Feature
in awe of a man seemingly destined to not
just break, but shatter, records along his
seemingly-unstoppable fast-track to golfi ng
greatness and sporting supremacy. The
son of a US serviceman and his Thai-born
wife, Tiger Woods’ star went into orbit, the
steepest trajectory of any sportsman, any
time, anywhere, spending no fewer than
683 weeks – 281 of those consecutive –
at the top of the world ranking, amassing
US$110m in offi cial prize money, ten-times
that in sponsorships and endorsements,
appearance fees and other income. Current
world number-one Dustin Johnson has been
there for 16 weeks, Rory McIlroy, Tiger’s
heir-apparent, 95 weeks in all, Jordan
Spieth, America’s next Tiger, 26 weeks,
these fi gures showing the sheer scale of
utter domination Woods held over the game
of golf. 14 ‘Majors,’ 18 WGC titles, Woods,
seemingly unstoppable, that was until his
car collided with a fi re hydrant outside his
home in Jupiter, Florida in November 2009,
following a domestic altercation triggering a
string of lurid headlines, the self-appointed
all-American family man revealed as
anything but, a penchant for cocktail
waitresses leading ultimately to divorce a
year later.
There are those who believe the
Tiger phenomenon ended that
fateful night, but the records
reveal that, although his last
‘Major’ title was the 2008 US
Open at Torrey Pines, Woods
actually won nine-more-times
on Tour – a not-to-be-sniffed-
at career record for more
ordinary mortals – until his
fi nal victory to date, the 2013
WGC Bridgestone Invitational
at Firestone GC.
Since then, Woods has earned just
US$556,877, less than the wonderfully-
named but utterly-unrecognizable Bronson
Burgoon and is currently ranked 876th on
the OWGR; his PGA TOUR exemption
ends at the end of the 2017 / 18 season, and
whilst money worries are unlikely to keep
him awake at night, his imminent departure
from a stage he once strutted with utter
dominance will do for sure.
PGA TOUR chief Jay Monahan insisted
to the Associated Press following Woods’s
recent Driving Under Infl uence (DUI),
“He’s a member of our family, and we’r