"Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible."
"People down here are just great. They're very knowledgeable about the game of golf and very excited."
--Tiger Woods
Date of birth: December 30, 1975
Place of birth:Cypress, California
Height:1.85 m
Weight:84 kg
Nationality:United States
Professional wins97
PGA Tour71 (3rd all time)
European Tour38 (3rd all time)
Japan Golf Tour2
Asian Tour1
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Other 15
Eldrick Tont Woods, known as Tiger Woods, is an American professional golfer currently ranking the World No. 1.
Woods has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any male player, and 71 PGA Tour events. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour.
Woods has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record ten times, the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in nine different seasons. He has been named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year a record-tying four times, and is the only person to be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year more than once.
He rebounded from major knee surgery to win six times on tour in 2009 and was named PGA Tour Player of the Year for the 10th time in voting by his peers.
He is largely responsible for a shift to higher standards of athleticism among professional golfers, and is known for putting in more hours of practice than most. While Woods is considered one of the most charismatic figures in golfing history, his approach is, at its core, cautious.
He aims for consistency. Although he is better than any other Tour player when he is in top form, his dominance comes not from regularly posting extremely low rounds, but instead from avoiding bad rounds. He plays fewer tournaments than most professionals (15–21 per year, compared to the typical 25–30), and focuses his efforts on preparing for the majors and the most prestigious of the other tournaments. His manner off the course is cautious as well, as he carries himself in interviews and public appearances with a carefully controlled demeanor reminiscent of the corporate athlete persona developed between Nike and Michael Jordan.
Woods announced an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after his past infidelities came to light on December 11, 2009.
