It was clear from a very early age that Eldrick 'Tiger' Woods was a very special talent. At the age of just two he appeared on the Mike Douglas TV show and a year later he took a mere 48 shots over nine holes at the Navy Golf Club in Cypress,California. Guided by his father Earl,who had named him after a Vietnamese lieutenant colonel he had served alongside,his talent continued to blossom. He won a whole host of junior events including the Optimist International Junior World at the ages of 8,9,12,13 and 14 and in 1991 at the age of 15 he became the youngest ever winner of the US Junior Amateur Championship. He retained that title the following year,becoming the first player to win the event twice in doing so,and in 1993 he won the tournament once again. At the age of 18 in 1994 he won the US Amateur Championship (youngest ever winner) and he defended his crown the subsequent year. In 1995 Woods played in his first major championship when competing in the Masters at Augusta where his rounds of 72,72,77 and 72 saw him finish as the leading amateur in a tie for 41st place. Tiger won an unprecedented third consecutive US Amateur crown in 1996 and in the Open at Troon (pictured above) he shot rounds of 75,66,70 and 70 to finish as the leading amateur with his second round 66 the lowest by an amateur since Frank Stranaham in 1950. Later that summer Woods decided the time had come to unleash his precocious talent full-time on to the paid ranks. He announced his arrival on the pro circuit by winning both the Las Vegas Invitational and Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic on his way to amassing $790,594 in just eight tour events. (David Scranage)
Tiger Woods photo taken by Nigel French on 19th. July 1997, at The Open. © G. Herringshaw.
Woods announced his intentions early in 1997 by winning the Mercedes
Championship,the first event of the year,with a play-off success over
Tom Lehman. He finished at 14 under par in an event shortened due to
rain and in the play-off his magnificent six iron to within a few inches
of the pin at the par 3 seventh secured victory. When he won the Asian
Honda Classic in Thailand by ten clear strokes shortly after it was a
hint of things to come at Augusta. Woods simply blew the field away with
a quite awesome display to claim his first major title at the Masters.
His rounds of 70,66,65 and 69 set a new record for 72 holes of 270
strokes and left him at 18 under par. He finished a massive 12 strokes
clear of his nearest challenger Tom Kite and at just 21 years,3 months
and 15 days he became the youngest ever winner of the title. Not a bad
performance considering he had opened the tournament by taking 40 on the
first nine holes! Tiger's victory meant he became the first black
player to lift a major championship and he sparked a whole new interest
in the game. Woods added the GTE Byron Nelson Classic and the Motorola
Western Open to his growing list of tournament wins and by the end of
the season he was the leading money winner on the US Tour with a total
of $2,066,833. Tiger reached the world number one spot on 15th June,less
than 11 months after turning pro,and at 21 he became the youngest to
achieve such status. Germany's Bernhard Langer had previously held the
record at the relatively old age of 29! Woods made his Ryder Cup bow
later that year but failed to make the expected impact and could manage
only one and a half points from a possible five as the Americans slumped
to a shock 14 1/2-13 1/2 defeat. (David Scranage)
Photo of Tiger Woods by Nigel French at 1998 Open Championship. © G. Herringshaw.
Tiger returned to Augusta to defend his Masters crown in 1998 but failed
to reproduce the fireworks of the previous year and had to settle for a
tie of 8th place at 3 under par. That disappoinment was somewhat
tempered by the fact that the man he handed the famous Green Jacket over
to was his great friend Mark O'Meara. In the Open Championship at Royal
Birkdale later that year Woods opened the tournament in stunning
fashion with a 65 but rounds of 73 and 77 seemed to have left him out of
contention. He found his form once again in the final round with a 66
but missed out by just one stroke to Brian Watts and that man O'Meara
who went on to win his second major of the year with his play-off
triumph. Tiger's only tour victory in '98 came with his success at the
BellSouth Classic where his rounds of 69,67,63 and 72 gave him a one
stroke victory from Jay Don Blake at 17 under par. Woods finished in the
the top ten on no less than 13 occasions in the 20 Tour events that he
entered and amongst those top ten spots were second places in both the
Mercedes Championships and Nissan Open on his way to a 4th place finish
in the Money List with a total of $1,841,117. By his own extraordinary
standards Tiger did not have the greatest of years in 1998 but the
following year he was to bounce back in magnificent fashion. (David
Scranage)
Photo of Tiger Woods by George Herringshaw at 1999 British Open Championship. © G.H.
Tiger Woods was to enjoy a quite sensational year in 1999 with the icing
on the cake coming with his victory in the PGA Championship at Medinah
Country Club. His rounds of 70,67,68 and 72 gave him a one stroke
success from another young gun - Spain's Sergio Garcia - and secured
his second major championship. In addition to that PGA triumph Woods won
on no less than seven other occasions on the PGA Tour including a run
of four consecutive tournament wins with his victories at the WGC NEC
Invitational,National Car Rental Classic,Tour Championship and WGC
American Express Championship. There were also successes on the US Tour
at the Buick Invitational,Memorial Tournament and Motorola Western Open
whilst on the European Tour there was victory at the Deutsche Bank Open.
For good measure he also lifted the World Cup individual and team
titles (with Mark O'Meara) and to top off an incredible season Woods
claimed the PGA Grand Slam. Tiger's world-wide earnings were a
staggering $7,681,625 - including $6,616,585 on the US Tour - which was a
remarkable $2,974,679 clear of his nearest challenger David Duval. To
give an indication of his total dominance Woods earned 81% more than
Duval - no other player in the 1990s had a 20% difference. Tiger
finished in the top ten on no less than 16 occasions in the 21 PGA Tour
events that he played and he never failed to make a cut. All in all it
was a truly magnificent year for the golfing phenomenon that is Tiger
Woods although he did not have it all his own way in the 1999 Ryder Cup
at Brookline. The morning foursomes of day one saw Tiger paired with the
1996 Open Champion Tom Lehman but the pair went down 2&1 to Jesper
Parnevik and the 19 year old Spaniard Sergia Garcia,who Tiger had held
off only weeks earlier in that thrilling finish to the PGA Championship
at Medinah. The afternoon saw Woods link up with David Duval but the
pair suffered a 1 hole defeat to Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood in a
hard fought encounter. The following morning saw Tiger with yet another
new partner - this time it was the turn of Steve Pate - and they managed
a narrow 1 up victory over Miguel Angel Jimenez and Padraig Harrington
before Woods and Pate went down to a 2&1 defeat to the Scots Colin
Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie in the afternoon four-balls. That defeat
left the USA team in considerable trouble at 10-6 down but a stunning
fightback in the last day singles - thanks in the main to wins in the
first seven matches,including Tiger's 3&2 success over Andrew
Coltart - saw the Americans grab up a thrilling 14 1/2 - 13 1/2 victory.
(David Scranage)