Tiger Woods: from grace to grass?

ORLANDO – Tiger Woods  was born Eldrick Tont on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, as the only child of an African-American Army officer father and a Thai mother. His father began calling Woods by the nickname “Tiger” in honor of a fellow soldier and friend.

Woods learned to play golf as a child. His father, Earl, served as his teacher and mentor. Around the age of eight, Woods had become extremely proficient at the game. He studied at Stanford University, and won a number of amateur U.S. golf titles before turning professional in 1996. Woods shot to fame after winning the U.S. Masters at Augusta in 1997 with a record score of 270 at the age of 21. Woods was the youngest man to earn the title, and the first African-American to accomplish this feat.

In his first appearance at the British Open later that year, Woods tied the course record of 64. The next few years brought even more successes, including four US PGA titles, three U.S. Open wins, three Open Championship wins, and three U.S. Masters wins.

In 2003, among Woods’ five wins were the Buick Invitational and the Western Open. The next year, Woods won only one official PGA Tour championship. While he may have had some challenges on the course, his personal life was running smoothly. Woods married his longtime girlfriend Elin Nordegren, a Swedish model, in October of 2004.

Returning to dominate the sport, he won six championships in 2005 and was voted the PGA Tour Player of Year for the seventh time in nine years.

Woods experienced a great personal loss in 2006. His father died in May after battling prostate cancer. Woods remarked on his website at the time, “My dad was my best friend and greatest role model, and I will miss him deeply.” Despite his grief, Woods returned to golf and won several events, including the PGA championship and the British Open.

The next season was marked by many wins personally and professionally. His wife gave birth to the couple’s first child, Sam Alexis Woods, on June 18, 2007. After taking some time off to welcome his daughter, he won the World Golf Championship and US PGA Championship in August 2007.

The next month, Woods’ winning ways continued, garnering the top spot at the BMW Championship and The Tour Championship. He was named Player of the Year by the other participants in the PGA Tour and won his eighth Arnold Palmer Award for being the lead money earner on the tour.

Woods won the U.S. Open on June 16, 2008, in a 19-hole playoff, overcoming sporadic pain in his left knee from arthroscopic surgery performed on April 15. Woods shot a par four on the first and only hole of sudden death while American Rocco Mediate, 45, settled for a bogey.

Tiger Woods is reported to be currently worth more than $650 million and climbing! Woods earned $100 million alone last year. It is still unbelievable that this man has already surpassed the financial net worth of the most famous athlete on the planet! Michael Jordan.

In recent developments, Golfer Tiger Woods was cited for reckless driving after the accident outside his Florida home, but will not face criminal charges, police say. Officials also said there was not enough evidence for police to issue a subpoena or seek any additional medical information from the golfer.
Woods was found half-conscious in the exclusive suburb of Isleworth, in Orlando, Florida after his car reportedly hit a fire hydrant and tree outside his home.

In another recent web statement, Tiger Woods disclosed his “personal failings” saying he had “not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves.”
Woods didn’t address any allegations of an affair in his statement, instead saying that he would deal with his “behavior and personal failings” in private with his family.
“Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions,” he said on his Web site.

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