Tiger Woods

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Woods turned professional in 1996 at age 20. He won his first major, the 1997 Masters, by 12 strokes. He reached number one in the Official World Golf Ranking in June 1997. At the 2000 U.S. Open he won by a major record 15 strokes. After winning the 2001 Masters he became the only player to win four consecutive major championships in a one-year period (the "Tiger Slam"). He held the world's top ranking from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 consecutive weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 consecutive weeks). He took a self‑imposed hiatus from December 2009 to April 2010. He fell to number 58 in November 2011 before returning to number one between March 2013 and May 2014. Four back surgeries occurred between 2014 and 2017. He won the Tour Championship in September 2018 and the 2019 Masters. He has spent the most consecutive weeks and most total weeks as world number one. He has been named PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times and led the PGA Tour money list in 10 seasons. He has 15 major championships and 82 PGA Tour events. He is one of six men to complete the career Grand Slam, the youngest to do so, and one of two to achieve it three times. He was a member of the winning U.S. team at the 1999 Ryder Cup and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May 2019. On February 23, 2021, he was hospitalized after a single‑car collision and underwent emergency surgery for compound fractures in his right leg and a shattered ankle. In a November 2021 interview with Golf Digest, he stated his full‑time professional career was over. He returned to the PGA Tour at the 2022 Masters. In 2026, he was involved in another car crash and reached a plea deal for willful reckless driving.

In Their Own Story

At the 2000 U.S. Open, Woods won by a major record 15 strokes, regarded by many as the greatest performance in golf history. After winning the 2001 Masters he became the only player to win four consecutive major championships in a one-year period, a feat known as the 'Tiger Slam'. Woods dominated men's golf throughout the first decade of the 21st century, holding the world's top ranking from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 consecutive weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 consecutive weeks). The following decade was marked by comebacks from personal issues and injuries. He took a self-imposed hiatus from December 2009 to April 2010 to address marital problems, fell to number 58 in the world rankings in November 2011, then returned to number one between March 2013 and May 2014. Injuries led to four back surgeries between 2014 and 2017, and he competed in only one tournament between August 2015 and January 2018, dropping out of the world's top 1,000 players. After returning, he won the Tour Championship in September 2018—his first victory in five years—and the 2019 Masters, his first major in 11 years.

Reader's Guide

Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California. He is the only child of Earl and Kultida Woods. He has two half‑brothers and a half‑sister from his father's first marriage. His mother chose his first name Eldrick; 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, also known as "Tiger". His niece Cheyenne Woods played collegiate golf at Wake Forest University and turned professional in 2012. Earl died on May 3, 2006. Kultida died on February 4, 2025. Woods was introduced to golf before age two by his father. In 1978, he putted against Bob Hope on The Mike Douglas Show. At age three, he shot a 48 over nine holes. At age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC's That's Incredible!. Before turning seven, he won the Under‑Age‑10 division of the Drive, Pitch, and Putt competition. At age eight, he won the 9–10 boys' event at the Junior World Golf Championships. He first broke 80 at age eight. He won the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive titles from 1988 to 1991. He first broke 70 on a regulation course at age 12. At age 13, he played in the 1989 Big I and was paired with John Daly. At age 15, he became the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur champion. He won his third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur in 1993. In 1994, he became the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur. He graduated from Western High School in 1994.

Did You Know?

• Woods was awarded AP Athlete of the Year four times and AP Athlete of the Decade of the 2000s.
• He was awarded Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year three times and the Laureus World Sports Sportsman of the Year twice.
• Woods was among Time's 100 most influential people in 2004, 2009, and 2019.
• Forbes listed him as the highest paid athlete in the world for a record 11 years, including 10 straight years from 2002 to 2011.
• As of April 2026, his net worth was estimated at US$1.5 billion by Forbes.