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Tiger Woods

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30 Dec, 1975

Tiger Woods born in Cypress, California

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Tiger Woods and father EarlEldrick Tont Woods is born in Cypress, California, to Earl Woods, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, and Kultida Woods, a native of Thailand with a mixed cultural background. He’s nicknamed in honor of a friend and Vietnamese soldier who Earl also called Tiger. Woods is the only child of Earl and Kultida but has three half-siblings. He attends Cerritos Elementary School in Anaheim:

 I would go and hit balls and it goes kind of quiet for a while, and then the next thing I know and he’s looking over my shoulder and he’s kind of watching and just kind of eyeing me. Then I’ll hit and he’ll hit and his swing starts mimicking what I am doing. That’s how I learned the game and my dad just kept it so light, fun and competitive, and I fell in love with it.

1981

Early media attention

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Woods starts to elicit more media attention at age five. CBS features the young golfer. He appears on the TV show, That’s Incredible. Golf Digest does an article on Woods titled 5-year-old Tiger – he’s incredible. The piece quotes golf pro Rudy Duran, who plays with Woods and his father on Sundays:

The kids’s not exceptional. He’s way beyond that. He hits everything right down the middle. What he’s accomplishing at his age is phenomenal.

1991

Wins first U.S. Junior Amateur

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Woods becomes the youngest player ever to win the U.S. Junior Amateur, the USGA’s junior match play championship. He wins the tournament at 15 years and 220 days old by defeating Brad Zwetschke in 19 holes in the championship match at Bay Hill Club in Orlando.

28 Aug, 1994

Wins first U.S. Amateur

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golf_g_twoods_94amateur_200Woods wins his first U.S. Amateur, coming from 6-down against Trip Kuehne in the championship match. At the age of 18, he becomes the youngest to ever win a U.S. Amateur, taking the final with a 2-up victory after a go-ahead birdie on the iconic 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass in Ponta Vedra Beach, Florida.

16 Apr, 1995

Makes cut at The Masters

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Woods competes in his first PGA Tour major, making the cut at The Masters by shooting 72-72 on the tournament’s first two days. Just the fourth black golfer to compete at The Masters, he finishes in 41st place, as the low amateur and with the longest driving distance of the week. Jack Nicklaus takes note:

My God, I had no idea how long he was.

25 Aug, 1996

Wins third straight U.S. Amateur, turns pro

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Woods makes history with his third straight U.S. Amateur championship at age 20. He comes back from 5-down against Steve Scott to win on the second playoff hole at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon. Woods becomes the event’s only three-time winner. The night of his victory, he says that he will be announcing his decision to turn professional in the coming days:

I had intended to stay in school, play four years at Stanford and get my degree, but things change. I didn’t know my game was going to progress to this point. It got harder to get motivated for college matches, and since I accomplished my goal of winning the NCAA, it was going to get harder still. Finally, winning the third Amateur in a row is a great way to go out. I always said I would know when it was time, and now is the time.

13 Apr, 1997

Wins first major at The Masters

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Woods MastersWoods wins his first PGA Tour major, taking The Masters by 12-shots in the tournament’s largest margin of victory ever. He becomes the first African American to ever win the event, posting this lowest four-round total ever at August National with a 70-66-65-69-270. After the event, he pays homage to the black golfer to play in the tournament before him:

I think that’s why this victory is even more special. Lee Elder came here today and that meant a lot to me. He was the first. He was the one I looked up to, Charlie [Sifford], all of them. Because of them, I was able to play here. I was able to live my dream because of those guys. They came down and inspired me. I knew what I had to do. It really reinforced what I had to go out there and try to accomplish.

22 Aug, 1999

Wins PGA Championship for 2nd major

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In a back-and-forth duel with 19-year-old Sergio Garcia, Woods hangs on to win the PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club. He shoots 11-under 277 on the week.

Tiger Woods Wins the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club

25 Jun, 2000

Largest margin U.S. Open victory

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Woods sets the record for the largest margin of victory in a major championship by winning by 15 shots at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He sets or ties nine U.S. Open records while finishing the week at 12-under par. He becomes the first player ever to win a U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open.

Records are great, but you don’t really pay attention to that. The only thing I know is I got the trophy sitting right next to me. To perform the way I did, and on one of the greatest venues in golf, it doesn’t get much better than that.

30 Jul, 2000

Completes career Grand Slam

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tiger_2000Woods shoots 19-under at the British Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews, winning by eight shots and completing the career grand slam. He is two years younger than Jack Nicklaus was when he completed the career grand slam.

It’s the ultimate. This is the home of golf. This is where you always want to win. To have a chance to complete the slam at St. Andrews is pretty special. I was able to bring it home.

27 Aug, 2000

Wins PGA

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Woods out-duels Bob May, beating the relative unknown in a 3-hole playoff to win the PGA Championship. It’s Woods’ third major of the year and his second straight PGA Championship. Woods and May each shoot 31 on the back nine Sunday and out-distance third place by five shots.

It was a memorable battle today, and I enjoyed it. We never backed off from one another. Birdie for birdie, shot for shot, we were going right at each other. That’s as good as it gets.

Tiger Woods - 2000 PGA Championship recap

15 Apr, 2001

Completes ‘Tiger Slam’

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4wzXTgvWoods wins his fourth straight major, an accomplishment that will come to be known as the “Tiger Slam.” He shoots 70-66-68-68-272 for -16 and a two-shot victory over David Duval.

I have a better appreciation for winning a major championship. To win four of them in succession, it’s hard to believe. I don’t think I’ve ever accomplished anything this great.

21 Apr, 2002

Wins second consecutive Masters

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After a lengthening of Augusta National by 285 yards, Woods wins again with a 70-69-66-71-276, beating Retief Goosen by three shots. It’s his second straight win at The Masters and his third green jacket for his career.

23 Jun, 2002

Wins second major

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040612-sports-golf-tiger-woods-best-worst-moments-us-open-2002.jpg.custom1200x675x20Woods wins his second major in a row to start the year, starting talk of a potential grand slam. He wins the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in New York by three shots over Phil Mickelson with a 67-68-70-72-277, a score of 3-under par.

 

5 Oct, 2004

Woods, Nordegren marry

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Woods and Norgedren marry after dating for four years. The couple wed in Barbados at the Barbados Resort Sandy Lane, in front of 200 family and friends. Source:

He didn’t act like he was going to get married. He was very relaxed, like this was any other day for him.

17 Apr, 2005

Fourth Masters Title

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In a tournament that produces one of Woods’ most memorable career moments, Tiger takes The Masters with a birdie on the first playoff hole over Chris DiMarco. The two finish the weekend at 12-under, seven shots clear of third place. On the iconic par 3 16th hole, Woods chips the ball from the back of the green into the slope and watches it trickle down into the hole.

I was just trying to throw the ball up there on the hill and let it feed down there and hopefully have a makeable putt. All of a sudden, it looked really good, and it looked like how could it not go in, and how did it not go in, and all of a sudden it went in.

Tiger Woods - The Masters 16th hole 2005

17 Jul, 2005

Wins British Open

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05british_299x377_0Woods leads wire-to-wire at the Old Course at St. Andrews, winning the British Open and his tenth major. He finishes at 14-under and five shots clear of Colin Montgomerie.

3 May, 2006

Earl Woods dies at 74

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Earl Woods dies age 74 at his California home after a long battle with cancer. Earl is survived by his wife of 37 years, Kutilda. Tiger:

My dad was my best friend and greatest role model, and I will miss him deeply. I’m overwhelmed when I think of all of the great things he accomplished in his life. He was an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband and friend.