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81-510: From the show's inception to 2004, ESPY Award winners were chosen only through voting by fans. Since 2004, sportswriters, broadcasters, sports executives, and sportspersons, collectively experts; or ESPN personalities also vote. Award winners have been selected thereafter exclusively through global online fan balloting conducted from amongst candidates selected by the ESPY Select Nominating Committee. A portion of

162-877: A 48 over nine holes at the Navy course. At age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC 's That's Incredible! Before turning seven, Woods won the Under Age 10 section of the Drive, Pitch, and Putt competition, held at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress. In 1984 at the age of eight, he won the 9–10 boys' event, the youngest age group available, at the Junior World Golf Championships . He first broke 80 at age eight. He went on to win

243-494: A 5-year, $ 105 million contract extension with Nike, which was the largest endorsement package signed by a professional athlete at that time. Woods's endorsement has been credited with playing a significant role in taking the Nike Golf brand from a "start-up" golf company earlier in the previous decade to becoming the leading golf apparel company in the world and a major player in the equipment and golf ball market. Nike Golf

324-493: A break from golf until his back healed. He returned for the Masters , finishing in a tie for 17th. In the final round, Woods injured his wrist after his club hit a tree root. He later stated that a bone popped out of his wrist, but he adjusted it back into place and finished the round. Woods then missed the cut at the 2015 U.S. Open and Open Championship , the first time Woods missed the cut at consecutive majors, finishing near

405-481: A deal reportedly worth $ 40 million. Woods collaborated closely with TAG Heuer to develop the world's first professional golf watch, which was released in April 2005. The lightweight, titanium -construction watch, incorporates features to facilitate wearing the watch while playing the game. It is capable of absorbing up to 5,000 Gs of shock, far in excess of the forces generated by a normal golf swing. In 2006,

486-624: A low of #58. He rose to No. 50 in mid-November after a third-place finish at the Emirates Australian Open , and broke his winless streak with a victory at December's Chevron World Challenge . Woods began his 2012 season with two tournaments (the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and the AT&;T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am ) where he started off well but struggled on the final rounds. Following

567-643: A major. Woods returned to the winner's circle for the 80th time in his PGA Tour career on September 23, 2018, when he won the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club for the second time and that tournament for the third time. He shot rounds of 65–68–65–71 to win by two strokes over Billy Horschel . On April 14, 2019, Woods won the Masters , which was his first major championship win in eleven years and his 15th major overall. He finished 13 under par to win by one stroke over Dustin Johnson , Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka . At age 43, he became

648-511: A professional golfer was over, although he would continue to play "a few events per year". For the first time since the car crash, he returned to the PGA Tour at the 2022 Masters . Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California , to Earl and Kultida "Tida" Woods. He is their only child, though he has two half-brothers and a half-sister from his father's first marriage. Earl

729-629: A prolonged break because of the injury, during which he missed the Greenbrier Classic and his own AT&T National , he returned at the Open Championship at Muirfield . Despite being in contention all week and beginning the final round only two strokes behind Lee Westwood , he struggled with the speed of the greens and could only manage a 3-over-par 74 that left him tied for 6th place, five strokes behind eventual winner Phil Mickelson . Two weeks later, Woods returned to form at

810-424: A second time. In 2000, Woods won six consecutive events on the PGA Tour, which was the longest winning streak since Ben Hogan did it in 1948. One of these was the U.S. Open , where he broke or tied nine tournament records in what Sports Illustrated called "the greatest performance in golf history", in which Woods won the tournament by a record 15-stroke margin and earned a check for $ 800,000. At age 24, he became

891-622: A self-imposed hiatus from professional golf from December 2009 to early April 2010 in an attempt to resolve marital issues with his wife at the time, Elin . Woods admitted to multiple marital infidelities, and the couple eventually divorced. He fell to number 58 in the world rankings in November 2011 before ascending again to the number-one ranking between March 2013 and May 2014. However, injuries led him to undergo four back surgeries between 2014 and 2017. Woods competed in only one tournament between August 2015 and January 2018, and he dropped off

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972-495: A spectacular performance at the 2009 Presidents Cup , but he failed to win a major, the first year since 2004 that he did not do so. After his marital infidelities came to light and received massive media coverage at the end of 2009 (see further details below), Woods announced in December that he would be taking an indefinite break from competitive golf. In February 2010, he delivered a televised apology for his behavior, saying "I

1053-559: A strong showing at the 2011 Masters , where he tied for fourth place. Due to leg injuries incurred at the Masters, he missed several summer stops on the PGA Tour. In July, he fired his longtime caddie Steve Williams (who was shocked by the dismissal), and replaced him on an interim basis with friend Bryon Bell until he hired Joe LaCava. After returning to tournament play in August, Woods continued to falter, and his ranking gradually fell to

1134-443: A year after turning pro. Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, Woods was the dominant force in golf. He was the top-ranked golfer in the world from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 consecutive weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 consecutive weeks). During this time, he won 13 of golf's major championships. The next decade of Woods's career was marked by comebacks from personal problems and injuries. He took

1215-453: Is not confined to those sportspersons participating in, or those events occurring in, any single or specific sport. Individual awards are those for which eligibility is limited to those partaking of a single individual or team sport or specific sport category. Sponsored awards are those otherwise constituted as cross-cutter awards the titles and eligibility criteria of which reflect corporate sponsorship. Cross-cutter awards are those

1296-534: Is one of the fastest growing brands in the sport, with an estimated $ 600 million in sales. Woods has been described as the "ultimate endorser" for Nike Golf, frequently seen wearing Nike gear during tournaments, and even in advertisements for other products. Woods receives a percentage from the sales of Nike Golf apparel, footwear, golf equipment, golf balls, and has a building named after him at Nike's headquarters campus in Beaverton , Oregon. In 2002, Woods

1377-461: Is the fifth (after Gene Sarazen , Ben Hogan , Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus ) player to achieve the career Grand Slam , and the youngest to do so. He is also the second golfer out of two (after Nicklaus) to achieve a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 18 World Golf Championships . He was also part of the American winning team for the 1999 Ryder Cup . In May 2019, Woods was awarded

1458-412: Is the only individual to have hosted four times (in 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2009). Comedian Dennis Miller , actor and singer Jamie Foxx , and talk show host and comedian Seth Meyers are the only others to have hosted the show more than once. American professional golfer Tiger Woods is the most-honored ESPY recipient, having received 21 awards. Cross-cutter awards are those for which the eligibility

1539-636: The 2001 Masters , he became the only player to win four consecutive major professional golf titles, although not in the same calendar year. This achievement came to be known as the "Tiger Slam". Following a stellar 2001 and 2002 in which he continued to dominate the tour, Woods's career hit a slump. He did not win a major in 2003 or 2004. In September 2004, Vijay Singh overtook Woods in the Official World Golf Rankings, ending Woods's record streak of 264 weeks at No. 1. Woods rebounded in 2005, winning six PGA Tour events and reclaiming

1620-518: The 2013 Masters , Woods faced disqualification after unwittingly admitting in a post-round interview with ESPN that he took an illegal drop on the par-5 15th hole when his third shot bounced off the pin and into the water. After further review of television footage , Woods was assessed a two-stroke penalty for the drop but was not disqualified. He finished tied for fourth in the event. Woods won The Players Championship in May 2013, his second career win at

1701-728: The BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year , an award given to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport. Domestically, Woods has also been recognized by U.S. publications. He was named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year a record-tying four times, was named "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press in 2009, and is one of only two people to be named Sports Illustrated ' s Sportsman of

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1782-744: The California Hall of Fame . He was inducted December 5, 2007 at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento. In May 2019, following his 2019 Masters Tournament win, Woods was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump . In 2000 and 2001, Woods was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year , becoming the inaugural recipient of the award. In 2000 he received

1863-868: The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood , California . In 2006, it was announced that the awards would move in 2008 to the Peacock Theater (formerly the Microsoft Theater), to be situated as the West Coast headquarters of ESPN at LA Live , adjacent to the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles , California. The ceremonies have been hosted variously by comedians, television and film actors, and sportspeople. American film actor Samuel L. Jackson

1944-516: The ESPN network. Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont " Tiger " Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer . He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins , ranks second in men's major championships , and holds numerous golf records . Woods is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time and is one of the most famous athletes in modern history. He is an inductee of

2025-952: The Hero World Challenge . Woods's back problems continued to hinder him in 2017. He missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and pulled out of a European Tour event in Dubai on February 3. On March 31, Woods announced on his website that he would not be playing in the 2017 Masters Tournament despite being cleared to play by his doctors. Woods said that although he was happy with his rehabilitation, he did not feel "tournament ready." Woods subsequently told friends, "I'm done". On April 20, Woods announced that he had undergone his fourth back surgery since 2014 to alleviate back and leg pain. Recovery time required up to six months, meaning that Woods would spend

2106-610: The LPGA Championship . Woods grew up in Orange County, California . He was a child prodigy who was introduced to golf before the age of two by his athletic father Earl Woods. Earl was a single-digit handicap amateur golfer who also was one of the earliest African-American college baseball players at Kansas State University . Woods told reporters he had wanted to be a baseball player like his father but abandoned that goal after tearing his rotator cuff . His father

2187-521: The Memorial Tournament in June, tying Jack Nicklaus in second place for most PGA Tour victories; a month later, Woods surpassed Nicklaus with a win at the AT&T National , to trail only Sam Snead , who accumulated 82 PGA tour wins. The year 2013 brought a return of Woods's dominating play. In January, he won the Farmers Insurance Open by four shots for his 75th PGA Tour win. It was

2268-640: The Official World Golf Ranking . After a lackluster 1998, Woods finished the 1999 season with eight wins, including the PGA Championship , a feat not achieved since Johnny Miller did it in 1974. Woods was severely myopic; his eyesight had a rating of 11 diopters . In order to correct this problem, he underwent successful laser eye surgery in 1999, and he immediately resumed winning tour events. In 2007, his vision again began to deteriorate, and he underwent laser eye surgery

2349-429: The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Trump , the fourth golfer to receive the honor. On February 23, 2021, Woods was hospitalized in serious but stable condition after a single-car collision and underwent emergency surgery to repair compound fractures sustained in his right leg in addition to a shattered ankle. In an interview with Golf Digest in November 2021, Woods indicated that his full-time career as

2430-800: The WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship , where he was knocked out in the second round by missing a 5-foot putt, Woods revised his putting technique and tied for second at The Honda Classic , with the lowest final-round score in his PGA Tour career. After a short time off due to another leg injury, Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational , his first win on the PGA Tour since the BMW Championship in September 2009. Following several dismal performances, Woods notched his 73rd PGA Tour win at

2511-581: The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational , recording his 5th win of the season and 8th win at the event in its 15-year history. His second-round 61 matched his record score on the PGA Tour and could easily have been a 59 were it not for some short missed birdie putts on the closing holes. This gave him a seven-stroke lead that he held onto for the rest of the tournament. But at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, Woods never

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2592-494: The World Golf Hall of Fame . Following an outstanding junior, college, and amateur golf career, Woods turned professional in 1996 at the age of 20. By the end of April 1997, he had won three PGA Tour events in addition to his first major, the 1997 Masters , which he won by 12 strokes in a record-breaking performance. He reached number one in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in June 1997, less than

2673-653: The Zozo Championship in October 2019, which was the first-ever PGA Tour event played in Japan . Woods, who played a highly publicized skins game earlier in the week at the same course as the Championship, held at least a share of the lead after every round of the rain-delayed tournament, giving him a three stroke victory over Hideki Matsuyama . The win was Woods's 82nd on Tour, tying him with Sam Snead for

2754-407: The cut . However, he quickly returned to form and ended the year by winning six consecutive tour events. At the season's close, Woods had 54 total wins that included 12 majors; he broke the tour records for both total wins and total majors wins over eleven seasons. Woods continued to excel in 2007 and the first part of 2008. In April 2008, he underwent knee surgery and missed the next two months on

2835-538: The 1994 NCAA champions. He enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship and won his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, that September. He selected a major in economics and was nicknamed " Urkel " by college teammate Notah Begay III . In 1995, he successfully defended his U.S. Amateur title at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island and

2916-505: The Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991. Woods's father Earl wrote that Tiger first defeated him at the age of 11 years, with Earl trying his best. He lost to Woods every time from then on. Woods first broke 70 on a regulation golf course at age 12. When Woods was 13 years old, he played in the 1989 Big I, which was his first major national junior tournament. In

2997-528: The Masters Champions Dinner on April 5, 2016. For the first time in his career, he missed all four majors in one year due to problems with his back. In October 2016, he told Charlie Rose on PBS that he still wanted to break Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major titles. Woods underwent back surgery in December 2016 and spent the next 15 months off the Tour. He made his return to competitive golf in

3078-429: The PGA Tour since 2013. He then tied for sixth with a score of five under par at the 2018 Open Championship . At the last major of the year, the 2018 PGA Championship , Woods finished second, two shots behind the winner Brooks Koepka . It was his best result in a major since 2009 (second at the 2009 PGA Championship ) and moved him up to 26th in the world rankings. His final round of 64 was his best-ever final round in

3159-742: The TAG Heuer Professional Golf Watch won the prestigious iF product design award in the Leisure/Lifestyle category. Woods also endorsed the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of video games; he has done so since 1999. In 2006, he signed a six-year contract with Electronic Arts , the series' publisher. In February 2007, Woods, Roger Federer , and Thierry Henry became ambassadors for the " Gillette Champions" marketing campaign. Gillette did not disclose financial terms, though an expert estimated

3240-403: The Year more than once. Since his record-breaking win at the 1997 Masters , Woods has been the biggest name in golf and his presence in tournaments has drawn a huge fan following. Some sources have credited him for dramatically increasing prize money in golf, generating interest in new PGA tournament audiences, and for drawing the largest TV ratings in golf history. His recognition as one of

3321-548: The bottom of the leaderboard both times. He finished tied for 18th at the Quicken Loans National on August 2. In late August 2015, Woods played quite well at the Wyndham Championship finishing the tournament at 13-under, only four strokes behind the winner, and tied for 10th place. Woods offered only a brief comment on the speculation that he was still recovering from back surgery , saying it

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3402-689: The ceremony was conducted on the second Thursday of July. In 2010, the ceremony was aired live by ESPN for the first time since 2003. In 2015, the ESPY Awards moved to network television, airing on ESPN's corporate sister network ABC . The first seven editions of the ESPYs were held in New York City —in 1993 and 1994 at Madison Square Garden and from 1995 through 1999, at Radio City Music Hall . The awards relocated to Las Vegas , Nevada , for two years beginning in 2000, and ultimately settled at

3483-529: The cut and finished in 47th place at 13-over par, 23 shots behind the winner Scottie Scheffler . In August 2022, Woods, Rory McIlroy , Mike McCarley , and the PGA Tour announced the formation of TGL , a six-team virtual golfing league. In November 2023, Woods revealed himself as an co-owner and player for Jupiter Links Golf Club , founded with investments by David Blitzer . On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver announced that Woods would be inducted into

3564-410: The cut. He next played at The Open Championship , contested at Hoylake, where Woods had won eight years prior. Woods fired a brilliant 69 in the first round to put himself in contention, but shot 77 on Friday and eventually finished 69th. Despite his back pain, he played at the 2014 PGA Championship where he failed to make the cut. On August 25, 2014, Woods and his swing coach Sean Foley parted ways. In

3645-542: The deal could total between $ 10 million and $ 20 million. In October 2007, Gatorade announced that Woods would have his own brand of sports drink starting in March 2008. "Gatorade Tiger" was his first U.S. deal with a beverage company and his first licensing agreement. Although no figures were officially disclosed, Golfweek magazine reported that it was for five years and could pay him as much as $ 100 million. The company decided in early fall 2009 to discontinue

3726-523: The eligibility for which is not confined to those sportspersons participating in, or those events occurring in, any single or specific sport. Individual awards are those for which eligibility is limited to those partaking of a single individual or team sport or specific sport category. Sponsored awards are those otherwise constituted as cross-cutter awards the titles and eligibility criteria in which reflect corporate sponsorship. List of ESPN personalities Present television personalities on

3807-452: The event, notching his fourth win of the 2013 season. It was the quickest he got to four wins in any season of his professional career. Woods had a poor showing at the 2013 U.S. Open as a result of an elbow injury that he sustained at The Players Championship . In finishing at 13-over-par, he recorded his worst score as a professional and finished 12 strokes behind winner Justin Rose . After

3888-545: The final round, he was paired with pro John Daly , who was then relatively unknown. The event's format placed a professional with each group of juniors who had qualified. Daly birdied three of the last four holes to beat him by only one stroke. As a young teenager, Woods first met Jack Nicklaus in Los Angeles at the Bel-Air Country Club , when Nicklaus was performing a clinic for the club's members. Woods

3969-400: The four years under Foley, he won eight times but no majors. He had previously won eight majors with Harmon and six with Haney. Woods said there was currently no timetable to find a replacement swing coach. On February 5, 2015, Woods withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open after another back injury. Woods stated on his website that it was unrelated to his previous surgery and he would take

4050-621: The greatest total number of weeks of any golfer in history. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times and has won the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times. Woods has the record of leading the money list in ten different seasons. He has won 15 professional major golf championships (trailing only Jack Nicklaus , who leads with 18) and 82 PGA Tour events (tied for first all time with Sam Snead ). Woods leads all active golfers in career major wins and career PGA Tour wins. Woods

4131-470: The list of the world's top 1,000 golfers. On his return to regular competition, Woods made steady progress to the top of the game, winning his first tournament in five years at the Tour Championship in September 2018 and his first major in 11 years at the 2019 Masters . Woods has held numerous golf records. He has been the number one player in the world for the most consecutive weeks and for

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4212-425: The most famous athletes in modern history includes being depicted in a wax sculpture at Madame Tussauds . During the first decade of his professional career, Woods was the world's most marketable athlete. Shortly after his 21st birthday in 1996, he signed endorsement deals with numerous companies, including General Motors , Titleist , General Mills , American Express , Accenture , and Nike . In 2000, he signed

4293-400: The most lucrative endorsement contracts in golf history at that time. Woods was named Sports Illustrated ' s 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year . On April 13, 1997, he won his first major , the Masters , in record-breaking fashion and became the tournament's youngest winner at age 21. Two months later, he set the record for the fastest ascent to No. 1 in

4374-471: The most victories all time on the PGA Tour. In December 2020, Woods had microdiscectomy surgery on his back for the fifth time. The operation was to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching his nerve and causing him pain during the PNC Championship. Woods returned to play in his first professional tournament since his 2021 motor vehicle crash at the 2022 Masters Tournament . He made

4455-465: The only day of the year on which none of the major North American professional leagues nor college sports programs have games scheduled. The National Basketball Association , National Football League , and National Hockey League are not in-season (though the NBA's post-draft training camp NBA Summer League is taking place and NFL teams are getting ready for training camp ), colleges are in recess for

4536-412: The position. In August, Woods hired Sean Foley as Haney's replacement. The rest of the season went badly for Woods, who failed to win a single event for the first time since turning professional, while nevertheless finishing the season ranked No. 2 in the world. In 2011, Woods's performance continued to suffer; this took its toll on his ranking. After falling to No. 7 in March, he rebounded to No. 5 with

4617-548: The proceeds from sales of tickets to the event devolves on the V Foundation , a charity established by collegiate basketball coach and television commentator Jim Valvano to promote cancer research . Valvano announced the creation of the charitable foundation during his acceptance of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award during the inaugural ESPY telecast on March 3, 1993, 55 days before Valvano's death from metastatic adenocarcinoma . The ESPY Award statuette

4698-448: The remainder of the season due to additional knee surgery, and that his knee was more severely damaged than previously revealed, prompting even greater praise for his U.S. Open performance. Woods called it "my greatest ever championship." In Woods's absence, television ratings for the remainder of the season suffered a huge decline from 2007. Woods had a much anticipated return to golf in 2009, when he performed well. His comeback included

4779-702: The rest of the year without playing any professional golf. Woods returned to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. He shot rounds of 69–68–75–68 and finished tied for 9th place. His world ranking went from 1,199th to 668th, which was the biggest jump in the world rankings in his career. On March 11, 2018, he finished one-shot back and tied for second at the Valspar Championship in Florida, his first top-five finish on

4860-586: The second oldest golfer ever to win the Masters, after Jack Nicklaus who was 46 when he triumphed in 1986. In August 2019, Woods announced via social media that he underwent knee surgery to repair minor cartilage damage and that he had an arthroscopic procedure during the Tour Championship. In his statement, Woods also confirmed that he was walking and intends on traveling and playing in Japan in October. Woods played in his first 2020 PGA Tour event at

4941-533: The seventh time he won the event. In March, he won the WGC-Cadillac Championship , also for the seventh time, giving him his 17th WGC title and first since 2009. Two weeks later, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational , winning the event for a record-tying 8th time. The win moved him back to the top of the world rankings. To commemorate that achievement, Nike was quick to launch an ad with the tagline "winning takes care of everything". During

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5022-455: The silver medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship , he tied the record for an amateur aggregate score of 281. He left college after two years in order to turn professional in the golf industry. In 1996, Woods moved out of California, stating in 2013 that it was due to the state's high tax rate. Woods turned professional at age 20 in August 1996 and immediately signed advertising deals with Nike, Inc. and Titleist that ranked as

5103-466: The summer , and MLB does not contest games on the day following its all-star game. Thus, major sports figures (except for those in cycling, which has the Tour de France ; minor league baseball; and golf, where The Open Championship usually starts that evening) are available to attend. The show aired on the subsequent Sunday four days later, although the results were reported publicly by ESPN.com . In 2024,

5184-463: The top spot in July after swapping it back and forth with Singh over the first half of the year. Woods began dominantly in 2006, winning his first two PGA tournaments but failing to capture his fifth Masters championship in April. Following the death of his father in May, Woods took some time off from the tour and appeared rusty upon his return at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club , where he missed

5265-410: The tour. Woods returned for the 2008 U.S. Open , where he struggled the first day but ultimately claimed a dramatic sudden death victory over Rocco Mediate that followed an 18-hole playoff, after which Mediate said, "This guy does things that are just not normal by any stretch of the imagination," and Kenny Perry added, "He beat everybody on one leg." Two days later, Woods announced that he would miss

5346-552: The youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam . At the end of 2000, Woods had won nine of the twenty PGA Tour events he entered and had broken the record for lowest scoring average in tour history. He was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, the only athlete to be honored twice, and was ranked by Golf Digest magazine as the twelfth-best golfer of all time. When Woods won

5427-452: Was "just my hip" but offering no specifics. Woods had back surgery on September 16, 2015. In late March 2016, he announced that he would miss the Masters while he recovered from the surgery; he had also missed the 2014 Masters due to a back problem. "I'm absolutely making progress, and I'm really happy with how far I've come," he explained in a statement. "But I still have no timetable to return to competitive golf." However, he did attend

5508-407: Was a member of the American team at the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships (winning), and the 1995 Walker Cup (losing). Woods graduated from Western High School at age 18 in 1994 and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" among the graduating class. He starred for the high school's golf team under coach Don Crosby. Woods learned to manage his stuttering as a boy. This

5589-682: Was a member of the military and had playing privileges at the Navy golf course beside the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos , which allowed Tiger to play there. Tiger also played at the par 3 Heartwell golf course in Long Beach , as well as some of the municipals in Long Beach. In 1978, Woods putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show . At age three, he shot

5670-693: Was a retired U.S. Army officer and Vietnam War veteran. Earl was born to African-American parents and was also said to have had European and Native American descent. Kultida (née Punsawad) is originally from Thailand , where Earl met her when he was on a tour of duty there in 1968. She is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. In 2002, ESPN claimed: "For the record, he is one-quarter Thai, one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter African American, one-eighth Caucasian and one-eighth Native American." Tiger has described his ethnic make-up as " Cablinasian " (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian). Woods's first name, Eldrick,

5751-413: Was broken by Jim Liu in 2010. He was named 1991's Southern California Amateur Player of the Year (for the second consecutive year) and Golf Digest Junior Amateur Player of the Year. In 1992, he defended his title at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, becoming the tournament's first two-time winner. He also competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Nissan Los Angeles Open (he missed the 36-hole cut), and

5832-506: Was chosen by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend, South Vietnamese Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger. Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods , who played for the Wake Forest University golf team and turned professional in 2012 when she made her pro debut in

5913-582: Was designed and created by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan . The statuette consists of a silver sphere, with the word "ESPY" engraved on it, mounted on a silver pedestal. Between 1993 and 2001, the ceremony was held each year in either February or March and was broadcast recorded on ESPN. Between 2002 and 2019 and from 2022 to 2023, the ceremony was held on the Wednesday in July following the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game , as it marks

5994-402: Was in contention, making 2013 his fifth full season where he did not win a major; he was in contention in only two of the four majors in 2013. After a slow start to 2014, Woods sustained an injury during the final round of The Honda Classic and was unable to finish the tournament. He withdrew after the 13th hole, citing back pain. He subsequently competed in the WGC-Cadillac Championship but

6075-430: Was involved in every aspect of the launch of Buick 's Rendezvous SUV . A company spokesman stated that Buick was happy with the value of Woods's endorsement, pointing out that more than 130,000 Rendezvous vehicles were sold in 2002 and 2003. "That exceeded our forecasts," he was quoted as saying, "It has to be in recognition of Tiger." In February 2004, Buick renewed Woods's endorsement contract for another five years, in

6156-463: Was named Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year, Golf World Player of the Year, and Golfweek National Amateur of the Year. The following year, Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur; he remains the event's only three-time winner. In 1994, at the TPC at Sawgrass in Florida, he became the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur , a record he held until 2008 when it was broken by Danny Lee . He

6237-436: Was not widely known until he wrote a letter to a boy who contemplated suicide. Woods wrote, "I know what it's like to be different and to sometimes not fit in. I also stuttered as a child and I would talk to my dog and he would sit there and listen until he fell asleep. I also took a class for two years to help me, and I finally learned to stop." Woods was heavily recruited by college golf powers. He chose Stanford University ,

6318-460: Was part of the show, and he impressed Nicklaus and the crowd with his skills and potential. Earl Woods had researched in detail the career accomplishments of Nicklaus and had set his young son the goals of breaking those records. Woods was 15 years old and a student at Western High School in Anaheim when he became the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur champion; this was a record that stood until it

6399-436: Was visibly in pain during much of the last round. He was forced to skip the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the end of March 2014, and after undergoing back surgery , he announced on April 1 that he would miss the Masters for the first time since 1994. Woods returned at the Quicken Loans National in June, however he said that his expectations for the week were low. He struggled with nearly every aspect of his game and missed

6480-488: Was 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). At age 19, Woods participated in his first PGA Tour major, the 1995 Masters , and tied for 41st as the only amateur to make the cut. At age 20 in 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA individual golf championship . In winning

6561-597: Was wrong and I was foolish." During this period, several companies ended their endorsement deals with Woods. Woods returned to competition in April at the 2010 Masters , where he finished tied for fourth place. He followed the Masters with poor showings at the Quail Hollow Championship and the Players Championship, where he withdrew in the fourth round, citing injury. Shortly afterward, Hank Haney , Woods's coach since 2003, resigned

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