Cambridge Encyclopedia :: Cambridge Encyclopedia Vol. 75

Tiger Woods

Golfer, born in Cypress, California, USA. He studied at Stanford University and won amateur US golf titles before turning professional in 1996. He shot to fame after winning the US Masters at Augusta in 1997 - with a record score of 270 - at the age of 21, the first African-American to do so, as well as the youngest; in his first appearance at the British Open later that year he equalled the Troon course record of 64. His father and mentor, Earl Woods (1932–2006), published a book about his son: Training a Tiger: a Father's Guide to Raising a Winner in Both Golf and Life (1997). Further successes include the US PGA title (1999, 2000, 2006), the US Open (2000, 2002), the Open Championhip (2000, 2005, 2006), and the US Masters (2001, 2002, 2005). In 2005 he was voted the US PGA Tour Player of Year for the seventh time in nine years, and won his 50th PGA title in 2006.

Eldrick "Tiger" Woods
Personal Information
Birth: December 30, 1975,
Cypress, California
Height: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
Nationality:  United States
Residence: Jupiter Island, Florida
Career
College: Stanford University for 2 years, did not graduate
Turned Professional: 1996
Current Tour: PGA Tour joined 1996
Professional wins: 74, PGA Tour 54, other individual 18, 2-man team 2
Majors: Masters 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005
U.S. Open 2000, 2002
The Open Championship 2000, 2005, 2006
PGA Championship 1999, 2000, 2006
Awards: Rookie of the Year 1996
No.

Major Championships

Wins (12)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin of Victory Runners Up
1997 Masters 9 shot lead -18 (70-66-65-69=270) 12 strokes Tom Kite
1999 PGA Championship Tied for lead -11 (70-67-68-72=277) 1 stroke Sergio García
2000 U.S. Open 10 shot lead -12 (65-69-71-67=272) 15 strokes Ernie Els, Miguel Jiménez
2000 The Open Championship 6 shot lead -19 (67-66-67-69=269) 8 strokes Ernie Els, Thomas Bjørn
2000 PGA Championship (2) 1 shot lead -18 (66-67-70-67=270) Playoff Bob May
2001 Masters (2) 1 shot lead -16 (70-66-68-68=272) 2 strokes David Duval
2002 Masters (3) Tied for lead -12 (70-69-66-71=276) 3 strokes Retief Goosen
2002 U.S. Open (2) 4 shot lead -3 (67-68-70-72=277) 3 strokes Phil Mickelson
2005 Masters (4) 3 shot lead -12 (74-66-65-71=276) Playoff Chris DiMarco
2005 The Open Championship (2) 2 shot lead -14 (66-67-71-70=274) 5 strokes Colin Montgomerie
2006 The Open Championship (3) 1 shot lead -18 (67-65-71-67=270) 2 strokes Chris DiMarco
2006 PGA Championship (3) Tied for lead -18 (69-68-65-68=270) 5 strokes Shaun Micheel

Records and trivia

In all of his major victories, he has had the outright lead or a share of the lead after the third round.

Results timeline

Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters T41 LA CUT 1 T8 T18
U.S. Open WD T82 T19 T18 T3
The Open Championship T68 T22 LA T24 3 T7
PGA Championship DNP DNP T29 T10 1
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
The Masters 5 1 1 T15 T22 1 T3
U.S. Open 1 T12 1 T20 T17 2 CUT
The Open Championship 1 T25 T28 T4 T9 1 1
PGA Championship 1 T29 2 T39 T24 T4 1

LA = Low Amateur
DNP = did not play
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Summary of major championship performances:

Starts – 46 Wins – 12 2nd place finishes – 2 Top 3 finishes – 17 Top 5 finishes – 20 Top 10 finishes – 24 Longest streak of top-10s in majors – 8

World Golf Championships

Wins (12)

WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship 2003, 2004 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006 WGC-American Express Championship 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006
Tournament Starts Top-10s Victories Earnings ($) Scoring Average
Accenture Match Play 7 5 2 3,137,500 --
Bridgestone Invitational 8 8 5 6,602,500 67.53
American Express 7 7 5 5,962,500 68.04
Totals 22 20 12 15,702,500 67.76

Records and trivia

Has won at least one World Golf Championships event every year since they began in 1999 Has won 12 out of 22 total appearances, for an incredible 54.5% winning rate Has won at least five times in two different events on the PGA Tour, trailing only Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead, who have won at least five times in three different events Only player in WGC history to enter the final round outside the lead and come back to win All time money leader in World Golf Championships events All time wins leader in World Golf Championships events Won the World Cup with David Duval in 2000, an unofficial money WGC event – a total of 13 World Golf Championships titles.

Bridgestone Invitational

Lowest 18-hole total – 61 (tied with José María Olazábal) Lowest 36-hole total – 125 Lowest 54-hole total – 192 Lowest 72-hole total – 259 Largest margin of victory – 11 strokes Only player to record top-10 finishes in all seven appearances

Note: All Bridgestone Invitational records were set in 2000, when the tournament was known as the NEC Invitational

American Express

Lowest first 18-hole total 63 set the course record at The Grove Tied lowest first 18-hole total – 63 Lowest 36-hole total – 127 Largest 36-hole lead – 5 strokes Lowest 54-hole total – 194 Largest 54-hole lead – 6 strokes Lowest 72-hole total – 261 Largest margin of victory – 8 strokes

Note: All American Express records were set in 2006

PGA Tour career summary

Year Majors Other wins PGA Tour wins Earnings ($) Money list rank
1996 0 2 2 790,594 24
1997 1 3 4 2,066,833 1
1998 0 1 1 1,841,117 4
1999 1 7 8 6,616,585 1
2000 3 6 9 9,188,321 1
2001 1 4 5 6,687,777 1
2002 2 3 5 6,912,625 1
2003 0 5 5 6,673,413 2
2004 0 1 1 5,365,472 4
2005 2 4 6 10,628,024 1
2006 2 6 8 9,941,563 1
Career* 12 42 54 65,712,324 1
* Complete to the end of the 2006 season.

PGA Tour wins (54)

Legend
Major Championship (12)
World Golf Championship (12)
Other PGA Tour (30)
No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of Victory Runners-up
1. October 6, 1996 Las Vegas Invitational -27 (70-63-68-67-64=332) Playoff Davis Love III
2. October 20, 1996 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic -21 (69-63-69-66=267) 1 stroke Payne Stewart
3. January 12, 1997 Mercedes Championships -14 (70-67-65=202) Playoff Tom Lehman
4. April 13, 1997 The Masters -18 (70-66-65-69=270) 12 strokes Tom Kite
5. May 18, 1997 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic -17 (64-64-67-68=263) 2 strokes Lee Rinker
6. July 6, 1997 Motorola Western Open -13 (67-72-68-68=275) 3 strokes Frank Nobilo
7. May 10, 1998 BellSouth Classic -17 (69-67-63-72=271) 1 stroke Jay Don Blake
8. February 14, 1999 Buick Invitational -22 (68-71-62-65=266) 2 strokes Billy Ray Brown
9. June 6, 1999 Memorial Tournament -15 (68-66-70-69=273) 2 strokes Vijay Singh
10. July 4, 1999 Motorola Western Open -15 (68-66-68-71=273) 3 strokes Mike Weir
11. August 15, 1999 PGA Championship -11 (70-67-68-72=277) 1 stroke Sergio García
12. August 29, 1999 NEC Invitational -10 (66-71-62-71=270) 1 stroke Phil Mickelson
13. October 24, 1999 National Car Rental Golf Classic Disney -17 (66-66-66-73=271) 1 stroke Ernie Els
14. October 31, 1999 The Tour Championship -15 (67-66-67-69=269) 4 strokes Davis Love III
15. November 11, 1999 American Express Championship -6 (71-69-70-68=278) Playoff Miguel Jiménez
16. January 9, 2000 Mercedes Championships -16 (71-66-71-68=276) Playoff Ernie Els
17. February 6, 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -15 (68-73-68-64=273) 2 strokes Matt Gogel
18. March 19, 2000 Bay Hill Invitational -18 (69-64-67-70=270) 4 strokes Davis Love III
19. May 28, 2000 Memorial Tournament -19 (71-63-65-70=269) 5 strokes Ernie Els
20. June 18, 2000 U.S. Open -12 (65-69-71-67=272) 15 strokes Ernie Els, Miguel Jiménez
21. July 23, 2000 The Open Championship -19 (67-66-67-69=269) 8 strokes Thomas Bjørn, Ernie Els
22. August 20, 2000 PGA Championship -18 (66-67-70-67=270) Playoff Bob May
23. August 27, 2000 NEC Invitational -21 (64-61-67-67=259) 11 strokes Justin Leonard, Philip Price
24. September 10, 2000 Bell Canadian Open -22 (72-65-64-65=266) 1 stroke Grant Waite
25. March 18, 2001 Bay Hill Invitational -15 (71-67-66-69=273) 1 stroke Phil Mickelson
26. March 25, 2001 The Players Championship -14 (72-69-66-67=274) 1 stroke Vijay Singh
27. April 8, 2001 The Masters -16 (70-66-68-68=272) 2 strokes David Duval
28. June 3, 2001 Memorial Tournament -17 (68-69-68-66=271) 7 strokes Paul Azinger, Sergio García
29. August 26, 2001 NEC Invitational -12 (66-67-66-69=268) Playoff Jim Furyk
30. March 17, 2002 Bay Hill Invitational -13 (67-65-74-69=275) 4 strokes Michael Campbell
31. April 14, 2002 The Masters -12 (70-69-66-71=276) 3 strokes Retief Goosen
32. June 16, 2002 U.S. Open -3 (67-68-70-72=277) 3 strokes Phil Mickelson
33. August 11, 2002 Buick Open -17 (67-63-71-70=271) 4 strokes Fred Funk, Brian Gay, Mark O'Meara, Esteban Toledo
34. September 22, 2002 American Express Championship -25 (65-65-67-66=263) 1 stroke Retief Goosen
35. February 16, 2003 Buick Invitational -16 (70-66-68-68=272) 4 strokes Carl Pettersson
36. March 23, 2003 Bay Hill Invitational -19 (70-65-66-68=269) 11 strokes Stewart Cink, Brad Faxon, Kenny Perry, Kirk Triplett
38. July 6, 2003 100th Western Open -21 (63-70-65-69=267) 5 strokes Rich Beem
39. October 5, 2003 American Express Championship -6 (67-66-69-72=274) 2 strokes Stuart Appleby, Tim Herron, Vijay Singh
40. January 23, 2005 Buick Invitational -16 (69-63-72-68=272) 3 strokes Luke Donald, Charles Howell III, Tom Lehman
42. March 6, 2005 Ford Championship at Doral -24 (65-70-63-66=264) 1 stroke Phil Mickelson
43. April 10, 2005 The Masters -12 (74-66-65-71=276) Playoff Chris DiMarco
44. July 17, 2005 The Open Championship -14 (66-67-71-70=274) 5 strokes Colin Montgomerie
45. August 21, 2005 NEC Invitational -6 (66-70-67-71=274) 1 stroke Chris DiMarco
46. October 9, 2005 American Express Championship -10 (67-68-68-67=270) Playoff John Daly
47. January 29, 2006 Buick Invitational -10 (71-68-67-72=278) Playoff Nathan Green, José María Olazábal
48. March 5, 2006 Ford Championship at Doral -20 (64-67-68-69=268) 1 stroke David Toms, Camilo Villegas
49. July 23, 2006 The Open Championship -18 (67-65-71-67=270) 2 strokes Chris DiMarco
50. August 7, 2006 Buick Open -24 (66-66-66-66=264) 3 strokes Jim Furyk
51. August 20, 2006 PGA Championship -18 (69-68-65-68=270) 5 strokes Shaun Micheel
52. August 27, 2006 Bridgestone Invitational -10 (67-64-71-68=270) Playoff Stewart Cink
53. September 4, 2006 Deutsche Bank Championship -20 (66-72-67-63=268) 2 strokes Vijay Singh
54. October 1, 2006 American Express Championship -23 (63-64-67-67=261) 8 strokes Ian Poulter, Adam Scott

Other professional wins (20)

1997 (1) Asian Honda Classic (Asian Tour) 1998 (2) Johnnie Walker Classic (co-sanctioned by Asian Tour and European Tour), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event) 1999 (4) Deutsche Bank Open-TPC of Europe (European Tour), World Cup of Golf: individual (unofficial event), World Cup of Golf: team (unofficial event - with Mark O'Meara), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event) 2000 (2) WGC-World Cup: team (unofficial event - with David Duval), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event) 2001 (4) Johnnie Walker Classic (co-sanctioned by Asian Tour and European Tour), Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe (European Tour), Williams World Challenge (United States - unofficial event), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event) 2002 (2) Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe (European Tour), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event) 2004 (2) Dunlop Phoenix (Japan Golf Tour), Target World Challenge (United States - unofficial event) 2005 (2) Dunlop Phoenix (Japan Golf Tour), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event) 2006 (1) Dubai Desert Classic (European Tour, won by playoff)

United States national team appearances

Amateur

Eisenhower Trophy: 1994 Walker Cup: 1995

Professional

Ryder Cup: 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006 Dunhill Cup: 1998 The Presidents Cup: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005 WGC-World Cup: 1999, 2000

Greatest shot

Establishing which particular shot has been the greatest ever played by Woods is subjective, but his caddy Steve Williams is in no doubt it was during the second round of 2000 PGA.

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