Despite early success that has Tiger toying with the idea of turning
pro, Kultida takes a stand. "I always tell Tiger that golf is not a
priority. Nobody can take an education away from you, especially a degree at
Stanford."
March 1995
Earl tells Sports Illustrated that Tiger won't turn pro and
will finish his four years at Stanford. Tiger concurs: "I would rather
spend four years here at Stanford and improve
myself."
April 1995
Tiger, 19, plays the Masters, his first professional major
championship. "A 19-year-old who just happens to be black winning the
Masters. Would that be a story?" he quips. He is the only amateur to make
the cut and finishes
41st.
April 1995
Stanford suspends Tiger from the golf team for a day for writing
Masters diaries for Golf World and Golfweek magazines. "It's
deemed to be a promotion of a commercial publication," says Steve Mallonee,
director of legislative services for the NCAA. Meanwhile, Tiger privately
seethes about the inquiries. His father intimates that Tiger might leave school
early if such annoying NCAA scrutiny continues or if, says Earl, "he
achieves a level of performance in which collegiate golf is no longer a viable
environment for
him."
June 1995
Tiger earns First-Team All-America honors. He is also named
Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year. He ties for fifth at the NCAA
Championships.
June 1995
Taking a hard swing from the rough, Tiger sprains his wrist and is
forced to withdraw five holes into the second round of the U.S.
Open.
July 1995
At the Western Open, Tiger makes his first 36-hole cut ever in a
regular PGA Tour event. It is his first Tour appearance since spraining his
wrist a month earlier. "The wrist is fine," he said. "I don't
have any lingering pain. I'm still growing into my body, and as I get stronger,
the less I'll get
hurt."
Tiger also addresses his one-day suspension from the Stanford golf team. "I
won't turn pro until 1998, after college," said Woods. ""The only
thing that's annoying about the NCAA is trying to get used to the rules and
regulations, because I've been used to one governing body, the
USGA."
August 1995
Tiger, 19, successfully defends his U.S. Amateur Championship. He
becomes the first male since Bobby Jones to win a USGA title in five consecutive
years.
June 1996
Riding the wave of Tigermania, 14,694 purchase tickets to attend the
NCAA Championships and 225 media credentials -- up from 80 the year before --
are issued. Tiger, the only golfer in the 156-player field to break par, wins
his first and only NCAA individual
championship.
August 27, 1996
Days after winning his third consecutive U.S. Amateur
Championship, Tiger turns pro four months shy of his 21st birthday. He then
signs a five-year, $40-million contract with Nike and another deal for $20
million with Titleist. "I'll do the commercials for Nike and for Titleist,
but there won't be much more than that. I have no desire to be the king of
endorsement money," he
says.
Soon after signing, Nike begins trumpeting Tiger's arrival with a hard-hitting
ad. Tiger records a voice-over in which he says: "There are still
courses in the United States I am not allowed to play because of the color of my
skin. I've heard I'm not ready for you. Are you ready for
me?"
August 29-Sept. 1, 1996
At the Greater Milwaukee Open, his first tournament as
a pro, Tiger registers a seven under par. He finishes tied for 60th and takes
home a first-place paycheck of $2,544. "That's my money. I
earned this," he says of his tournament winnings, in reference to
the criticism he receives for signing deals with Nike and Titleist several days
earlier.
Late September, 1996: Some of Tiger's early detractors re-surface after he pulls
out of the Buick Challenge and skips the Fred Haskins Award dinner in his honor.
Tiger cites fatigue, but not everyone is buying it. "I can't ever remember
being tired when I was 20," says Tom Kite. Peter Jacobsen adds,
"You can't compare Tiger to [Jack] Nicklaus and [Arnold] Palmer anymore
because they never [walked
out]."
After resting for a week, a stung Tiger says, "I thought those people were
my friends. I miss college. I have to be so guarded now. I miss sitting around
drinking beer and talking half the night. My mother was right when she said
that turning pro would take away some of my youth. But, golfwise, there was
nothing left for me in
college."
A couple of weeks later Tiger attends the Fred Haskins dinner, which has been
rescheduled at his request. He apologizes for the inconvenience before those in
attendance give him a standing
ovation.
October 6, 1996
Tiger grabs his first victory on the PGA Tour at the Las Vegas
Invitational. He fires a 332 for the tournament, good for 27 under par and
$297,000. He is asked afterward if he envisioned winning so soon. Tiger replies,
"Yeah, I kind of did. I've never let anything deter me. This is my purpose.
It will
unfold."
October 13, 1996
After losing the Texas Open by two strokes, Tiger returns to
his hotel room and snaps. He breaks eight putters in a fit of rage. "That
volcano of competitive fire, that comes from me," Earl
says.
December 1996
Tiger is selected as Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of
the Year. Learning of the honor, Earl says, "Tiger will do more than any
other man in history to change the course of humanity. More than [anyone]
because he's more charismatic, more educated, more prepared for this than
anyone."
