Tiger Woods is a US golfer, one of the wealthiest athletes of all time. The only player with 14 top golf titles.
Childhood
Tiger Woods was born in Cypress (California) in 1975. The athlete's real name is Eldrick Tont. The nickname Tiger was given to him by his father, who named his son in honor of his colleague - an officer in the Vietnamese army.
Today, Woods is known all over the world, but only a few are aware that Tiger set his first record when he was only nine months old. Thanks to the activity and desire of his father, the kid scored a ball in the hole. This happened in the USA at one of the tournaments. That episode filmed a lot of reporters. Eldrick not only got into the Guinness Book, but also became a favorite of Americans. Subsequently, the boy was often invited to various television shows.
First tournament
In 1984, Tiger Woods, whose biography is described in this article, took part in his first golf competition. This championship was held for children aged 10 to 12 years, but made an exception for the eight-year talent. The little golfer easily beat his rivals and won the first trophy.
Transition to Professionals
In 1995, a series of numerous victories in amateur golf opened the door to the world of professionals for Eldrick. Tiger Woods debut tournament failed, finding himself in 60th place. But the golfer won the next two tournaments and received the title "rookie of the season."
The athlete showed the first serious results in 1997, when Masters won. This event was repeatedly covered in the press, and Tiger immediately became the favorite of millions of fans. He was favorably distinguished by two points: skin color (you need to thank his multi-racial family), as well as charm and youth (most of his rivals were old rich).
The best golfer in the world
In the 2000s, Tiger Woods won a series of tournaments that allowed him to become the best golfer in the world. We list the most important: Masters, US Championship, UK Championship and PGA Championship. In 2000 and 2001, Eldrick received a sports Oscar as the best athlete in the world.
There was not a single professional tournament that Tiger Woods would not win. Golf has become the meaning of life for an athlete. Eldrick took the first place in the ratings for a very long time. And only 2004 was a failure for Woods. Then he could not win a single competition. But then Tiger focused and again took the first line of the rating of players.
Few people know about the period in the life of Woods, when he seriously thought about becoming a military man ("fur seal"), like his father. He even underwent special military training, but in the end decided to connect his life with golf.
The richest athlete
In addition to sporting achievements, Woods is known for his high income. Over the past ten years, he is among the top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world. And according to Forbes magazine rating, Eldrick is the highest paid athlete in the world. Most of the income goes into the golfer’s pocket from sponsorship contracts with firms Gillette, Buick, Nike, etc.
Prize record
In 2012, Tiger Woods as an athlete set a record for the number of prizes. He was the first in golf history to earn over $ 100 million. Now Eldrick is interested not only in tournaments. He is involved in charity and golf course design. The athlete also opened the Golf Development Fund for the Poor.
Personal life
At the beginning of his professional career, Woods became the object of hunting for beautiful women from all over the world. To get Tiger's favor, these girls went to many tricks.
The Duchess Sarah Ferguson suddenly decided to become a reporter and went to make a film about Eldrick. Model Tyra Banks persuaded Woods to a series of golf lessons under the pretext of charity. But Monica Seles (tennis player) definitely outdid everyone. She not only lost 9 kilograms, but also dumped billionaire Paul Allen. However, none of them managed to win the heart of a golfer.
The chosen one Tiger was an ordinary nineteen-year-old student Joanna Berry. According to the American tabloid Globe, it was in her arms that Woods lost his innocence. Previously, this was hindered by an imperious father, who insisted on the incompatibility of golf and sex.
In 2004, on the island of Barabados, Tiger married the beautiful Elin Nordegren. Three years later, the couple had a daughter, Sam, and two years later, the son of Charlie. But in 2010, due to the numerous betrayals of Eldrick, a divorce took place. Since 2013, a golfer has been dating skier Lindsay Vaughn.