The impact of Tiger Woods on the game of golf and the world of sports was put in some perspective on Feb. 23, 2021, when he was involved in a serious one-car accident near Los Angeles. While he may never again be a dominant player, Tiger continues to hold the world’s attention through his legacy: Despite the fact that he has been tabloid fodder for several high-profile off-the-course scandals, nobody has been more significant in boosting the popularity of the game across racial and socioeconomic boundaries. His father Earl’s lofty vision that his son would do more than any other man to change the course of humanity may have been hyperbolic, but Tiger has influenced nations—nations of sports fans around the world who came to love golf through his immense popularity.
EYE OF A TIGER • Regardless of what the future holds, Tiger Woods has left an indelible mark on the game of golf
A STAR IS BORN • Tiger Woods burst onto the scene as a child prodigy who was introduced to golf by his father at a very young age
COMING OF AGE • Having dominated the junior circuit, Tiger continued his winning ways against stiffer and older competition in both college and against the nation’s top amateur players
STRAIGHT TO THE TOP • It didn’t take long after he turned pro for Tiger to establish himself as not only the world’s best and most popular golfer, but as one who was destined to become an all-time great
TIGER SLAM • Among the countless accomplishments of Tiger’s golf career, none has been more impressive than the time he won four consecutive major championships
DECADE OF DOMINANCE • The 12 majors Tiger won during the 2000s was the most ever by a player in a single decade, as he spent all but 32 weeks over the brilliant 10-year period as the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking
TROUBLE IN PARADISE • While a knee injury that required surgery would prove to be only a minor bump in Tiger’s road to golf immortality, it was his actions off the course that resulted in the first major setback of his life and career
LONG ROAD BACK • Limited to 24 events while undergoing four back surgeries over a 37-month span, Tiger defied the odds after falling to 1,199th in the Official World Golf Ranking
ANOTHER GREEN JACKET • Only two years removed from a fourth back surgery that left him unable to bend over to tie his shoelaces, Tiger completed a remarkable comeback with his 15th major victory
TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY • A victory at the Zozo Championship in Japan put Tiger in a tie for first on the all-time wins list, but a one-car accident 16 months later left his golf future in serious doubt
Tiger Woods
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