1. His Net Worth
Tiger Woods, real name Eldrick Woods, is an American golfer who enjoyed one of the greatest amateur careers in the history of the whole game, and became the dominant player on the professional circuit in the late 1990s and early 200s. In 1997, he became the first golfer of African American and Asian descent to win the Masters Tournament, which is one of the biggest events in the sport. With this victory, he went on to become the first player to win the four major tournaments of gold, those being, the Masters, the U.S Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship.
Woods personal life came to the forefront in 2012 when he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of sleep and pain medications. It was also revealed that Woods had been having multiple extramarital affairs, that caused him to lose endorsements, his wife and support from audiences. Here are some things about Tiger Woods you should know if you're a fan.
It was estimated that in 2017, Tiger Woods earned an estimated $37.1 million. $37 million came from sponsorships and endorsement deals. In 2016, he earned an estimated $45.3 million, and in 2015, he earned approximately $50.6 million, which made him the highest paid golfer of all time.
2. His Home
Business Insider says that Woods has earned $110.1 million from the PGA Tour and another $56 million from the European Tour as of April 2017. When Forbes released it's annual list of wealthiest celebrities in America, Woods found himself at number eight, in between Jay Z and Dr.Dre.
In 2006, Woods bought a 12-acre lot in Jupiter Island, Florida, while he was married to his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren. He knocked down the already existing 9,000 square foot home and rebuilt a mansion that was more his style. The property had a 4-hole golf course, a putting green, a lap pool, a dive pool, and a tennis court.
3. The Divorce Settlements
It's estimated that the property is worth $54.5 million. Woods also owns his own restaurant nearby with the menu being filled with everything from lamb to chicken to ahi tuna and shrimp scampi. There's also an extesive wine and cigar list.
Woods and his ex-wife went through an extremely public and nasty divorce after finding out that Woods had been cheating on her with multiple women. According to TMZ, Nordegren received about $100 million in the divorce settlement.
4. His Dropped Endorsement Deals
Woods and Nordegren welcomed their first child, daughter Sam Alexis Woods, on June 18th, 2007, and their son, was born two years later on February 8, 2009. Woods will be paying child support until his kids are 18.
After Tiger's affairs were brought to light, his career began to suffer critically. Several of his endorsement deals fell through, companies didn't want to be associated with the golfer who now fell short of a family man. In 2010, Woods was dropped by Gatorade and they dropped a statement saying, "We no longer see a role for Tiger in our marketing efforts and have ended our relationship.
5. His Biggest Endorsement Deal Ever Was Signed With Nike
We wish him all the best." Later that same year, Gillette cut ties with the golfer saying, "The company has used Woods, Roger Federer, Lionel Messi, and dozens of other athletes as part of their "Gillette Champions" campaign. Woods was also dropped by AT & T and consultancy firm Accenture.
After turned pro in 1996, Nike offered him an endorsement deal that he realized he couldn't refuse. Through the extramarital affairs and a DUI arrest, Nike decided to stick by Woods. His original deal was for a reported $40 million over 5 years.
6. 2017 Arrest
It's been estimated that he signed another deal in 2001 for $100 million over 5 years, and then a third deal in 2006 for 7 years. In 2013, Nike re-upped Woods' contract more, and offered him $200 million.
On May 29th, 2017, Woods was arrested near his home in Florida by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office at about 3:00 am, for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was found parked in a traffic lane with the engine running fast asleep. He later admitted that he had taken prescription drugs and he hadn't realized how they might interact together. On July 3rd, 2017, Woods tweeted he had completed an out-of-state intensive program to tackle an unspecified issue.
7. Infidelity Scandal and Fallout
At a hearing on October 27th, Woods pled guilty to reckless driving. He received a year of probation, was fined $250, and was ordered to undergo 50 hours of community service along with regular drug tests, and was not allowed to drink alcohol during the time of his probation. If he violated this probation, he would immediately be sentenced to 90 days in jail with an additional $500 fine.
The National Enquirer posted a story claiming that Woods had an extramarital affair with a Mew York City nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel, who denied the claim. Two days later, around 2:30 am, Woods was driving home from his Florida mansion when he collided with a fire hydrant, a tree, and several hedges near his home. He was treated for minor facial lacerations and was given a ticket for reckless driving.
8. Early Life
On December 2nd, US Weekly reported that Woods had a mistress and released a voicemail message left by Woods for the woman. Over the next few days, more than a dozen women claimed in various media outlets to have had affairs with him. On December 11th, he released a third statement admitting to his infidelity, and apologized again, and then announced he would be taking an indefinite break from professional golf.
Woods grew up in Orange County, California, he was a child prodigy who was introduced to golf before the age of two by his athletic father, Earl Woods. Earl had been a single-digithandicap amateur golfer who was one of the earliest African-American college baseball players at Kansas State University. In 1978, Tiger putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglass Show. At age three, he shot a 48 over nine holes at the Navy course. At age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC's That's Incredible!.
9. His College Golf Career
Before turning seven, he won the Under Age 10 section of the Drive, Pitch, and Putt competition, held at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress, California. In 1984, at the age of eight, he won the 9-10 boys' event, the youngest age group available, at the Junior World Championships. He first broke 80 at age eight. He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991.
Woods was heavily recruited by college golf recruiters, but he decided to go to Stanford University. He enrolled at the university in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship and won his first collegiate event.
10. Tiger-Proofing
He chose a major in economics and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammates. He successfully defended his U.S Amateur title at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island and was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year.
During the early years of his career, a small number of golf experts expressed concern about his impact on the competitiveness of the game and the public appeal of professional golf. Some people feared that Woods would drive the spirit of competition out of the game of golf by making existing courses obsolete and relegating opponents to simply competing for second place each week.
11.Honors
Many courses in the PGA Tour rotation even added yardage to their tees to reduce the advantage oolong hitters like Woods, a strategy that became known as "Tiger-Proofing". Woods said he welcomed the change, in that adding yardage to courses did not affect his ability to win.
On August 20, 2007, California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver announced that Woods would be inducted into th California Hall of Fame. He was inducted December 5th, 2007, at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento. In December 2009, he was named "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press.
He was named Associated Press Male Athlete Of the Year four times, and is one of only two people to be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsmand of the Year more than once. Since his win at the 1997 Masters, Woods became the biggest name in golf and his tournaments have drawn a huge fan following.