Eldrich Tont Woods, perhaps the most successful modern-day sportsperson let alone golfer, was born on 30th December 1975 December to Earl and Kultida Woods. Earl Woods had served as an Army Lieutinent Colonel in the Vietnam War and it was after one of his soldier friends, he decided to affectionately call his son "Tiger", thus giving the world - Tiger Woods !
Tiger showed extraordinary promise as a kid. He appeared on The Mike Douglas Show and putted against comedian Bob Hope at the grand old age of 2 ! At the age of 5, he had appeared in the Golf Digest and at the age of eight, he won World Junior Golf Championships - a tournament which he won 6 times in all.
Tiger turned professional in 1996 and immediately signed a massive endorsement deal with Nike. In his debut year, he won the PGA Rookie of the Year award and fast became a force to reckon with. Woods won his first major in 1997 when he won the Augusta Masters by a massive margin of 12 strokes, thus becoming the youngest person ever to wear the Green Jacket. The period from 1999-2002 was full of domination and new World Records. In 2000, aged 24, Tiger became the youngest player to complete a Career Grand Slam. Just four odd years after turning pro, Woods was ranked as the twelfth best golfer of all time by a reputed magazine. EA Sports also signed up Woods for endorsement of their golf games.
Woods' crowning glory though came at the recently concluded US Open 2008. Woods played with a damaged knee. He even used his club as a cane to walk around the course. Fighting personal ill-health and a pack of promising golfers in Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson, Tiger managed to force a 18-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate - which he went on to win. After the round Mediate said, " This guy does things that are just not normal by any stretch of the imagination, he beat everybody on one leg."
Tiger will require reconstructive cruciate ligament surgery to be back on the Tour. All his fans hope that Tiger will be able to recreate the magic which has they usually associate with their favorite sports icon !
