Being considered as one of the greatest golfers of all time is no easy feat. Tiger Woods has carved his name carefully into the mind of the world for decades. From learning to tee up in Cypress all the way to winning the four major championships multiple times, there is a lot to be said about his legacy. It all starts with his story and how he has overcome adversity a lot in his life.

A living tribute

Earl and Kultida Woods welcomed Eldrick Tont Woods into the world on the 30th of December in 1975. The now-famous nickname of his, Tiger, was given to him by Earl as a tribute to his friend during the Vietnam War. Moreover, the Cypress-born Californian has a very diverse ethnic background as he belongs to the African-American, Native American, Indian, and Asian diasporas. 

He grew up in Orange County and started golf at just two years old. Despite playing the sport at such a young age, Tiger loved basketball more but a rotator cuff tear prevented him from pursuing that endeavor. Nonetheless, he was a growing legend in the world of golf. He often made appearances on television to showcase his insane skills. In that span of time, he also won the Junior World Championship six times.

Earl was very invested in Tiger’s career and often became his caddy at times. This father-son tandem impressed the likes of a young John Daly and Jack Nicklaus. By the time he was at Western High School, Tiger was already crowned the youngest US Junior Amateur Champion. Only Jim Liu stole that title from him in 2010. He then won the Eisenhower Trophy alongside Team USA in 1994.

Every golf program wanted to recruit Tiger after he graduated high school. He then decided to remain on the West Coast and join Stanford University.

Caddying a Cardinal

Tiger Woods’ legend only grew at Stanford. He kickstarted his college career by winning the William H. Tucker Invitational and defending his US Amateur title. Not to mention, he also made the cut in The Masters back in 1995. All of these trophies got him the Pac-12 Player of the Year honor and an NCAA First-Team All-American nod.

After being an amateur in the PGA and winning nearly everything there is to accomplish in college golf, he left Stanford and went professional.

Success and downfalls

Tiger’s career was full of glory. Since his decision to forego college, he has been winning nonstop. He has won The Masters five times, the PGA Championship four times, and has three wins in both the US Open and The Open Championship. On tour, he also grabbed the record for most wins in the PGA as he had 82 triumphs under his belt. Tiger then dominated other circuits too by winning in Europe 41 times, thrice in Japan and Australasia, and 19 other miscellaneous wins. 

A lot of brands wanted him as their poster child. Who wouldn’t? He was the top player in all of the world for 683 weeks. Adding in his nine Vardon trophies and nine Byron Nelson awards along with the countless PGA Player of the Year honors made replicating his feats very hard. Despite early investments from Accenture, Gatorade, Gillette, AT&T, and Gatorade among others, an infidelity scandal that led to a divorce, a DUI arrest, and a car crash made companies pull out their support.

Nike even severed their relationship with Tiger Woods eventually. This prompted him to jumpstart Sun Day Red. Amid all of the vitriol, Tiger is still standing. His net worth is valued at $1.3 billion and it will only continue to grow larger because of his decisive business decisions.