Tiger Woods wins the Masters Tournament for the first time
On this day in 1997 21-year-old Tiger Woods wins the prestigious Masters Tournament by a record 12 strokes in Augusta Georgia.It was Woods first victory in one of golfs four major championshipsthe U.S.Open the British Open the PGA Championship and the Mastersand the greatest performance by a professional golfer in more than a century.Eldrick Tiger Woods was born in a suburb of Los Angeles California on December 30 1975.
The only child of an African-American father and a Thai mother Woods was encouraged from infancy by his father for a career in golf.At the age of two he teed off against comedian Bob Hope on televisions Mike Douglas Show.At five years old he was featured on the television show Thats Incredible.
At age eight Tiger won his first junior world championship and in 1991 at age 15 he became the youngest player ever to win the U.S.Junior Amateur Championship.He also captured the 1992 and 1993 Junior Amateur titles and in 1994 accepted a scholarship to attend Stanford University.
That year he came from six holes behind to win the first of his three consecutive U.S.Amateur championships.He was 18 years old and the youngest Amateur champion in history.In 1995 Tiger played the Masters his first professional major championship.
The Augusta National Golf Club which runs the Masters had not let an African-American join its ranks until 1991.Woods finished 41st in his first Masters appearance.In 1996 he won the collegiate title.
By this time he was already attracting considerable media attention and attracting throngs of new fans to the sport.After claiming his third U.S.Amateur title Woods left college and turned professional in August 1996.
Playing as a pro in eight Professional Golfers Association (PGA) events in 1996 he won a title and was named the PGA Tours outstanding rookie.In December 1996 he was celebrated by the magazine Sports Illustrated as its Sportsman of the Year.In professional play most of Woods opponents were in their late 30s or early 40s.At 62 and 155 pounds he was slender and athletic and had developed a devastating swing that routinely allowed him to hit drives of more than 300 yards.
He also had a reputation for mental toughness and was a superb putter and chipper.In April 1997 all these attributes came together for the most decisive victory in the Masters 44-year history.His margin of victory12 strokeswas the largest in the 20th century and second only to Old Tom Morris 13-shot margin at the 1862 British Open.His score of 18-under-par 270 broke Jack Nicklaus 32-year-old Masters record of 17-under-par 271.
He was the youngest golfer by two years to win the Masters and the first person of Asian or African heritage to win a major.Never before had so many spectators come to Augusta National and never before had so many people watched it on television.By June 1997 Tiger was ranked number one in the world.In 1999 he won eight PGA tournaments earned a record 6 million and began a winning streak that eventually tied Ben Hogans 1948 streak the second longest in PGA history.
In June 2000 he won his first U.S.Open title shooting a record 12-under-par 272 to finish 15 strokes ahead of his nearest competitors.It was the greatest professional golf performance in history surpassing even his 1997 Masters triumph and Old Tom Morris 1862 showing.
In July 2000 he captured the British Open and in August the PGA championship.At the age of 24 he was the youngest player ever to win all four major golf titles and just the second to win three majors in a year.On April 10 2005 he earned his fourth green sport coat at Augusta National becoming the first person to win four Masters before age 30.Tigers winning pace slowed around 2004 when he devoted time to reworking his swing and rehabilitating his surgically repaired knee.
It was also during this period that he married Elin Nordegren a Swedish former model who would become the mother of his two children.Tiger was back in top form by 2005 winning his 10th major.His performance fluctuated throughout the rest of the decade as he struggled with a torn ACL and personal problems that garnered substantial media attention In late 2009 in the wake of events surrounding a car accident outside Tigers Florida home several women came forward claiming to have had affairs with the famous golfer.
Nordegren divorced him in August 2010 just as Tiger began his first winless season in his career.
