the course record at The Grove
  • Tied lowest first 18-hole total – 63
  • Lowest 36-hole total – 127
  • Largest 36-hole lead – 5 strokes
  • Lowest 54-hole total – 194
  • Largest 54-hole lead – 6 strokes
  • Lowest 72-hole total – 261
  • Largest margin of victory – 8 strokes

Note: All American Express records were set in 2006[29][30]

[edit] PGA Tour career summary

Year Majors Other wins PGA Tour wins Earnings ($) Money list rank
1996 0 2 2 790,594 24
1997 1 3 4 2,066,833 1
1998 0 1 1 1,841,117 4
1999 1 7 8 6,616,585 1
2000 3 6 9 9,188,321 1
2001 1 4 5 6,687,777 1
2002 2 3 5 6,912,625 1
2003 0 5 5 6,673,413 2
2004 0 1 1 5,365,472 4
2005 2 4 6 10,628,024 1
2006 2 6 8 9,941,563 1
Career* 12 42 54 65,712,324 1
* Complete to the end of the 2006 season.

[edit] PGA Tour wins (54)

Legend
Major Championship (12)
World Golf Championship (12)
Other PGA Tour (30)
No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of Victory Runners-up
1. October 6, 1996 Las Vegas Invitational -27 (70-63-68-67-64=332) Playoff United States Davis Love III
2. October 20, 1996 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic -21 (69-63-69-66=267) 1 stroke United States Payne Stewart
3. January 12, 1997 Mercedes Championships -14 (70-67-65=202) Playoff United States Tom Lehman
4. April 13, 1997 The Masters -18 (70-66-65-69=270) 12 strokes United States Tom Kite
5. May 18, 1997 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic -17 (64-64-67-68=263) 2 strokes United States Lee Rinker
6. July 6, 1997 Motorola Western Open -13 (67-72-68-68=275) 3 strokes New Zealand Frank Nobilo
7. May 10, 1998 BellSouth Classic -17 (69-67-63-72=271) 1 stroke United States Jay Don Blake
8. February 14, 1999 Buick Invitational -22 (68-71-62-65=266) 2 strokes United States Billy Ray Brown
9. June 6, 1999 Memorial Tournament -15 (68-66-70-69=273) 2 strokes Template:Country alias FIJ Vijay Singh
10. July 4, 1999 Motorola Western Open -15 (68-66-68-71=273) 3 strokes Canada Mike Weir
11. August 15, 1999 PGA Championship -11 (70-67-68-72=277) 1 stroke Spain Sergio García
12. August 29, 1999 NEC Invitational -10 (66-71-62-71=270) 1 stroke United States Phil Mickelson
13. October 24, 1999 National Car Rental Golf Classic Disney -17 (66-66-66-73=271) 1 stroke South Africa Ernie Els
14. October 31, 1999 The Tour Championship -15 (67-66-67-69=269) 4 strokes United States Davis Love III
15. November 11, 1999 American Express Championship -6 (71-69-70-68=278) Playoff Spain Miguel Jiménez
16. January 9, 2000 Mercedes Championships -16 (71-66-71-68=276) Playoff South Africa Ernie Els
17. February 6, 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -15 (68-73-68-64=273) 2 strokes United States Matt Gogel
18. March 19, 2000 Bay Hill Invitational -18 (69-64-67-70=270) 4 strokes United States Davis Love III
19. May 28, 2000 Memorial Tournament -19 (71-63-65-70=269) 5 strokes South Africa Ernie Els
20. June 18, 2000 U.S. Open -12 (65-69-71-67=272) 15 strokes South Africa Ernie Els, Spain Miguel Jiménez
21. July 23, 2000 The Open Championship -19 (67-66-67-69=269) 8 strokes Denmark Thomas Bjørn, South Africa Ernie Els
22. August 20, 2000 PGA Championship -18 (66-67-70-67=270) Playoff United States Bob May
23. August 27, 2000 NEC Invitational -21 (64-61-67-67=259) 11 strokes United States Justin Leonard, Wales Philip Price
24. September 10, 2000 Bell Canadian Open -22 (72-65-64-65=266) 1 stroke New Zealand Grant Waite
25. March 18, 2001 Bay Hill Invitational -15 (71-67-66-69=273) 1 stroke United States Phil Mickelson
26. March 25, 2001 The Players Championship -14 (72-69-66-67=274) 1 stroke Template:Country alias FIJ Vijay Singh
27. April 8, 2001 The Masters -16 (70-66-68-68=272) 2 strokes United States David Duval
28. June 3, 2001 Memorial Tournament -17 (68-69-68-66=271) 7 strokes United States Paul Azinger, Spain Sergio García
29. August 26, 2001 NEC Invitational -12 (66-67-66-69=268) Playoff United States Jim Furyk
30. March 17, 2002 Bay Hill Invitational -13 (67-65-74-69=275) 4 strokes New Zealand Michael Campbell
31. April 14, 2002 The Masters -12 (70-69-66-71=276) 3 strokes South Africa Retief Goosen
32. June 16, 2002 U.S. Open -3 (67-68-70-72=277) 3 strokes United States Phil Mickelson
33. August 11, 2002 Buick Open -17 (67-63-71-70=271) 4 strokes United States Fred Funk, Brian Gay, Mark O'Meara, Mexico Esteban Toledo
34. September 22, 2002 American Express Championship -25 (65-65-67-66=263) 1 stroke South Africa Retief Goosen
35. February 16, 2003 Buick Invitational -16 (70-66-68-68=272) 4 strokes Sweden Carl Pettersson
36. March 2, 2003 Accenture Match Play Championship N/A 2 & 1 United States David Toms
37. March 23, 2003 Bay Hill Invitational -19 (70-65-66-68=269) 11 strokes United States Stewart Cink, Brad Faxon, Kenny Perry, Kirk Triplett
38. July 6, 2003 100th Western Open -21 (63-70-65-69=267) 5 strokes United States Rich Beem
39. October 5, 2003 American Express Championship -6 (67-66-69-72=274) 2 strokes Australia Stuart Appleby, United States Tim Herron, Template:Country alias FIJ Vijay Singh
40. February 29, 2004 Accenture Match Play Championship N/A 3 & 2 United States Davis Love III
41. January 23, 2005 Buick Invitational -16 (69-63-72-68=272) 3 strokes England Luke Donald, United States Charles Howell III, Tom Lehman
42. March 6, 2005 Ford Championship at Doral -24 (65-70-63-66=264) 1 stroke United States Phil Mickelson
43. April 10, 2005 The Masters -12 (74-66-65-71=276) Playoff United States Chris DiMarco
44. July 17, 2005 The Open Championship -14 (66-67-71-70=274) 5 strokes Scotland Colin Montgomerie
45. August 21, 2005 NEC Invitational -6 (66-70-67-71=274) 1 stroke United States Chris DiMarco
46. October 9, 2005 American Express Championship -10 (67-68-68-67=270) Playoff United States John Daly
47. January 29, 2006 Buick Invitational -10 (71-68-67-72=278) Playoff Australia Nathan Green, Spain José María Olazábal
48. March 5, 2006 Ford Championship at Doral -20 (64-67-68-69=268) 1 stroke United States David Toms, Colombia Camilo Villegas
49. July 23, 2006 The Open Championship -18 (67-65-71-67=270) 2 strokes United States Chris DiMarco
50. August 7, 2006 Buick Open -24 (66-66-66-66=264) 3 strokes United States Jim Furyk
51. August 20, 2006 PGA Championship -18 (69-68-65-68=270) 5 strokes United States Shaun Micheel
52. August 27, 2006 Bridgestone Invitational -10 (67-64-71-68=270) Playoff United States Stewart Cink
53. September 4, 2006 Deutsche Bank Championship -20 (66-72-67-63=268) 2 strokes Template:Country alias FIJ Vijay Singh
54. October 1, 2006 American Express Championship -23 (63-64-67-67=261) 8 strokes England Ian Poulter, Australia Adam Scott

[edit] Other professional wins (20)

  • 1997 (1) Asian Honda Classic (Asian Tour)
  • 1998 (2) Johnnie Walker Classic (co-sanctioned by Asian Tour and European Tour), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event)
  • 1999 (4) Deutsche Bank Open-TPC of Europe (European Tour), World Cup of Golf: individual (unofficial event), World Cup of Golf: team (unofficial event - with Mark O'Meara), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event)
  • 2000 (2) WGC-World Cup: team (unofficial event - with David Duval), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event)
  • 2001 (4) Johnnie Walker Classic (co-sanctioned by Asian Tour and European Tour), Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe (European Tour), Williams World Challenge (United States - unofficial event), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event)
  • 2002 (2) Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe (European Tour), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event)
  • 2004 (2) Dunlop Phoenix (Japan Golf Tour), Target World Challenge (United States - unofficial event)
  • 2005 (2) Dunlop Phoenix (Japan Golf Tour), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event)
  • 2006 (1) Dubai Desert Classic (European Tour, won by playoff)

[edit] United States national team appearances

Amateur

  • Eisenhower Trophy: 1994
  • Walker Cup: 1995

Professional

  • Ryder Cup: 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006
  • Dunhill Cup: 1998
  • The Presidents Cup: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005
  • WGC-World Cup: 1999, 2000

[edit] Greatest shot

Establishing which particular shot has been the greatest ever played by Woods is subjective, but his caddy Steve Williams is in no doubt it was during the second round of 2000 PGA. Williams, who has caddied for Woods during 10 of his 12 major wins, was the subject of an hour-long documentary called The Chosen Ones, produced by SPARC, (Sport And Recreation New Zealand), and aired on Sky TV. Williams was told that a lot of people considered the holed-out chip shot at the 2005 Masters to be his best ever, and was asked "is this the one that sticks in your mind"? Williams shook his head and replied:

"Undoubtedly the greatest shot I have seen from him, and from anybody, and I don't think I will ever -- and I could caddy for another 20 years -- I will ever see a greater shot (than) during the 2000 PGA on the final hole there , 18th hole, 197 yards out of a fairway trap. (He) barely could get in the trap to make a stance, had a big lip in front of him, had a huge row of pine trees in front of him, howling crosswind left to right, uphill shot -- 99 percent of players would chip out sideways and there would be a few players might try to advance with an 8 iron. He goes in there with a 3 iron, and I mean, there's just no way. The lip was a high lip, you'd be lucky to get an 8 iron over it and he gets in there with a 3 iron, and I'm thinking this is really going to be an interesting shot here....and he knocked it there to 15ft, obviously holed the putt. We were walking up there and David Toms and Ernie Els, who were playing with us, both got their towels and put them on the ground and lay down and just bowed to him, and you know, no-one will ever hit that shot again".

[edit] Memorable shots

The following are generally regarded as the most memorable shots of Woods' career.

  • 2006 The Open Championship – Royal Liverpool – second round – 14th hole – 4-iron – 206-yard second shot, carries 196, lands on the green and bounces into the cup for an eagle, out of Woods' view.
  • 2006 Masters – Augusta National Golf Club – first round – 14th hole – 8-iron – 163 yards for an eagle, his first-ever on a par-4 in the tournament.
  • 2005 Masters – Augusta National Golf Club – final round – 16th hole – lob wedge – chip from 30 feet, from side of green, with 2nd cut of rough interfering with ball, rolled down steep slope, nearly stopped millimeters before the cup, then dropped in for birdie.
  • 2003 U.S. Open – Olympia Fields Country Club – second round – 6th hole – 3-wood – fade from semi-rough around a tree, from the wrong side of the fairway and on to the green.
  • 2003 Buick Invitational – Torrey Pines South – final round – 15th hole – 4-iron – 203 yards under branches over bunkers to green.
  • 2002 PGA Championship – Hazeltine National Golf Club – second round – 18th hole – 3-iron – 202 yard carry over tall trees from fairway bunker.
  • 2001 Players Championship – TPC at Sawgrass – third round – 17th hole – putter – 60 foot downhill putt on famous island green; eventually won by 1 stroke. Known as the "better than most" putt due to NBC announcer Gary Koch initially proclaiming the putt as merely "better than most," and then excitedly repeating the phrase as the ball wound its way towards the hole.
  • 2000 WGC – Firestone Country Club – final round – 18th hole – 8-iron – 168 yards – Tiger hits the ball 'stiff' while playing in darkness to seal the championship. Reporters later said that they struggled to see just where Tiger actually was.
  • 2000 PGA Championship – Valhalla Golf Club – final round – 18th hole – putter – 6 foot putt to force playoff and later win.
  • 2000 Bell Canadian Open – Glen Abbey Golf Club – final round – 18th hole – 6-iron – 218 yards, from a bunker, over a large pond to within 18 feet of the cup to win the tournament. Many competitors called it "the kind of shot that I wouldn't even try, let alone stick."
  • 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am – Pebble Beach – final round – 15th hole – wedge – holed out from 97 yards to eventually win from 7 strokes down with 7 holes to play.
  • 1997 Grand Slam of Golf – Poipu Bay Golf Course – final round – 16th hole – sand wedge â€