Athletes

Tiger Woods: The Rise and Fall

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Tiger Woods is a professional golfer who got himself established early on in his career. At a young age, he has carved a name in the history of golf, being the youngest and the only African-American to have won the US Masters. His career continued to flourish up until he encountered a series of personal issues in 2009.

Tiger Woods was born Eldrick Tont Woods on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California. As a child, he was already called “Tiger” by his father. Even before he was eight years old, he already started playing golf and was considered a child prodigy. Still very young, Tiger has already appeared on television, showing off his golf-playing skills.

During his undergraduate years at Stanford University, Tiger continued to play golf. At this point, he had garnered golf titles in the U.S. for amateur divisions. He then decided to play in the professional leagues in 1996. By 1997, he won the U.S. Masters at Augusta. With a record score of 270, then 21-year old Tiger became the youngest person to ever earn the title. Not only that, he was also the first African-American to do so. Later that year, he tied the course record of 64 during the British Open.

Tiger’s winning streak continued when he won three U.S. Open titles, four US PGA titles, three US Masters titles and three Open Championship titles. During 2003, Tiger garnered five wins at the Western Open and the Buick International, while in 2004, Tiger managed to win one championship during the PGA Tour.

Outside of the course, Tiger’s life had been just as blissful. In October 2004, he married his long-time girlfriend, Swedish model Elin Nordegren. In 2005, Tiger went back to win six championships in 2005. He also won the year’s PGA Tour Player of the Year, making it his seventh in the span of nine years. In 2006, Tiger also won another PGA Championship and the British Open. This was despite the death of his father, whom he considers as his greatest mentor and best friend.

Things went back to being great again in 2007 when his wife Elin gave birth to their first child, daughter Sam Alexis. After a few months of break, Tiger won the PGA Championship and the World Golf Championship later that year. In that same year, he won the BMW Championship, the Tour Championship and was named PGA Player of the Year. He also received his eighth Arnold Palmer Award.

Tiger started to feel pain in his left knee from an arthroscopic surgery done on April 2008. He still, however, won the U.S. Open in June of that year. A few days after his victory, Tiger announced that he was required to undergo reconstructive surgery and decided to miss the rest of the season. He also suffered a stress fracture in the shinbone of his left leg. This was a blessing in disguise as the surgery and the recovery period gave Tiger the opportunity to spend more time with his family. Tiger and Elin announced that she is pregnant with their second child in September 2008. In early 2009, his wife gave birth to their son Charlie Axel.

Tiger was back on the course shortly after. On February 2009, he competed in the Accenture Match Play Championship and lost to Tim Clark. In June of the same year, he did not make it in the U.S. Open. Tiger’s comeback was not as successful as he thought it would be. However, he remained to be on top of the golf world rankings, although this was the year that he never got even a single win when he also lost the PGA title.

Tiger’s descent also reflected on his personal life. In the same year, he was hounded by issues surrounding his marriage. In November, Tiger was reported to have had liaisons with Rachel Uchitel, a nightclub manager. Despite denying the rumors, photographs surfaced showing evidence of their relationship. The entire issue blew up when Tiger was reported to collide into a fire hydrant located outside of his home. It was all over the news with the story of how Elin broke the back window of Tiger’s car using his golf club to get him out of the vehicle. The golfer never released any statement, but after his quick release, he dropped out of the Chevron World Challenge as well as all the other golf tournaments in 2009.

Although Tiger remained silent, the rumors continued to grow. By December 2, 2009, the headcount of women who claimed to be his mistresses increased to a dozen. Almost all showed concrete evidence of his extramarital relationships. According to the tabloids, Tiger renegotiated his prenuptial agreement with his wife, but it was reported that Elin moved out of the couple’s house soon after the women surfaced. More than a week later, Tiger had a press conference and admitted to his infidelity. He also announced plans to take a break from the sport to take care of his family issues. Shortly after, companies such as Accenture and Gillette pulled out their endorsement deals from him. There were companies who stood by which included EA Sport, Tag Heuer, and Nike.

In the early second quarter of 2010, Tiger went back to compete with disappointing results. During the Masters Tournament, he only finished in fourth place while at the Quail Hollow Championship, he did not make it to the fourth round of the Player Championship, citing neck injury. During the U.S. Open, he also only finished in fourth place with a tie. On this year, news of the couple’s divorce settlements also came out. According to reports, the cost of Elin’s silence was worth $750 million and included the family’s California home and properties in Sweden. Elin also gained full physical custody of both their children.

The succeeding years of Tiger’s life had still been full of ups and downs. His golfing career picked up once again in 2012. He also started a relationship in March 2013 with skier Lindsey Vonn although the couple separated in 2015. In 2014, the golfer had to undergo back surgery and went back to competitive golf in the year that followed, although it was short-lived. Earlier in September 2016, he announced his “hopeful” comeback.

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