Affairs, arrests and near-fatal accidents: The turbulent life of Tiger Woods

When it comes to golf, Tiger Woods really has done it all. Not only does he have a legitimate claim to being one of the greatest ever, there's still time for him to build on his suceess. However, his career has not been all highs. Join us for a look at the life of one of golf's greatest and most scandal-prone stars.

Brought up by his father Earl Woods, a former member of the US military, a young Tiger Woods started playing golf with his dad at the age of two at the Navy golf course in Los Alamitos.

Photo: Instagram @tigerwoods

During his childhood, Woods’ golfing ability started to skyrocket, and the championships started to follow. He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times with four of them being in consecutive years.

Photo: Instagram @tigerwoods

After significant success in his early years, many of the US’s top golf colleges wanted Tiger to be a part of their team. In the fall of 1994, he enrolled at Stanford University, the previous NCAA champion.

Throughout his time at Stanford, Woods was a standout athlete, winning Pac-10 player of the year, NCAA All-American First Team, and Stanford’s male freshmen of the year.

Woods turned professional aged 20 in 1996 and was swept up in sponsorships by brands such as Nike and Titleist that were seen as some of the most lucrative deals in sports history.

After turning pro, Woods had seven tournaments left in the year to gain his PGA tour status by finishing in the 125. He ended up winning two tournaments and finished in the top 30.

Woods won four PGA championship events in 1997 and became the fastest player to achieve world number-one status in history in his 42^nd week as a professional.

In April of 1997, the new golf prodigy won his first major championship by winning the Masters in record-breaking fashion. He shot -18, which was 12 shots better than second place.

Between 2000 and 2008, Tiger Woods earned legendary status in the sporting world winning 13 major championships, including winning 3 out of the 4 to win in 2000.

Between August 1999 and September 2004, he remained world number one for 264 consecutive weeks and again from June 2005 to October 2010 for 281 consecutive weeks.

In December 2009, Tiger Woods decided to take a break from golf to work on his marriage with then-wife Elin Nordegren.

With reports of Woods seeing other women, his wife Elin confronted the golfer and according to TMZ, she 'scratched his face up' after a serious altercation in his SUV. Woods tried to escape the scene but crashed into a fire hydrant at high speed.

After numerous women came out publicly about having affairs with Woods, the golfer admitted to infidelity and the pair split. According to People Magazine, Nordegren received a $100 million settlement.

In the weeks and months after the golfers’ confessions about his infidelity, major brands dropped Woods including AT&T, Gatorade, and General Motors.

Despite the negative publicity surrounding him, Nike decided to stick with Woods despite the crisis in his private life.

Coming back to the sport after his divorce, Woods elevated back to the top spot in the world between 2013 and 2014. However, injuries led him to have four back surgeries between 2014 and 2017.

After a torrid time with back injuries, Tiger only competed in one tournament between August 2015 and January 2018, leading him to drop out of the top 1000 golfers in the world.

In May 2017, the sporting icon was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

At his hearing in October 2017, Woods pleaded guilty to reckless driving. He received a year’s probation, 50 hours of community service, and a $250 fine.

Once he had started to recover from his demons in his private life, Woods started to get back into playing on tour and declared himself fit for the 2019 Masters tournament.

With the lack of tournaments in the previous years, Tiger Woods created arguably the greatest sporting achievement ever by winning the Masters by one shot after an 11-year major championship drought.

In February 2021, Woods survived a single-vehicle car crash while driving at 80mph, nearly twice the speed limit. The former champion escaped with a broken ankle and a damaged leg.

After the car crash and a fifth back surgery since his Masters Miracle, he announced that now he would only play a select few tournaments a year and focus on developing his son Charlie's golf game.

According to People Magazine, after a troubled life, a source close to Woods' family said, "He rebuilt his life," and that he and his ex-wife 'still communicate and their kids see them as a parenting team which is remarkable.'