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Tiger Woods

Golfer

POSITION

Golfer

COUNTRY

USA

AGE

48 years

SCENE

Lifestyle & Culture

SOCIAL

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What makes Tiger Woods a Global Shaker?

Tiger Woods is not only one of the most recognisable names in golf, but one of the most recognisable names in sport. In 2019 he won the sport’s most prolific tournament, the Masters, and with it cemented one of the most triumphant career comebacks in modern sporting history.

Within a year of turning pro, Woods had won numerous Tour events, the 1997 Masters in record-breaking fashion, and become world number 1. He went on to win 13 of golf’s major championships by 2010. Everything about the man from California’s persona was memorable, from his technique to his philosophy: he famously described himself as “Calbinasian”, a mixture of Caucasian, black, Indian and Asian. As the first black athlete to win the Masters trophy in an infamously white competition, Woods blazed the way for a new era in the sport.

From 2010, however, things went south. Amid accusations of extra-marital affairs, Woods took a hiatus from professional golf to resolve issues with his wife. He divorced, collapsed in the player rankings, then made his way back up to Number 1 for a year between 2013 and 2014. He was then forced to have a series of back surgeries between 2014 and 2017, dropping off the list of the world’s 1,000 top golfers by January 2018. He rallied again, winning the Tour Championship in September 2018, and his first major competition with the 2019 Masters.

Speaking after the tournament, Woods told Golf TV that he hadn’t come to grips with the success. “It’s very similar to what it was in 1997, and that took me years to understand what I had accomplished, and I don’t think this one will settle in for quite some time.”

Woods has also been wrapped up in a privacy debate about his son, Charlie, after footage and positive critique appeared online of the 10-year-old playing golf in a junior tournament.

Tags: Golf, Sport, USA

Last updated: January 17, 2020