His Childhood

Eldrick Tont Woods was born in 1975. He was called “Tiger” by his father Earl Wood. It was not the first time his father had named someone “Tiger”. His father was in Army as an infantry officer and was stationed in Vietnam twice. During one of his tour to Vietnam, he met a soldier named Vuong Dang Phong. They became friends soon after and Earl nicknamed him Tiger. It was on the same tour he met his future wife Kultida who belonged to Thailand.

First Time With Golf

From the very young age, Tiger Woods started playing golf. He was only 13 years old when he got a chance to take on professional golfers. His first professional competitor was 22 years old John Daly in 1989 Insurance Youth Golf Classic. Though he lost the game to Daly by one stroke he emerged as a highly talented golfer overshadowing Daly in a couple of years.

First Appearance On TV

Tiger made his very first national TV appearance in The Mike Douglas Show. Mike Douglas had seen him in a feature that had enlisted the kids at the driving range. He also had a light-hearted putting contest with then-famous comedian Bob Hope who also was a guest on the show. Everyone knew he was going to become a great golfer but hardly anyone knew he was about to create history.

Holds Many Records

He was always an achiever. As an amateur, he acquired victory in 18 straight match-play tournament in 1996. He also holds the record of being the only golfer to win three U.S. Amateur Championships. He did it all at the tender age of 15 making him the youngest amateur champion of all time.

Not A Perfect Past

Not many people know that this inspiring personality once suffered speech problem. Tiger in his childhood used to stutter a lot. As always an achiever he is, he overcame this problem also. He made the revelation in 2015 while interacting with a small child who had come to see LPGA golfer, Sophie Gustafson who also stutters. According to the Golf Digest Tiger told the kid “I also stuttered as a child, and I would talk to my dog, and he would sit there and listen until he fell asleep. I also took a class for two years to help me, and I finally learned to stop.”

His Class Mates Knew

There was something about the Tiger. During his high school, his class fellow voted him the  “most likely to succeed”. for the year superlatives. What a prescience. Tiger proved them right by becoming the first golfer to win three straight Junior Amateur Championships in 1994. What they would have never imagined is the fortune his talent would earn him.

Stanford University

Tiger enrolled himself in NCAA Division I champs of the Stanford University Cardinals on golf scholarship after passing out his western High School in 1994. He initially thought of pursuing his career in economics to earn big money. Unaware of the fact that he indeed was going to make a lot of money but apparently by some other means.

Freshman Of The Year

Tiger Woods continued to shine in Stanford University also. He had his first victory in the college when he participated as Stanford Cardinals” in 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational. He for his outstanding performance was called Stanford’s Freshman of the Year. This award is given to only the best student-athlete in the college. He just did not stop there, he further partook in 1995 Masters and was ranked 41 the only amateur to make into the list.