Why We Love Sports: 2nd Edition
Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30th, 1975 in Cypress, California. His father Earl Woods served for the United States in the Vietnam War, where he would make friends with a South Vietnamese soldier named Vuong Dang Phong, who was nicknamed "Tiger". Earl called his son Tiger from an early age, not realizing that it would eventually become a household name. A star from the age of three, Tiger was one of the most successful athletes in youth sports history, as he won six total World Junior Championships. Despite winning four junior championships in a row from 1988 through 1991, Woods had won a bigger game, as he beat his father at the age of eleven. His father Earl said that after Tiger beat him at age eleven, he has not won a game since.
Woods went to school at Western High School in Anaheim, California, with a total of about 2500 kids in the school. At age 15, Tiger became the youngest person to ever win the title of U.S Junior Amateur Champion, a record that stood until Jim Liu broke the record in 2010. Woods graduated high school at age 18 and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" by his class.
Woods decided to attend Stanford University where he would play golf for two years before turning pro. In his second year at the university, Woods won the U.S Amateur Championship again at Newport. Woods then would enter his PGA Tour major, playing in the 1995 Masters and was the only amateur to make the cut.
Woods then moved out of California and turned from the college scene to be thrust into the professional sport world, signing endorsement deals with Nike and Titleist in 1996. Tiger was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. When 1997 rolled around, Tiger was on the verge of taking the spotlight in professional gold, and he got it on April 13th, 1997. Tiger Woods won the Masters Tournament at age 21, demolishing the competition, and winning by 12 strokes...so yeah...he was pretty dominant. Approximately two months later, Tiger would capture the Number One overall ranking in the Official World Golf Rankings. Oh but he wasn't done yet. In 2000, Tiger won SIX straight PGA Tour events, which included his annihilation of the competition at the 2000 U.S Open, where he claimed top spot by FIFTEEN STROKES. Tiger won the Grand Slam of Golf at the age of 24, being the youngest ever to do so. Tiger would dominate in 2001, winning the Masters again. Then Tiger entered a sink in his success, not winning a major in 2003 or 2004. He was also ousted as the Number One golfer in the world by Vijay Singh, who was on a tear in the PGA Tour.
Now comes the moment that is perfectly etched in my head, and forever will be a part of my childhood memory. I am in a podcast group that includes the Ives brothers (Whit and Zack). We have known each other for our entire lives, as our fathers have been friends since before we were born. Anyway, often times when I was younger, my family would go over to the Ives on Sunday's and get together to enjoy an afternoon together, rain or shine. Us kids would go play outside if it was nice outside, but when it was raining, we would stay in and usually watch the television. The catch was that our fathers had control over the tv and golf was usually what we were watching. In 2005, it was raining so we were inside, and I am glad we were because I was able to witness one of the greatest sport moments of all time on that Sunday. Tiger Woods was in the Final Round of the Masters Tournament and was in a battle against Chris DiMarco. Leading up to the final round, Tiger had started the tournament going 2 over par in the first round, not touching the top 10 for the field. The second round was much different as Tiger came roaring back to take third place at the end of the day. The third round was one I will never forget. With Tiger ending up 4 strokes behind DiMarco after the first nine holes were played. Woods resumed play on Sunday morning after play was delayed because of the pounding rain that had disrupted the tournament all weekend. Tiger had finally passed DiMarco and had a one stroke lead over him when he arrived to the 16th hole, nicknamed "Redbud" by the Augusta course. After a left hooked 8-iron approach shot to end up in the rough, Tiger found himself 25 yards out and could not afford a bogey or double-bogey. With his ball positioned on the edge or the rough and the REALLY thick rough, Tiger chipped his ball about ten yards to the left of the pin and that thing rolled so slowly. What makes this moment even better is the entire living room was standing at the Ives house and the chip seemed to go in slow motion. Verne Lundquist's call is the best: "Well, here it comes...oh my goodness........OOHHH WOW! In your life have you ever seen anything like that?!" The living room went ballistic when that little golf ball finally fell off the lip of the cup and in. The fist bump that followed was icing on the cake. Tiger Woods at that moment was the face of sport and the epitome of passion.