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Tiger
Woods
Most
recently in the news for a sex scandal - exposed via voice mail
and text messages to a harem of girlfriends (with rumors of soon-to-be
released nude photos and videos) - Tiger Woods was born Eldrick
Woods on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California.
The
golf superstar was nicknamed Tiger after a Vietnamese soldier
who was a friend to his beloved father, Earl
Woods.
Tiger
soon lived up to his nickname when Woods' father introduced him
to the game at age three, later boasting, "Tiger knew how
to swing a club before he could walk". The
gifted young golfer went on to win his first Optimist International
Junior World Title at the ripe old age of eight.
He
later took the U.S. Junior Amateur Championships by storm, winning
three consecutive titles beginning in 1991, together with the
U.S. Amateur title in 1994, 1995, and 1996.
The
following year, he was ready for the pro tour - for at age 21
Tiger Woods became the youngest player ever to win the Masters,
followed by the youngest to rank No. 1 in professional golf, and
the first golfer of African or Asian descent to win a major professional
championship - all in his debut year.
Success
followed success when in 1999 Woods scored 8 victories on the
PGA Tour, along with the PGA Championship, and the following year
won the British Open becoming at age 24 the youngest player ever
to win the Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and the
British Open.

Tiger
Woods with baby
son, Charlie born in 2009.
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Woods was
named the No. 1 player in the world in 2005, following his win
at the Ford Championship at Doral, and in April took the 2005
Masters
Tournament in a spectacular playoff against Chris DiMarco
for his fourth career Masters win.
Woods dominated
the British Open in July 2005 for his second win of the year at
a major tournament.
Concerns
over the seriously ill Earl Woods some say was the reason the
golfing superstar has been off his game during the 2006 season.
Now dead of cancer at age 74, Earl Woods was forever sited by
his son as the bedrock of his success.
The 2006 U.S.
Open in June marked the first time that Woods would have competed
in a major tournament without the coaching and guidance of his
equally famous mentor. However, he failed to make the cut in a
major for the first time in his professional career.
His comeback
was heralded by an emotional & triumphant win at this at the
2006 British
Open, and by his 50th
PGA victory at the Buick Open in August, followed closely
by a five-shot victory in the PGA
Championship, a triumph he repeated again in 2007.
By 2008, Woods
was playing better than ever, with 62 career wins tying Arnold
Palmer for fourth on the all-time list.
Despite a
knee injury and subsequent surgery, the golf great battled back
to take the 2008 U.S.
Golf Open in a dramatic double overtime victory over Rocco
Mediate.
However, soon
after his victory it was revealed Woods has played the grueling
championship having suffered two fractures and a torn ligament,
which effectively put him out of action for the remainder of the
2008 season.
In early 2009,
however, Woods coupled the announcement of his second son, Charlie,
with the news of his triumphant return to the links, beginning
with the Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson in February.
Marriage
& career rocked by sex scandal
In
November 2009,
rumors buzzed about
an alleged affair with
model Rachel Uchitel.
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Woods married
long-time girlfriend, Swedish model, Elin
Nordegren in a lavish wedding
ceremony in Barbados on October 5, 2004. Woods is now the
proud father of a baby girl named Sam Alexis, born on June 18,
2007. Their
second child, Charlie Axel Woods, was born on February 9, 2009.
In November
2009, their Woods' high-profile marriage became the subject of
tabloid sensationalism with reports of a domestic dispute that
buzzed the news, involving Woods in a fender bender outside his
Orlando home after being chased
from his home by wife Elin with a golf club.
A Wood's spokesman
quickly spun the story by painting it into a minor car accident.
However, incident followed closely on the heals of a National
Enquirer report of Woods involvement in an affair
with model Rachel Uchitel. Other reports from RadarOnline.com
soon followed, detailing another indiscretion with yet another
alleged mistress, cocktail waitress Jaimee
Grubbs.
Wood later
came clean when he posted an apology to his family and fans on
his Web site, following up with another post - in which he openly
admitted cheating on wife Elin - and announced that he would be
putting his career on hiatus for the time being.
Since then,
reports from more than a dozen
other women claiming to have afffairs with Woods has surfaced,
along with rumors and gossip about the possibility of related
nude photos and sex tapes emerging from the ongoing scandal.
Meanwhile,
lucrative endorsement deals closely tied to Tiger Woods estimable
fortune (currently worth an estimated $1 billion) are threatened
as various sponsors (Gatorade among them) begin dropping his image
from product lines and advertising campaigns.
More about
Tiger Woods around the Web:
Official
Website for Tiger Woods - With all the latest news and
updates, tour schedule, biography and fun facts, video and audio
clips, picture galleries, golf tips from the pro himself, online
games and trivia questions, discussion board, chat.
Tiger
Woods - Extensive bio from Wikipedia with an overview
of his life and career, legendary golf shots, style of playing,
championships won & records acheived along with media controversies,
press coverage, related links.
Tiger
Woods Up Close and Personal - Archive from a 2006 "60
Minutes" interview with the golf superstar discussing marriage
and plans for a family, quotes, photo gallery, video clips.
Tiger
Woods - pictures and more by: The Golf Expert - Pages
of hi-res photos in clickable thumbnails plus a career timeline,
related links.
Tiger
Woods - Role Models on the Web - A quick profile and photo
including interesting factoids, quotes and career highlights.
Welcome
to the First Church of Tiger Woods - Major spoof site
with 'evidence' of Wood's divinity pointing to miracle shots only
possible by someone superhuman, and including a very funny photo
gallery, screensaver... and an online prayer service.
Tiger
Woods Biography - Kid-friendly profile, picture and career
highlights from KidzWorld.com.
also
see feature story -> A
Watch for Golfers, Designed by Tiger Woods
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Golf
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