Tiger Woods is one of the most successful golfers in history but, besides his winning golf game, there are some surprising things you may not know about this sports icon.
1. Tiger Woods was born in 1975 in Cypress, California, and his name at birth was
Eldrick Tont Woods, according to CNN.
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2. Woods was the youngest winner and the first African-American ever to win the U.S. Master’s in 1997, according to his bio.
3. The only child of an African-American army officer and his Thai mother, young Eldrick was given the nickname “Tiger” by his father in honor of his dear friend and fellow soldier of the same name.
4. In 2009
Tiger Woods became the very first athlete ever to earn more than a billion dollars in his
career, according to Forbes magazine.
5. Tiger Woods was ranked the second-wealthiest African-American behind Oprah Winfrey with a net worth of $600 million in 2009,
Forbes noted.
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6. Woods’ marriage to Elin Nordegren ended in 2010 after six years when reports of his reported infidelities with many different women surfaced. The marriage produced two children, Charlie Axel and Sam Alexis, says CNN.
7. Tiger Woods attended Stanford University for two years before leaving to pursue a pro
career in golf, says About.com.
8. According to CNN, Tiger Woods earned nearly $800,000 in 1996, the first year of his professional golf career. He also signed endorsement contracts worth more than $43 million that same year.
9. According to an interview with
Rahim Kanani, a contributor with Forbes magazine, Tiger Woods feels very strongly that education is the key to ending the cycle of poverty for children. To contribute to the education of underprivileged children, Woods founded the Tiger Woods Foundation in 1996.
10. In late December 2015, Woods reported that he was undergoing surgery to remove bone around a pinched nerve and was not sure when he would be back on the golf course, says CNN.
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