| 1975 |
- Born Eldrick T. Woods on Dec. 30 in Southern California
to Earl Woods, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, and Kultida,
a native of Thailand. Given the nickname "Tiger" after Earl's friend Vuong Dang
Phong, a Vietnamese soldier with the same nickname.
|
| 1976 |
Six Months - Sees his father hitting golf balls into a
net and begins to imitate his swing.
|
| 1978 |
Age 2 - Appears on the Mike Douglas Show
and putts against comedian Bob Hope.
|
| 1979 |
Age 3 - Shoots a 48 over nine holes at
the Navy Golf Club in Cypress, Calif.
|
| 1981 |
Age 5 - Appears in Golf Digest magazine and on
ABC's That's Incredible.
|
| 1984 |
Age 8 - Wins the Optimist International Junior Championship.
He would repeat this win at age 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15.
|
| 1991 |
Age 15 - Becomes the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur Champion
in golf history. Voted Southern California Amateur Player of the Year
for the second consecutive year. Also voted Golf Digest Amateur Player
of the Year.
|
| 1992 |
Age 16 - Successfully defends title at the U.S.
Junior National Championships, becoming the first golfer to win the title
more than once (he would win the following year as well). Competes in his first
PGA Tour event, the Nissan Los Angeles Open.
|
| 1994 |
Age 18 - Wins the U.S. Amateur Championship at the TPC
at Sawgrass, becoming the youngest winner ever. Enrolls at Stanford University
and wins first collegiate event, the William Tucker Invitational.
|
| 1995 |
Age 19 - Defends title as U.S. Amateur
champion. Voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American,
and Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year (an award that encompasses all sports).
Participates in the Masters, his first PGA major tournament, and ties for 41st
as the only amateur to make the cut.
|
| 1996 |
Age 20 - Becomes the first golfer in history to win three
consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. Wins the NCAA individual men's championship
with a 69-67-69-80-285. Ties the British Open record for an amateur with a 75-66-70-70-281.
Turns pro in August and immediately signs endorsement
deals worth $40 million from Nike and $20 million from Titleist. Wins
the Las Vegas International and the Disney/Oldsmobile Classic—earning
close to $800,000 in just eight events. Voted Sports Illustrated Sportsman
of the Year.
|
| 1997 |
Age 21 - Leading money winner on the PGA Tour with a record
$2,066,833 in earnings. Wins first major championship, The Masters, by an amazing
12 strokes, the widest margin of victory the tournament has ever seen. Becomes
youngest Masters winner ever, and the first of African or Asian descent. Wins
three other PGA events. Achieves No. 1 world ranking in his 42nd
week as a pro. Voted PGA Player of the Year and Associated Press Male Athlete
of the Year.
|
| 1998 |
Age 22 - In an "off" year, wins just one official PGA
event (BellSouth Classic) and finishes fourth on the PGA Tour
money list with $1,841,117. Still makes 19 cuts out of 20 tournaments played,
and closes the year with a No. 1 world ranking.
|
| 1999 |
Age 23 - Earns the most money on the PGA Tour with a record
$6,616,585 in winnings for the year. Records 16 top-10 finishes
in 21 PGA Tour starts and makes the cut in all 21. Wins second PGA major title
with a one-shot victory over Sergio Garcia in the PGA Championship. Records eight
PGA victories overall, including the final four official tournaments
of the year. Defeats David Duval at the Showdown at Sherwood, the first live network
prime time golf telecast. Member of U.S. Team that recorded a tremendous final-day
comeback to win the Ryder Cup. Voted PGA Player of the Year and
AP Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years.
|
| 2000 |
Age
24 - Opens the year with wins at the Mercedes Championship
and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, his fifth and sixth
consecutive PGA Tour victories (the longest streak since Ben Hogan in 1948). Wins
U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by a record 15 strokes (65-69-71-67--272), the largest
margin of victory ever recorded at a major tournament. Breaks
or ties a total of nine records at the U.S. Open. Becomes the
Tour's all-time career money leader.
Becomes the
fifth player in history (and youngest ever) to complete the career
Grand Slam by winning the British Open by eight strokes. His 19-under
269 is the best score ever at St. Andrews and the lowest score (in relation
to par) at a major tournament.
Defeats Bob May in a three-hole playoff
at Valhalla in Louisville to win his second consecutive PGA Championship and third
consecutive major title. He joins Ben Hogan (1953) as the only two players to
win three majors in one season. |
| 2001 |
Age 25 - In April, wins the Masters tournament, becomes
the first golfer to be reigning champion of all four majors simultaneously. Wins
five overall PGA events and takes home PGA Player of the Year honors for the third
consecutive year.
|
| 2002 |
Age 26 - Wins second consecutive Masters, third overall,
with a three-stroke victory over Retief Goosen. Becomes the youngest golfer in
history to win seven PGA majors.
|
| 2003 |
Age 27 - Although he didn't win any of the major titles
this year, Tiger still came in first in 5 of the 18 tournaments he entered, and
ended the season winning over $6.6 million dollars.
|
| 2004 |
Age 28 - Early in the year, Tiger became the first player
to pass the $40 million mark in career earnings.
|
| |
