Tiger Woods: Affairs, scandals and long list of golf records
As Tiger Woods lines up for potentially his final US Masters, we look at his journey from golf prodigy to disgraced star to wiser veteran on tour. SPECIAL REPORT
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From fairway swings to off-course flings, Tiger Woods has never been far from the headlines.
What was once a fresh-faced golf prodigy destined for every record has become an old head battered by injury and hardened by life lessons dished up very publicly.
As Woods prepares to pen the closing chapters on his sporting safari, this is the winding tale of a talent who had it all … and lost most of it.
EARLY LIFE
Born December 30, 1975, Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods is the son of Earl, an ex-lieutenant-colonel in the US army, and Thai-born mother Kultida.
While his parents christened him Eldrick, he was nicknamed Tiger in honour of Nguyen Phong, a South Vietnamese officer his father met during one of his two tours of Vietnam.
Phong was known as Tiger because of his tenacious approach to battle.
Life wasn’t always easy for a young Woods, however, as he was once tied to a playground tree at his kindergarten in Cypress, California, by his classmates because he was the only non-white.
“That was just normal in the ‘70s when there was a lot of racial hatred,” he said in 1996.
“Unfortunately it still exists today.”
GETTING INTO GOLF
Golf, clearly, was always on the cards.
Woods was taught to grip a golf club literally before he could walk. This talent saw him appear on The Mike Douglas Show when he was two, in a putting contest with Bob Hope.
By age three he shot 48 for nine holes at an army golf course, and featured as an exhibit on That’s Incredible when he was five.
Woods kept a piece of paper in his bedroom chronicling the achievements of Jack Nicklaus from the age of 10 so he could compare his own progress.
He broke 80 when he was eight and 70 when he was 12, both younger than the Golden Bear.
He won three consecutive US junior titles, the first when he was 15 years, seven months, the youngest winner in the history of the championship.
In an early sign of his ambition Woods said then his goal was “to be the best ever.”
Nicklaus, when playing alongside a young Woods, hailed the prodigy.
“(He’s got) the finest, fundamentally sound golf swing I’ve ever seen,” he said, predicting that Woods would win more Masters titles than Nicklaus and Palmer combined.
TURNING PRO
After attending Stanford University for two years, Woods in 1996 came from five holes down in the 36-hole final to win his third straight US amateur title.
He turned pro the next day.
However he still remained a relative unknown, with fellow golfer Sandy Lyle delivering a comical response when asked what he thought about Tiger Woods.
“I’ve never played there.”
Woods made his professional debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open on August 29, 1995.
Such was the hype sports broadcaster ESPN, which had not planned to telecast the Milwaukee Open, changed its production schedule and started building camera towers the moment Woods entered.
The spotlight, though, prompted Woods to withdraw from Buick Challenge later in the year, citing exhaustion.
“Everybody’s been telling him how great he is. I guess he’s starting to believe it,” fellow golfer Davis Love III said at the time.
The swag of endorsements also proved a sore point for rivals.
“A lot of players at first felt like he hadn’t proven himself on the PGA Tour level,” Phil Mickelson said after Woods’ first pro win. “But he has now.”
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
A black father and Asian mother – Woods, though, always wanted to be known simply as American.
In 1996 he spoke how blazing a trail like famous black leaders Arthur Ashe, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.
“Yes, I’ve been kicked off golf courses because of the colour of my skin,” he said.
“The hate mail is part of being in a sport that’s predominantly caucasian.
“However, it’s positive because it just goes to show that people are now being influenced by my play.”
A series of inflammatory Nike commercials in 1996 furthered his cause.
“It got people talking. “It was something that needed to be said in the game of golf. You can’t stand in the grey area. You have to stand on one side or the other,” he said.
“I feel if you’re a leader, you have to take the initiative and do what’s right. I feel what I’m doing is right.”
Golf great Tom Watson described Woods as potentially the most important player to enter the golfing scene for 50 years.
“Racism is part of our society and it’s why I’m trying to change it,” Woods said.
“People are going to have to broaden and learn and grow for this to happen. Policies and mindsets are going to have to change.”
GIANT OF THE GAME
His 12-stroke victory at the 1997 Masters set the scene.
Woods had arrived, and by 1999 he ascended to the top of golf’s world rankings – a spot he would own for the next 264 weeks.
Chasing Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 majors, Woods appeared well on course when he chalked up No.14 in 2008.
Woods was at the peak of his powers in the 2000s, also claiming a string of other major awards as debate began whether he was already the greatest of all time.
However a series of injuries, plus the death of his father from cancer in 2006, would curtail his results over the coming years.
Coupled with off-course scandals, and the once squeaky clean image was about to take a battering.
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WOMEN IN HIS LIFE
First there was Cindy Crawford’s wellwishing card, made public ahead of the 1996 season.
By 1997 Woods was linked to model Tyra Banks and LPGA professional golfer Kelli Kuehne, both relationships he denied.
“I didn’t even know I dated them. I don’t have a girlfriend. None,” he said at the time.
“I believe that love is given, but respect and trust are earned.”
In February 2000 it was revealed 24-year-old Woods had proposed to longtime girlfriend Joanna Jagoda, 22.
They had been an item for more than two years and California girl Joanna, who shelved her plans for a legal career, often accompanied Tiger on the pro golf circuit.
In July leading international golf writer John Feinstein provided a glimmer of hope to other golfers in light of Woods’ impending nuptials.
“I think as long as he stays healthy, the only thing that could derail him … is a family,’’ Feinstein told ABC Radio.
Woods and Jagoda called it quits in May 2001 amid reports Woods “wanted to play the field”.
Michael Jordan reportedly had an encounter in a nightclub with a young Woods, who asked the NBA superstar how he could get girls to like him.
“Just go tell them your Tiger Woods,” Jordan laughed.
Woods’ father did little to dispel the talk of a love for women when questioned less than a month later about the split from Jagoda.
“Let’s face it,’’ Earl said.
“A wife can sometimes be a deterrent to a good game of golf. The level Tiger’s at, the finite little problems … would destroy him.’’
By March 2002 Woods was confirmed to be dating Elin Nordegren, a blonde Swede who worked as a nanny for fellow player Jesper Parnevik.
“They are a perfect match,’’ Parnevik said.
“They have been in love for a long time, but they became a couple only recently.’’
Greg Norman this time led the chorus of those cheekily hoping the relationship could level the playing field on the course.
“(The other golfers) have only one hope left: the Swedish model,’’ Norman said on his website shark.com.
“Maybe Tiger Woods will become so head-over-heels in love with his new girlfriend that he’ll want to get married, have children and quit playing golf for a living.”
Woods and Nordegren were engaged in November 2003 and married in Barbados in October 2004.
The couple’s daughter, Sam Alexis Woods, was born in 2007 and son, Charlie Axel Woods, two years later.
WHEELS FALLING OFF
In November 2009 a National Enquirer story claimed Woods had an extramarital affair with New York City nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel, who denied the claim.
Two days later Woods was driving from his Florida home when his car hit a tree. He was treated for minor facial cuts and received a ticket for careless driving.
Woods would later release a statement on his website, taking responsibility for the “private matter” and hailing his wife for assisting on the scene.
However it was reported that Nordegren had woken a sleeping Woods after finding evidence of his affairs on his phone, chasing her barefoot husband down the road while swinging a golf club.
The damage was now done.
Within days more than a dozen women had come forward claiming to have had an affair with Woods, who apologised and took “an indefinite break from professional golf”.
With sponsors bailing out, Woods in February 2010 opened up about entering a therapy program.
“I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to,” he said.
“I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have to go far to find them. I was wrong. I was foolish.”
Woods and Nordegren divorced on August 23, 2010.
Even Woods’ mother was at the time reported to be “furious” with her son’s actions.
“She is hurt, angry and disappointed in Tiger,’’ a family friend said.
“She wants to know how he could do this to his family.’’
Swedish golfer Helen Alfredsson in 2009 said Woods’s cheating was no secret to other players.
“I heard it last summer during the British Open,” Alfredsson said, describing Woods as “cold” and had “something odd about him”.
“In the quietest water swims the ugliest fish.”
In total 121 women claim they slept with the golfer.
REBUILDING HIS LIFE
In March 2011 Woods begins dating the blonde 22-year-old stepdaughter of Glasgow Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston, Alyse Lahti Johnston.
However it doesn’t last and by March 2013 he couples with new girlfriend, 28-year-old Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn.
Their relationship would last until May 2015.
“I will always cherish the memories that we’ve created together. Unfortunately, we both lead incredibly hectic lives that force us to spend a majority of our time apart,” Vonn posted on social media.
From November 2016 to August 2017 Woods was reported to be in a relationship with stylist Kristin Smith.
Between 2017 and 2022 Woods was in a relationship with restaurant manager Erica Herman, however in early 2023 Herman filed suit against Woods after claiming she locked her out of her home by the golfer.
LATER CAREER
On May 29, 2017 Woods was arrested near his home in Florida for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
He was found asleep in his stationary car, though the engine was running. Woods claimed he had taken prescription drugs.
In July 2017 Woods tweeted that he completed a program to tackle an unspecified issue.
At his arraignment in August Woods pleaded not guilty and agreed to take part in a first-time driving under the influence offender program.
At a hearing on October 27 Woods pleaded guilty to reckless driving and received a year of probation, was fined $250, and ordered to undergo 50 hours of community service along with regular drug tests.
On the course, Woods in April 2019 ended an 11-year drought by winning the Masters, his 15th major crown.
However hopes of a genuine comeback were quickly quashed.
In February 2021 Woods survived a serious rollover car crash in California.
Police said the car “sustained major damage” and that Woods was driving almost 130km/h – nearly twice the speed limit – before he crashed.
No charges were filed. Woods suffered multiple leg injuries and had surgery for non-life-threatening injuries.
By 2022, as a result of his injuries, he admitted his playing time would be significantly reduced and he would only play part-time on the tour going forward.
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