Big5-Oh
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Tiger Woods
ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN McCABE
(DECEMBER 30): The golf legend has been a star player from the start.
EARLY YEARS: Eldrick Tont Woods was born in Cypress, California, to Earl, a retired U.S. Army officer, and Kultida, originally from Thailand. They nicknamed their son Tiger in honor of a friend of Earl’s, a South Vietnamese colonel who shared the moniker.
YOUNG TALENT: Woods began playing golf as a toddler and was so impressive that, at a young age, he appeared on The Mike Douglas Show and That’s Incredible!
COLLEGE TO PRO: In 1994, Woods joined the Stanford University golf team. He turned pro after two years.
RECORD COLLECTION: Woods was rated the No. 1 golf player in the world for the most consecutive weeks (281) and most total weeks (683) in history. In 2019, he became the second-oldest golfer to win the Masters, at 43.
ON AGING: “The fire still burns to compete,” Woods said in 2024. “But ... the body just won’t recover like it used to. That’s ... part of an athlete’s journey.” —Whitney Matheson
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Illustration by Sean McCabe: Tiger Woods primary photo: Steven Flynn/Action Plus/Shutterstock; Alex Edelman/Bloomberg/Getty Images; Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images; David Cannon/Allsport/Getty Images; Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images; Andrew Redington/Getty Images; Craig Jones/Getty Images; Doug Pensinger/Getty Images. Bialik: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images. Wright: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images. Dempsey: James Gourley/Getty Images. Davis: Jason Davis/Getty Images. Lydon: Dylan Coulter/Guardian/eyevine/Redux. Parton: Jason Kempin/Getty Images.