title	PGA Tour
current season	2011 PGA Tour
logo	PGA Tour logo.svg
pixels	150px
sport	Golf
founded	1916 (broke from PGA in 1968)
country
most champs	Sam Snead (82)
website	PGATour.com
director	Tim Finchem
tv	CBS SportsNBC Sports and Golf ChannelSky Sports
founder	}}

The PGA Tour (officially rendered in all capital letters) is an organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America, including its flagship tour (which is also known as the PGA Tour, which it organizes most of its events for), the Champions Tour (for golfers age 50 and over, formerly known as the Senior PGA Tour), and the Nationwide Tour (for professional players who have not yet qualified to play in the PGA Tour). It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville.

Originally established by the Professional Golfers' Association of America, it was spun off into its own separate organization in 1968 aimed towards tournament golfers, as opposed to club professionals, who are the primary focus of the PGA of America. It adopted the name "PGA Tour" in 1975. The PGA Tour organization runs 43 of the week-to-week professional golf events, which is referred to as the PGA Tour, including The Players Championship, hosted at the TPC at Sawgrass, the FedEx Cup, and the biennial Presidents Cup. The remaining events on the PGA Tour are run by different organizations, as are the U.S. based LPGA Tour for women and the other men's and women's professional tours around the world.

History

The PGA Tour became a separate entity in 1968, branching off from the PGA of America, which is now primarily an association of club professionals. Tournament players formed their own organization, the Association of Professional Golfers (APG). Later in 1968, the tournament players abolished the APG and agreed to operate as the PGA "Tournament Players Division," a fully autonomous division under the supervision of a new 10-member Tournament Policy Board. The name would officially change to the "PGA Tour" in 1975.

In 1981, the PGA Tour had a marketing dispute with the PGA of America and decided to officially change its name. Beginning in late August 1981, it became the TPA Tour, for the "Tournament Players Association." The disputed issues were resolved within seven months and the tour's name was changed back to the "PGA Tour" in March 1982.

Tours operated by the PGA Tour

Due to the multiplicity of names, there is often confusion as to what the PGA Tour organization does and does not run. Of the events in the PGA Tour schedule, it does not run any of the four major championships (the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship), or the Ryder Cup. The PGA of America, not the PGA Tour, runs the PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship, and co-organizes the Ryder Cup with the PGA European Tour. Additionally, the PGA Tour is not involved with the women's golf tours in the U.S., which are mostly controlled by the LPGA. The PGA Tour is also not the governing body for the game of golf in the United States; this, instead, is the role of the United States Golf Association (USGA), which organizes the U.S. Open. What the PGA Tour does organize are the remaining 43 (in 2009) week-to-week events, including The Players Championship and the FedEx Cup events, as well as the biennial Presidents Cup. It also runs the main tournaments in two other championships, the Champions Tour and the Nationwide Tour.

The PGA Tour operates the following three tours, all of which are primarily contested in the U.S.:

PGA Tour, the top tour

* Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. possession of Puerto Rico host one event each year. Note, however, that the events in Mexico and Puerto Rico are "alternate" events held opposite one of the World Golf Championships tournaments and therefore have weaker fields than a regular tour event. In addition, one of the four annual major championships is held in the U.K.

Champions Tour, for golfers age 50 and over

* As of 2011, regular tournaments are held in Canada and South Korea, and one of the senior majors is held in the U.K.

Nationwide Tour, a developmental tour

* As of 2011, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico host one tournament each.

The PGA Tour also conducts an annual Qualifying Tournament (known colloquially as Q-School), a six-round tournament held each fall; the top 25 finishers, including ties, receive privileges to play on the following year's PGA Tour. Remaining finishers in the top 75, plus ties, receive full privileges on the Nationwide Tour.

The top 25 money-winners on the Nationwide Tour also receive privileges on the following year's PGA Tour. A golfer who wins three events on that tour in a calendar year earns a "performance promotion" (informally a "battlefield promotion") which garners PGA Tour privileges for the remainder of the year plus the following full season.

At the end of each year, the top 125 money-winners on the PGA Tour receive a tour card for the following season, which gives them exemption from qualifying for most of the next year's tournaments. However at some events, known as invitationals, exemptions apply only to the previous year's top 70 players. Players who are ranked between 126–150 receive a conditional tour card, which gives them priority for places that are not taken up by players with full cards. Those players can also improve their status by going to the tour's qualifying school tournament, where those players can go straight to the final stage.

Winning a PGA Tour event provides a tour card for a minimum of two years, with an extra year added for each additional win with a maximum of five years. Winning a World Golf Championships event or The Tour Championship provides a three-year exemption. Winners of the major championships and The Players Championship earn a five-year exemption. Other types of exemptions include lifetime exemptions for players with twenty wins on the tour; one-time, one year exemptions for players in the top fifty on the career money earnings list who are not otherwise exempt; two-time, one year exemptions for players in the top twenty-five on the career money list; and medical exemptions for players who have been injured, which give them an opportunity to regain their tour card after a period out of the tour.

Similar to other major league sports, there is no rule limiting PGA Tour players to "men only." In 2003, Annika Sörenstam and Suzy Whaley played in PGA Tour events, and Michelle Wie did so in each year from 2004 through 2008. None of these three made the cut, although Wie missed by only one stroke in 2004.

The LPGA like all other women's sports, is limited to female participants only.

There is also a PGA European Tour, which is separate from either the PGA Tour or the PGA of America; this organization runs a tour, mostly in Europe but with events throughout the world outside of North America, that is second only to the PGA Tour in worldwide prestige. There are several other regional tours around the world. However, the PGA Tour, European Tour, and many of the regional tours co-sponsor the World Golf Championships. These, along with the major championships, usually count toward the official money lists of each tour as well as the Official World Golf Rankings.

Charity fundraising

The PGA Tour places a strong emphasis on charity fundraising, usually on behalf of local charities in cities where events are staged. With the exception of a few older events, PGA Tour rules require all Tour events to be non-profit; the Tour itself is also a non-profit company. In 2005, it started a campaign to push its all-time fundraising tally past one billion dollars ("Drive to a Billion"), and it reached that mark one week before the end of the season. However, monies raised for charities derive from the tournaments' positive revenues (if any), and not any actual monetary donation from the PGA Tour, whose purse monies and expenses are guaranteed. The number of charities which receive benefits from PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour events is estimated at over 2,000. In 2009, the total raised for charity was some $108 million.

Television and radio coverage

In January 2006, the PGA Tour announced a new set of television deals covering 2007 to 2012. CBS Sports will remain the main carrier of PGA Tour events, and will increase its events from 16 to 19 per season. NBC Sports will increase its coverage from 5 to 10 events. Golf Channel will be the Tour's cable partner on a 15-year contract, providing early round coverage of all official money events and four round coverage of a few events at the beginning and towards the end of the season. As a result of Comcast's acquisition of NBC, Golf Channel also produces NBC's telecasts as of the 2011 season.

The fees involved were not mentioned in the press release, but it stated, "total prize money and other financial benefits to players will increase approximately $600 million over the term as compared to the previous six years, a 35-percent increase."

As they are not organized by the PGA Tour itself, certain events (such as the major championships) are not part of the overall broadcast contracts, but are broadcast under separate contracts with their respective organizers. Despite this, as of 2011, CBS and NBC still hold broadcast rights to 3 of the 4 majors; CBS has traditionally broadcast the Masters Tournament and the PGA Championship (ESPN and TNT air first and second round coverage of these tournaments respectively), coverage of all four rounds of the U.S. Open are broadcast on NBC. ESPN has provided exclusive coverage of The Open Championship since 2010.

The PGA Tour is also covered extensively outside the United States. In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports was the main broadcaster of the tour for a number of years up to 2006. However, Setanta Sports won exclusive UK and Ireland rights for six years from 2007 for a reported cost of £103 million. The deal includes Champions Tour and the Nationwide Tour events, but like the U.S. television deals it does not include the major championships, and unlike the U.S. deal, it does not include the World Golf Championships. Setanta set up the Setanta Golf channel to present its coverage. On June 23, 2009 Setanta's UK arm went into administration and ceased broadcasting. Eurosport picked up the television rights for the remainder of the 2009 season. Sky Sports regained the TV rights with a eight year deal from 2010 to 2017. In South Korea, SBS, which has been the tour's exclusive TV broadcaster in that country since the mid-1990s, agreed in 2009 to extend its contract with the PGA Tour through 2019. As a part of that deal, it became sponsor of the season's opening tournament, a winners-only event that was renamed the SBS Championship effective in 2010. In 2011 however, Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai took over the title sponsorship, but SBS still remains a sponsor of the event)

The Indian broadcaster NEO Sports obtained exclusive rights to the PGA Tour on the Indian subcontinent in 2008, and has since extended its deal through the 2015 season.

Since 2005, Sirius XM Radio has provided a PGA Tour branded station, the PGA Tour Network, which airs golf related programming and coverage of events, including the PGA Tour's circuits.

The structure of the PGA Tour season

Outline of the season

Three of the four majors take place in eight weeks between June and August. In the past, this has threatened to make the last two and a half months of the season anti-climactic, as some of the very top players competed less from that point on. In response, the PGA Tour has introduced a new format, the FedEx Cup. From January through mid-August players compete in "regular season" events and earn FedEx Cup points, in addition to prize money. At the end of the regular season, the top 125 FedEx Cup points winners are eligible to compete in the "playoffs," four events taking place from mid-August to mid-September. The field sizes for these events are reduced from 125 to 100 to 70 and finally the traditional 30 for the Tour Championship. Additional FedEx Cup points are earned in these events. At the end of the championship, the top point winner is the season champion. To put this new system into place, the PGA Tour has made significant changes to the traditional schedule.

In 2007 The Players Championship moved to May so as to have a marquee event in five consecutive months. The Tour Championship moved to mid-September, with an international team event (Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup) following at the end of September. The schedule was tweaked slightly in both 2008 and 2009. After the third FedEx Cup playoff event, the BMW Championship, the Tour takes a full week off. In 2008, the break came before the Ryder Cup, with the Tour Championship the week after that. In 2009, the break was followed by the Tour Championship, with the Presidents Cup taking place two weeks after that.

The Tour continues through the fall, with the focus on the scramble of the less successful players to earn enough money to retain their tour cards. A circuit known as the Fall Series, originally with seven tournaments but now with four, was introduced in 2007. In its inaugural year, its events were held in seven consecutive weeks, starting the week after the Tour Championship. As was the case for the FedEx Cup playoff schedule, the Fall Series schedule was also tweaked in 2008 and 2009. The first 2008 Fall Series event was held opposite the Ryder Cup, and the Fall Series took a week off for the Tour Championship before continuing with its remaining six events.

The Fall Series saw major changes for 2009, with one of its events moving to May and another dropping off the schedule entirely. It will return to its original start date of the week after the Tour Championship. Then, as in 2008, it will take a week off, this time for the Presidents Cup. It will then continue with events in three consecutive weeks, take another week off for the HSBC Champions (now elevated to World Golf Championships status), and conclude the week after that.

Most recently, the Fall Series was reduced to four events, all held after the Tour Championship, for 2011. This followed the move of the Viking Classic into the regular season as an alternate event.

2007 saw the introduction of a tournament in Mexico, an alternate event staged the same week as the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. A tournament in Puerto Rico was introduced in 2008 as an alternate event staged opposite the WGC-CA Championship.

Tournaments

The 2011 season includes 45 official money events in 41 weeks, including four alternate events played the same week as a higher status tournament. The other three events are:

The biennial Presidents Cup, matching teams of golfers representing the USA and other nations outside Europe.

The CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia, an event to be held in Malaysia; in 2011, it will end on October 30. The field will be limited to 40 players—the top 25 available players in the final FedEx Cup standings, the top 10 available Asian players, and five sponsor's exemptions, with at least one place reserved for a Malaysian player. Although it will not be an official money event, it will be the tour's first sanctioned event in Southeast Asia. The HSBC Champions, held the week after the Malaysia tournament. Despite its elevation to World Golf Championships status in 2009, it is not an official money event, although it is also sanctioned by the PGA Tour. Starting in 2010, if the event is won by a PGA Tour member, it will count as an official win and carry the three year exemption of the other WGCs.

Most members of the tour play between 20 and 30 tournaments in the season. The geography of the tour is determined by the weather. It starts in Hawaii in January and spends most of its first two months in California and Arizona during what is known as the "West Coast Swing," and then moves to the American Southeast for the "Southern Swing." Each swing culminates in a significant tour event. In April, tour events begin to drift north. The summer months are spent mainly in the Northeast and the Midwest, and in the fall (autumn) the tour heads south again.

In most of the regular events on tour, the field is either 132, 144 or 156 players, depending on time of year (and available daylight hours). All players making the cut earn money for the tournament with the winner usually receiving 18% of the total purse.

In 2008, the PGA Tour Policy Board approved a change in the number of players that will make the cut. The cut will continue to be low 70 professionals and ties, unless that results in a post-cut field of more than 78 players. Under that circumstance, the cut score will be selected to make a field as close to 70 players as possible without exceeding 78. Players who are cut in such circumstances but who have placed 70th or better will get credit for making the cut and will earn official money and FedEx Cup points. This policy affected two of the first three events with cuts, the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Buick Invitational. In late February, the Policy Board announced a revised cut policy, effective beginning with the Honda Classic. The new policy calls for 36-hole cut to the low 70 professionals and ties and, if that cut results in more than 78 players, a second 54-hole cut to the low 70 professionals and ties.

Event categories

Majors: The four leading annual events in world golf are the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, The (British) Open Championship, and the PGA Championship. These events each automatically receive 100 OWGR points.

World Golf Championships (WGC): A set of events co-sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours which attract the leading golfers from all over the world, including those who are not members of the PGA Tour. Note that the HSBC Champions was made a WGC event in the middle of the 2009 season. Because it takes place after The Tour Championship, it does not count as an official money event or an official win, but the winner is invited to the following season's edition of the winners-only Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Beginning in 2010, if the winner is a PGA Tour member, the victory will count as an official win and the winner will receive a three-year Tour exemption (as with other WGC winners).

Unique: Two tournaments rate as unique, for different reasons:

*The Hyundai Tournament of Champions, the first tournament of the season, has a field consisting of winners from the previous season's competition only. This results in a field much smaller than any other tournament except for The Tour Championship, with no cut after 36 holes of play.

*The Players Championship is the only event, apart from the majors and the World Golf Championships, which attracts entries from almost all of the world's elite golfers. Official recognition is given to its unique position in the sport by the Official World Golf Rankings. Like a major tournament, it is allocated a fixed number of OWGR points (80), albeit 20% less than for a major. (The number of points allocated to "regular" events is dependent on the rankings of the players who enter each year, and is only determined once the entry list is finalized.) For purposes of the FedEx Cup standings, The Players has had an identical point allocation to that of the majors since the Cup was instituted in 2007. In North America, some people would like to make the tournament an official major with a ranking equal to the current majors in the OWGR. However there is little support for this in the rest of the world, and any revision to the points system for the world rankings would require a global consensus.

Playoff event: The last four tournaments of the FedEx Cup have fields based on the FedEx Cup rankings. The top 125 players on the points list are entered in the Barclays Classic. Each week after that fields are cut: Deutsche Bank Championship to the top 100 players; BMW Championship to 70 players; The Tour Championship to 30 players.

Team: A United States team of 12 elite players competes in the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup in alternate years. The Ryder Cup, pitting a team of U.S. golfers against a European team, is arguably the highest profile event in golf, outranking the majors. The Presidents Cup, which matches a team of U.S. golfers against an international team of golfers not eligible for the Ryder Cup, is less well established, but is still the main event of the week when it is played. There is no prize money in these events, so they are irrelevant to the money list, but an immense amount of pride rides on the results.

Regular: Routine weekly tour events. The "regular" events vary somewhat in status, but this is fairly subjective and not usually based on the size of the purse. Some of the factors which can determine the status of a tournament are:

*Its position in the schedule, which influences the number of leading players that choose to enter.

*Its age and the distinction of its past champions.

*The repute of the course on which it is played.

*Any associations with "legends of golf." Six events in particular have such associations:

**The HP Byron Nelson Championship, named after Byron Nelson, was until 2007 the only current event named after a PGA Tour golfer.

**The Arnold Palmer Invitational, formerly the Bay Hill Invitational, closely identified with Arnold Palmer and played at a resort he owns.

**The Northern Trust Open and Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, both identified with Ben Hogan, although the Colonial is more closely identified with him since he won that tournament five times.

**The Memorial Tournament, founded by Jack Nicklaus, played on a course he designed, and annually honoring a selected "legend."

**The AT&T; National, while not hosted by a "legend," was able to gather a strong field because it was hosted by "future-legend" Tiger Woods.

Invitational: These events are similar to the regular ones, but have a slightly smaller (around 100–120 players), selective field. The top 70 on the previous year's money list can automatically take part in invitationals, as well as past champions of the event. There is an increased amount of sponsor's exemptions as well, and some invitationals allow the defending champion to invite one or several amateurs to compete. Invitational tournaments include the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Verizon Heritage, the Memorial Tournament and the AT&T; National. The tournaments usually do have an association with a golf legend, or in the case of the Verizon Heritage, a famous course.

Alternate: Events which are played in the same week as a higher status tournament and therefore have weakened fields and reduced prize money. They are often considered an opportunity for players on the bubble (near or below 125th or 150th) in the money list to move up more easily or to attempt an easier two-year exemption for winning a tournament. Because of their weaker fields, these events usually receive the minimum amount of points reserved for PGA Tour events (24 points).

Fall Series: After the final playoff event of the FedEx Cup season (The Tour Championship), the season concludes with this series of events, usually passed on by the higher-status players. This provides an opportunity for players low on the Money List to increase their season's earnings enough to rank in the "magic" 125 and thus secure their "card" for the following season without having to re-qualify through Q-School.

There are also a number of events which are recognized by the PGA Tour, but which do not count towards the official money list. Most of these take place in the off season (November and December). This slate of unofficial, often made-for-TV events (which includes the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge, the Franklin Templeton Shootout, the Skins Game, etc.) is referred to as the "Challenge Season" or more disapprovingly as the "Silly Season."

Money winners and most wins leaders

Players who lead the money list on the PGA Tour win the Arnold Palmer Award (since 1981).

Matt KucharTiger WoodsVijay SinghTiger WoodsTiger WoodsTiger WoodsVijay SinghVijay SinghTiger WoodsTiger WoodsTiger WoodsTiger WoodsDavid DuvalTiger WoodsTom LehmanGreg NormanNick PriceNick PriceFred CouplesCorey PavinGreg NormanTom KiteCurtis StrangeCurtis StrangeGreg NormanCurtis StrangeTom Watson (golfer)Hal SuttonCraig StadlerTom KiteTom Watson (golfer)Tom Watson (golfer)Tom Watson (golfer)Tom Watson (golfer)Jack NicklausJack NicklausJohnny MillerJack NicklausJack NicklausJack NicklausLee TrevinoFrank Beard (golfer)Billy CasperJack NicklausBilly CasperJack NicklausJack NicklausArnold PalmerArnold PalmerGary PlayerArnold PalmerArt Wall, Jr.Arnold PalmerDick MayerTed KrollJulius BorosBob ToskiLew WorshamJulius BorosLloyd MangrumSam SneadSam SneadBen HoganJimmy DemaretBen HoganByron NelsonByron Nelson No records keptBen HoganBen HoganBen HoganHenry PicardSam SneadHarry Cooper (golfer)Horton SmithJohnny RevoltaPaul Runyan N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

!Year!!Money winner!!Earnings (US$)!!Most wins
2010 in golf	2010	|	4,910,477	3: Jim Furyk
2009 in golf	2009	|	10,508,163	6: Tiger Woods
2008 in golf	2008	|	6,601,094	4: Tiger Woods
2007 in golf	2007	|	10,867,052	7: Tiger Woods
2006 in golf	2006	|	9,941,563	8: Tiger Woods
2005 in golf	2005	|	10,628,024	6: Tiger Woods
2004	|	10,905,166	9: Vijay Singh
2003	|	7,573,907	5: Tiger Woods
2002	|	6,912,625	5: Tiger Woods
2001	|	5,687,777	5: Tiger Woods
2000	|	9,188,321	9: Tiger Woods
1999	|	6,616,585	8: Tiger Woods
1998	|	2,591,031	4: David Duval
1997	|	2,066,833	4: Tiger Woods
1996	|	1,780,159	4: Phil Mickelson
1995	|	1,654,959	3: Lee Janzen, Greg Norman
1994	|	1,499,927	6: Nick Price
1993	|	1,478,557	4: Nick Price
1992	|	1,344,188	John Cook (golfer)>John Cook; Fred Couples; Davis Love III
1991	|	979,430	2: 8 players (note 1)
1990	|	1,165,477	4: Wayne Levi
1989	|	1,395,278	Tom Kite; Steve Jones (golfer)>Steve Jones
1988	|	1,147,644	4: Curtis Strange
1987	|	925,941	3: Paul Azinger; Curtis Strange
1986	|	653,296	4: Bob Tway
1985	|	542,321	3: Curtis Strange; Lanny Wadkins
1984	Tom Watson||	476,260	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson; Denis Watson
1983	|	426,668	2: 8 players (note 2)
1982	|	446,462	Craig Stadler, Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson, Calvin Peete
1981	|	375,699	Bill Rogers (golfer)>Bill Rogers
1980	Tom Watson||	530,808	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1979	Tom Watson||	462,636	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1978	Tom Watson||	362,429	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1977	Tom Watson||	310,653	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1976	|	266,439	3: Ben Crenshaw, Hubert Green
1975	|	298,149	5: Jack Nicklaus
1974	|	353,022	8: Johnny Miller
1973	|	308,362	7: Jack Nicklaus
1972	|	320,542	7: Jack Nicklaus
1971	|	244,491	6: Lee Trevino
1970	|	157,037	4: Billy Casper
1969	Frank Beard||	164,707	3: 4 players (note 3)
1968	|	205,169	6: Billy Casper
1967	|	188,998	5: Jack Nicklaus
1966	|	121,945	4: Billy Casper
1965	|	140,752	5: Jack Nicklaus
1964	|	113,285	5: Tony Lema
1963	|	128,230	7: Arnold Palmer
1962	|	81,448	8: Arnold Palmer
1961	|	64,540	6: Arnold Palmer
1960	|	75,263	8: Arnold Palmer
1959	|	53,168	5: Gene Littler
1958	|	42,608	4: Ken Venturi
1957	|	65,835	4: Arnold Palmer
1956	|	72,836	4: Mike Souchak
1955	|	63,122	6: Cary Middlecoff
1954	|	65,820	4: Bob Toski
1953	|	34,002	5: Ben Hogan
1952	|	37,033	5: Jack Burke, Jr., Sam Snead
1951	|	26,089	6: Cary Middlecoff
1950	|	35,759	11: Sam Snead
1949	|	31,594	7: Cary Middlecoff
1948	|	32,112	10: Ben Hogan
1947	|	27,937	7: Ben Hogan
1946	|	42,556	13: Ben Hogan
1945	|	63,336	18: Byron Nelson
1944	|	37,968	8: Byron Nelson
1943
1942	|	13,143	6: Ben Hogan
1941	|	18,358	7: Sam Snead
1940	|	10,655	6: Jimmy Demaret
1939	|	10,303	8: Henry Picard
1938	|	19,534	8: Sam Snead
1937	Harry Cooper||	14,139	Harry Cooper (golfer)>Harry Cooper
1936	|	7,682	3: Ralph Guldahl, Jimmy Hines, Henry Picard
1935	|	9,543	5: Henry Picard, Johnny Revolta
1934	|	6,767	7: Paul Runyan
1933	|	N/A	9: Paul Runyan
1932	|	N/A	4: Gene Sarazen
1931	|	N/A	4: Wiffy Cox
1930	|	N/A	8: Gene Sarazen
1929	|	N/A	8: Horton Smith
1928	|	N/A	7: Bill Mehlhorn
1927	|	N/A	7: Johnny Farrell
1926	|	N/A	5: Bill Mehlhorn, Macdonald Smith
1925	|	N/A	5: Leo Diegel
1924	|	N/A	5: Walter Hagen
1923	|	N/A	5: Walter Hagen, Joe Kirkwood, Sr.
1922	|	N/A	4: Walter Hagen
1921	|	N/A	4: Jim Barnes
1920	|	N/A	4: Jock Hutchison
1919	|	N/A	5: Jim Barnes
1918	|	N/A	Patrick Doyle (golfer)>Patrick Doyle, Walter Hagen, Jock Hutchison
1917	|	N/A	Jim Barnes, Mike Brady (golfer)>Mike Brady
1916	|	N/A	3: Jim Barnes

Notes: # Players with 2 wins in 1991: Billy Andrade, Mark Brooks, Fred Couples, Andrew Magee, Corey Pavin, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Ian Woosnam # Players with 2 wins in 1983: Seve Ballesteros, Jim Colbert, Mark McCumber, Gil Morgan, Calvin Peete, Hal Sutton, Lanny Wadkins, Fuzzy Zoeller # Players with 3 wins in 1969: Billy Casper, Raymond Floyd, Dave Hill, Jack Nicklaus

Multiple money list titles

The following players have won more than one money list title through 2009:

9: Tiger Woods

8: Jack Nicklaus

5: Ben Hogan, Tom Watson

4: Arnold Palmer

3: Sam Snead, Curtis Strange, Greg Norman, Vijay Singh

2: Byron Nelson, Julius Boros, Billy Casper, Tom Kite, Nick Price

Player and rookie of the year awards

PGA Tour players compete for two player of the year awards. The PGA Player of the Year award dates back to 1948 and is awarded by the PGA of America. Since 1982 the winner has been selected using a points system with points awarded for wins, money list position and scoring average. The PGA Tour Player of the Year award, also known as the Jack Nicklaus Trophy, is administered by the PGA Tour and was introduced in 1990; the recipient is selected by the tour players by ballot, although the results are not released other than to say who has won. More often than not the same player wins both awards; in fact, as seen in the table below, the PGA and PGA Tour Players of the Year have been the same every year from 1992 through 2010. The Rookie of the Year award was also introduced in 1990. Players are eligible in their first season of PGA Tour membership; several of the winners had a good deal of international success before their PGA Tour rookie season, and some have been in their thirties when they won the award.

Jim FurykTiger WoodsPádraig HarringtonTiger WoodsTiger WoodsTiger WoodsVijay SinghTiger WoodsTiger WoodsTiger WoodsTiger WoodsTiger WoodsMark O'MearaTiger WoodsTom LehmanGreg NormanNick PriceNick PriceFred CouplesCorey PavinNick FaldoRobert Gamez

!Year!!PGA Player of the Year!!PGA Tour Player of the Year!!PGA Tour Rookie of the Year!!Comeback Player of the Year
2010	|	Jim Furyk	Rickie Fowler	Stuart Appleby
2009	|	Tiger Woods	Marc Leishman	None
2008	|	Pádraig Harrington	Andrés Romero	Dudley Hart
2007	|	Tiger Woods	Brandt Snedeker	Steve Stricker
2006	|	Tiger Woods	Trevor Immelman	Steve Stricker
2005	|	Tiger Woods	Sean O'Hair	Jay Haas
2004	|	Vijay Singh	Todd Hamilton	John Daly (golfer)>John Daly
2003	|	Tiger Woods	Ben Curtis (golfer)>Ben Curtis	Peter Jacobsen
2002	|	Tiger Woods	Jonathan Byrd (golfer)>Jonathan Byrd	Gene Sauers
2001	|	Tiger Woods	Charles Howell III	Joe Durant
2000	|	Tiger Woods	Michael Clark II	Paul Azinger
1999	|	Tiger Woods	Carlos Franco	Steve Pate
1998	|	Mark O'Meara	Steve Flesch	Scott Verplank
1997	|	Tiger Woods	Stewart Cink	Bill Glasson
1996	|	Tom Lehman	Tiger Woods	Steve Jones (golfer)>Steve Jones
1995	|	Greg Norman	Woody Austin	Bob Tway
1994	|	Nick Price	Ernie Els	Hal Sutton
1993	|	Nick Price	Vijay Singh	Howard Twitty
1992	|	Fred Couples	Mark Carnevale	John Cook (golfer)>John Cook
1991	|	Fred Couples	John Daly (golfer)>John Daly	Bruce Fleisher, D. A. Weibring
1990	|	Wayne Levi

!Year!!PGA Player of the Year
1989	Tom Kite
1988	Curtis Strange
1987	Paul Azinger
1986	Bob Tway
1985	Lanny Wadkins
1984	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1983	Hal Sutton
1982	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1981	Bill Rogers (golfer)>Bill Rogers
1980	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1979	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1978	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1977	Tom Watson (golfer)>Tom Watson
1976	Jack Nicklaus
1975	Jack Nicklaus
1974	Johnny Miller
1973	Jack Nicklaus
1972	Jack Nicklaus
1971	Lee Trevino
1970	Billy Casper
1969	Orville Moody
1968	No award
1967	Jack Nicklaus
1966	Billy Casper
1965	Dave Marr
1964	Ken Venturi
1963	Julius Boros
1962	Arnold Palmer
1961	Jerry Barber
1960	Arnold Palmer
1959	Art Wall, Jr.
1958	Dow Finsterwald
1957	Dick Mayer
1956	Jack Burke, Jr.
1955	Doug Ford (golfer)>Doug Ford
1954	Ed Furgol
1953	Ben Hogan
1952	Julius Boros
1951	Ben Hogan
1950	Ben Hogan
1949	Sam Snead
1948	Ben Hogan

Multiple Player of the Year Awards

The following players have won more than one PGA Player of the Year Award through 2010:

10: Tiger Woods

6: Tom Watson

5: Jack Nicklaus

4: Ben Hogan

2: Julius Boros, Billy Casper, Arnold Palmer, Nick Price

The following players have won more than one PGA Tour Player of the Year Award through 2009:

10: Tiger Woods

2: Fred Couples, Nick Price

Career money leaders

The top ten career money leaders on the tour as of August 21, 2011 are as follows: !Rank !Vijay SinghPhil MickelsonJim FurykDavis Love IIIErnie ElsDavid TomsKenny PerrySteve StrickerJustin Leonard

Player !! Country !! Prize money (United States dollar	$)
align=center	1	Tiger Woods	>
align=center	2	|		65,048,559
align=center	3	|		62,994,424
align=center	4	|		48,632,649
align=center	5	|		41,202,723
align=center	6	|		40,911,309
align=center	7	|		36,819,270
align=center	8	|		31,720,992
align=center	9	|		31,397,064
align=center	10	|		30,802,845

There is a full list on the PGA Tour's website here.

Due to increases in prize funds over the years, this list consists entirely of current players; the only player who is eligible for the Champions Tour is Kenny Perry, who turned 50 in August 2010 and is competing on both tours in 2011. The figures are not the players' complete career prize money as they do not include FedEx Cup bonuses, winnings from unofficial money events, or earnings on other tours such as the European Tour. In addition, elite golfers often earn several times as much from endorsements and golf-related business interests as they do from prize money.

See also

Professional golf tours

Golfers with most PGA Tour wins

Most PGA Tour wins in a year

Most wins in one PGA Tour event

2010 in golf

Vardon Trophy

Notes and references

External links

PGA Tour.com – official site

PGA.com – PGA of America – official site

Satellite Images of all PGA Tour golf courses

Category:Professional golf tours Category:Golf in the United States Category:Companies based in Jacksonville, Florida Category:Companies established in 1968

ca:PGA Tour da:PGA Tour de:PGA TOUR es:PGA Tour fr:PGA Tour it:PGA Tour nl:Amerikaanse PGA Tour ja:PGAツアー no:PGA-touren pt:PGA Tour ru:Тур PGA simple:PGA Tour fi:PGA Tour sv:PGA Tour zh:PGA巡回赛

name	Dustin Johnson
fullname	Dustin Hunter Johnson
birth date	June 22, 1984
birth place	Columbia, South Carolina
death date
height
weight
nationality
residence	Jupiter, Florida
college	Coastal Carolina University
yearpro	2007
retired
tour	PGA Tour
extour
prowins	7
pgawins	5
eurowins
japwins
asiawins
sunwins
auswins
nwidewins
chalwins
otherwins
champwins
seneurowins
otherseniorwins
majorwins
masters	T30: 2009
usopen	T8: 2010
open	T2: 2011
pga	T5: 2010
wghofid
wghofyear
award1
year1
awardssection	}}

Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. He is one of the longest drivers on the PGA Tour, and is one of the few players who can hit a ball over 350 yards with ease.

Early career

Johnson was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He played collegiate golf at Coastal Carolina University. As an amateur, he won the Monroe Invitational and the Northeast Amateur in 2007 and played on the winning 2007 Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams.

Professional career

Johnson turned professional in 2007 and earned his 2008 PGA Tour card by finishing in a tie for 14th place in the 2007 qualifying school.

Johnson won his first PGA Tour event, the Turning Stone Resort Championship in October 2008. Four months later, he won his second event at the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, a tournament that was shortened to 54 holes when the final round was cancelled due to strong winds and heavy rain, leaving Johnson the winner by four strokes over Mike Weir and five strokes over second round leader Retief Goosen, who shot a third round 2 over par 74. Johnson finished the 2009 season ranked 15th on the PGA Tour money list.

In February 2010, Johnson birdied the final hole to defeat former world number one David Duval and two-time PGA Tour winner J. B. Holmes to successfully defend his AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am title.

Johnson continued his Pebble Beach success by shooting 71-70-66 to take a three shot lead over Graeme McDowell at the 2010 U.S. Open, but scored a disappointing 82 in the final round and finished T8 (McDowell won the tournament).

In the final round of the 2010 PGA Championship, Johnson held a one-shot lead entering the final hole. He appeared to have bogeyed the hole, which would have tied him for first and entered him into a three-hole playoff with Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer. However, he received a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker, thereby dropping him to a tie for fifth place. Kaymer eventually won the playoff.

Johnson did break his streak of bad luck by capturing the third FedEx Cup playoff event, the BMW Championship at Cog Hill in September. It was Johnson's fourth career PGA Tour victory, and his first in any FedEx Cup playoff event. He finished the 2010 season ranked 4th on the PGA Tour money list.

Johnson took part in the Long Drive Contest for charity at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions alongside Bubba Watson and Robert Garrigus.

In March 2011, Johnson entered the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship with a two stroke lead over the rest of the field. However he could only manage a final round one-under-par 71 to finish as runner-up behind Nick Watney.

In July 2011, Johnson earned his best finish in a major championship at the 2011 Open Championship. He finished in a tie for second place, alongside fellow American Phil Mickelson. The pair were beaten to the title by Darren Clarke who finished three strokes ahead of them. His first three rounds of 70-68-68 left him one stroke behind Clarke and for most of Sunday's round Johnson managed to keep up with him, at one stage being just one back of Clarke. However Johnson's final round charge was derailed at the par five 14th, when he hit his second shot out of bounds, eventually leading to a double bogey. This took him out of contention for his maiden major championship as he slipped from one stroke back to four strokes behind Clarke with only four holes to play. One highlight of Johnson's week at Royal St George's came in the first round when he recorded a hole in one on the par three 16th hole. This result marked the third time that Johnson had been part of the final group on Sunday at a major championship and also occurring in three out of the four majors, the 2010 U.S. Open, the 2010 PGA Championship and the 2011 Open Championship. As a result of this second place finish, Johnson moved to his highest spot in the world rankings at the time, seventh, and became the third ranked American behind Steve Stricker and Phil Mickleson.

Johnson got his 5th PGA Tour victory at The Barclays in 2011. He beat Matt Kuchar by two strokes. This was his second 54 hole tournament victory. The tournament was shortened due to Hurricane Irene. He shot rounds of 66-63-65 to win at -19. This was Johnson's first victory of 2011 and it moved him from 19th to 1st in the FedEx Cup standings. The win also took him to a career high of 4th in the world rankings, the second highest American, (behind Steve Stricker).

Amateur wins (2)

2007 Monroe Invitational, Northeast Amateur

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (5)

{| width=53% | valign=top width=33% align=left |

Legend

FedEx Cup playoff event (2)

Other PGA Tour (3)

|}

!No.	!Date	!Tournament	!Winning Score	!Margin of Victory	!Runner(s)-up
1		2008 PGA Tour>2008	Turning Stone Resort Championship	-9 (72-68-70-69=279)	1 stroke	Robert Allenby
2		2009 PGA Tour>2009	AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	-15 (65-69-67=201)*	4 strokes	Mike Weir
3		2010 PGA Tour>2010	AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	-16 (64-68-64-74=270)	1 stroke	David Duval, J. B. Holmes
4			-9 (68-70-68-69=275)	1 stroke	Paul Casey
5		The Barclays	-19 (66-63-65=194)*	2 strokes	Matt Kuchar

* shortened to 54 holes due to poor weather conditions.

Other wins (2)

2010 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Bubba Watson and Boo Weekley), The Shark Shootout (with Ian Poulter)

Results in major championships

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;" |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" !align="left"|Tournament !2008 !2009 !2010 !2011 |- |The Masters |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|T30 |align="center"|T38 |align="center"|T38 |- |U.S. Open |align="center"|T48 |align="center"|T40 |align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T8 |align="center"|T23 |- |The Open Championship |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|CUT |align="center"|T14 |align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T2 |- |PGA Championship |align="center"|DNP |align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T10 |align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T5 |align="center"|CUT |}

DNP = Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournaments played: 13

Wins: 0

Top 10s: 4

Top 25s: 6

Missed cuts: 2

Most consecutive cuts made: 8

Results in World Golf Championships

!Tournament!!2009!!2010!!2011
align="left"	R64	R64	R64
align="left"	T35	T56	style="background:yellow;"
align="left"	T22	15	T48
align="left"	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play

"T" = tied

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Walker Cup: 2007 (winners)

Palmer Cup: 2007 (winners)

Professional

Ryder Cup: 2010

See also

List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins

2007 PGA Tour Qualifying School Graduates

References

External links

Category:American golfers Category:PGA Tour golfers Category:Coastal Carolina University alumni Category:People from Columbia, South Carolina Category:1984 births Category:Living people

da:Dustin Johnson de:Dustin Johnson fr:Dustin Johnson nl:Dustin Johnson no:Dustin Johnson

name	Tiger Woods
fullname	Eldrick Tont Woods
nickname	Tiger
birth date	December 30, 1975
birth place	Cypress, California
death date
height
weight
nationality
residence	Windermere, Florida
spouse	Elin Nordegren (2004–2010)
children	Sam Alexis (b. 2007)Charlie Axel (b. 2009)
college	Stanford University (two years)
yearpro	1996
tour	PGA Tour (joined 1996)
prowins	97
pgawins	71 (3rd all time)
eurowins	38 (3rd all time)
japwins	2
asiawins	1
auswins	1
champwins
otherwins	15
majorwins	14
masters	Won: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005
usopen	Won: 2000, 2002, 2008
open	Won: 2000, 2005, 2006
pga	Won: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007
wghofid
wghofyear
award1	PGA TourRookie of the Year
year1	1996
award2	PGA Player of the Year
year2	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
award3	PGA TourPlayer of the Year
year3	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
award4	PGA Tourleading money winner
year4	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
award5	Vardon Trophy
year5	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009
award6	Byron Nelson Award
year6	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
award7	FedEx Cup Champion
year7	2007, 2009
awardssection	List of career achievements by Tiger Woods#Awards }}

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No. 1, he is the highest-paid professional athlete in the world, having earned an estimated US$90.5 million from winnings and endorsements in 2010.

Woods has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any male player (Jack Nicklaus leads with 18), and 71 PGA Tour events, third all time behind Sam Snead and Nicklaus. He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. Additionally, Woods is only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 16 World Golf Championships, and won at least one of those events in each of the first 11 years after they began in 1999.

Woods held the number one position in the world rankings for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks. He 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.

On December 11, 2009, Woods announced he would take an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity. His multiple infidelities were revealed by over a dozen women, through many worldwide media sources. Woods returned to competition on April 8, 2010 for the 2010 Masters, after a break lasting 20 weeks.

In July 2010, Forbes announced Woods as the richest sportsman in the world, earning a reported $105m according to them and $90.5m according to Sports Illustrated.

On October 31, 2010, Woods lost the world number one ranking to Lee Westwood. As of August 29, 2011, Woods is ranked #38 in the world. This is his lowest rank since October 13, 1996, nearly 15 years ago, when he was ranked 61st; he had turned professional in late August 1996. Since mid-November 2009, shortly before the infidelity scandals began breaking in the media, Woods has been winless worldwide for more than 21 months, the longest streak without a title of his professional career.

Woods announced via his website on July 6, 2011 that he would miss the 2011 Open Championship, his second straight unplayed major championship, since he is taking time off from competitive golf to heal injuries to his left knee and ankle. On July 20, Woods announced via his website that he was firing his caddy Steve Williams, who had worked for him since 1999; the two had teamed for 13 of Woods' 14 major championships. Williams will now caddy for Australian star Adam Scott. On July 27, Woods announced via his twitter account that he would return to tournament play on August 4 for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, following a break of 11 weeks, and that longtime friend and current employee Bryon Bell would caddy for him.

Background and family

Woods was born in Cypress, California, to Earl (1932–2006) and Kultida (Tida) Woods (born 1944). He is the only child of their marriage, but does have two half-brothers, Earl Jr. (born 1955) and Kevin (born 1957), and a half-sister, Royce (born 1958) from the 18-year marriage of Earl Woods and his first wife, Barbara Woods Gray. Earl, a retired lieutenant colonel and Vietnam War veteran, was of mixed African American, Chinese, and Native American ancestry. Kultida (née Punsawad), originally from Thailand (where Earl had met her on a tour of duty in 1968), is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. This makes Woods himself half Asian (one-quarter Chinese and one-quarter Thai), one-quarter African American, one-eighth Native American, and one-eighth Dutch. He refers to his ethnic make-up as “Cablinasian” (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, (American) Indian, and Asian).

From childhood he was raised as a Buddhist, and actively practised this faith from childhood until well into his adult professional golf career. He has attributed his deviations and infidelity to his losing track of Buddhism. He said that "Buddhism teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously I lost track of what I was taught."

At birth, Woods was given 'Eldrick' and 'Tont' as first and middle names. His middle name, Tont (), is a traditional Thai name. He got his nickname from a Vietnamese soldier colleague and friend of his father, Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, to whom his father had also given the 'Tiger' nickname. Young Eldrick became generally known by that name, and by the time he had achieved national prominence in junior and amateur golf, he was simply known as 'Tiger' Woods.

Woods did retain the 'ETW' initials for use in naming one of his business enterprises, once he turned professional.

Early life and amateur golf career

Woods grew up in Orange County, California. He was a child prodigy, introduced to golf before the age of two, by his athletic father Earl, a single-figure handicap amateur golfer who had been one of the earliest African-American college baseball players at Kansas State University. In 1978, Tiger putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. At age three, he shot a 48 over nine holes over the Cypress Navy course, and at age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC's That's Incredible. Before turning seven, Tiger won the Under Age 10 section of the Drive, Pitch, and Putt competition, held at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress, California. In 1984 at the age of eight, he won the 9–10 boys' event, the youngest age group available, at the Junior World Golf Championships. He first broke 80 at age eight. He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991.

Woods' father Earl wrote that Tiger first beat him when he was 11 years old, with Earl trying his best. Earl lost to Tiger every time from then on. Woods first broke 70 on a regulation golf course at age 12.

Woods's first major national junior tournament was the 1989 Big I, when he was 13 years old. Woods was paired with pro John Daly, then relatively unknown, in the final round; the event's format placed a professional with each group of juniors who had qualified. Daly birdied three of the last four holes to beat Woods by only one stroke. As a young teenager, Woods first met Jack Nicklaus in Los Angeles at the Bel-Air Country Club, when Nicklaus was performing a clinic for the club's members. Woods was part of the show, and impressed Nicklaus and the crowd with his skills and potential. Earl Woods had researched in detail the career accomplishments of Nicklaus, and had set his young son the goals of breaking those records.

While attending Western High School in Anaheim at the age of 15, Woods became the youngest ever U.S. Junior Amateur champion in 1991 (a record which stood until it was broken by Jin Liu in 2010), was voted Southern California Amateur Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and Golf Digest Junior Amateur Player of the Year for 1991. In 1992, he defended his title at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, becoming the first multiple winner, competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Nissan Los Angeles Open (he missed the 36-hole cut), and was named Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year, Golf World Player of the Year, and Golfweek National Amateur of the Year.

The following year, Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, and remains the event's only three-time winner. In 1994, he became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship, a record that stood until 2008 when it was broken by Danny Lee. Woods won over the TPC at Sawgrass in Florida. He was a member of the American team at the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships (winning), and the 1995 Walker Cup (losing).

Woods graduated from Western High School in 1994 at age 18, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" among the graduating class. He had starred for the high school's golf team under coach Don Crosby.

College golf career

Woods was recruited very heavily by college golf powers, and chose Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA Division I champion. He obtained a golf scholarship and enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994. He won his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, in September. He declared a major in economics, and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammate Notah Begay III. In 1995, he defended his U.S. Amateur title, at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island He participated in his first PGA Tour major, the 1995 Masters Tournament, and tied for 41st as the only amateur to make the cut. At age 20 in 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles, winning at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon, and won the NCAA individual golf championship. In winning the Silver Medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship, he tied the record for an amateur aggregate score of 281. He left college after two years and turned professional.

Professional career

1996–98: Early years and first major win

With the announcement "Hello world," Tiger Woods became a professional golfer in August 1996, and signed endorsement deals worth $40 million from Nike, Inc. and $20 million from Titleist. These endorsement contracts were the highest in golf history to that stage. He played his first professional golf event at the Greater Milwaukee Open, tying for 60th place, and would win two events in the next three months to qualify for the Tour Championship. For his efforts, Woods was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. He began his tradition of wearing a red shirt during the final round of tournaments, a link to his college days at Stanford and a color he believes symbolizes aggression and assertiveness.

The following April, Woods won his first major, The Masters, with a record score of 18-under-par 270, by a record margin of 12 strokes. The landmark victory made Woods the tournament's youngest-ever winner, as well as its first African-American winner (and its first Asian-American winner). All told, Woods set a total of 20 Masters records in 1997 and tied six others. He went on to win another three PGA Tour events that year, and on June 15, 1997, in only his 42nd week as a professional, rose to number one in the Official World Golf Rankings, the fastest-ever ascent to world No. 1. At the conclusion of the 1997 season, Woods was named PGA Player of the Year, the first time a golfer had won the award in just his second year as a professional.

While expectations for Woods were high, his play faded in the second half of 1997, and in 1998 he only won a single PGA Tour event. He answered critics of his "slump" and what seemed to be wavering form by maintaining he was undergoing extensive swing changes with his coach, Butch Harmon, and was hoping to do better in the future.

1999–2002: Slams

In June 1999, Woods won the Memorial Tournament, a victory that touched off one of the greatest sustained periods of dominance in the history of men's golf. He completed his 1999 campaign by winning his last four starts —- including the PGA Championship -— and finished the season with eight wins, a feat not achieved since 1974. Woods was voted PGA Tour Player of the Year and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years.

Picking up where he had left off in 1999, Woods started 2000 with his fifth consecutive victory and began a record-setting season. He extended his win streak to six at the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February with a memorable comeback—trailing by seven strokes with seven holes to play, he finished eagle-birdie-par-birdie for a 64 and a two-stroke victory. His six consecutive wins were the most since Ben Hogan in 1948 and only five behind Byron Nelson's record of eleven in a row. In the 2000 U.S. Open, he broke or tied a total of nine U.S. Open records with his 15-shot win, including Old Tom Morris's record for the largest victory margin ever in a major championship, which had stood since 1862, and became the Tour's all-time career money leader. He led by a record ten strokes going into the final round, and Sports Illustrated called it "the greatest performance in golf history." In the 2000 Open Championship at St Andrews, which he won by eight strokes, he set the record for lowest score to par (−19) in any major tournament, and he holds at least a share of that record in all four major championships. At 24, he became the youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam.

Woods's major championship streak was seriously threatened at the 2000 PGA Championship, when Bob May went head-to-head with Woods on Sunday at Valhalla Golf Club. However, Woods played the last twelve holes of regulation seven under par, and won a three-hole playoff over May with a birdie on the first hole and pars on the next two. He joined Ben Hogan (1953) as the only other player to win three professional majors in one season. Three weeks later, he won his third straight start on Tour at the Bell Canadian Open, becoming only the second man after Lee Trevino in 1971 to win the Triple Crown of Golf (U.S., British, and Canadian Opens) in one year. By the end of Woods' 2000 campaign, he had won three consecutive majors, nine PGA Tour events, and had set or tied 27 Tour records. Of the twenty events he entered, he finished in the top three fourteen times. His adjusted scoring average of 67.79 and his actual scoring average of 68.17 were the lowest in PGA Tour history, besting his own record of 68.43 in 1999 and Byron Nelson's average of 68.33 in 1945. He was named the 2000 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, becoming the first and only athlete to be honored twice. Woods was ranked as the twelfth best golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine just four years after he turned professional.

The following season, Woods continued to dominate. His 2001 Masters Tournament win marked the only time in the modern era of the Grand Slam that any player has held all four major championship titles at the same time, a feat now known as the "Tiger Slam". It is not viewed as a true Grand Slam, however, because it was not achieved in a calendar year. Surprisingly, he was not a factor in the three remaining majors of the year, but finished with the most PGA Tour wins in the season, with five. In 2002, he started off strongly, joining Nick Faldo (1989–90) and Jack Nicklaus (1965–66) as the only men to have won back-to-back Masters Tournaments.

Two months later, Woods was the only player under par at the U.S. Open, and resurrected buzz about the calendar Grand Slam, which had eluded him in 2000. All eyes were on Woods at the Open Championship, but his third round score of 81 in dreadful weather at Muirfield ended his Grand Slam hopes. At the PGA Championship, he nearly repeated his 2000 feat of winning three majors in one year, but bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes in the final round cost him the championship by one stroke. Nonetheless, he took home the money title, Vardon Trophy, and Player of the Year honors for the fourth year in a row.

2003–04: Swing adjustments

The next phase of Woods's career saw him remain among the top competitors on the tour, but lose his dominating edge. He did not win a major in 2003 or 2004, falling to second in the PGA Tour money list in 2003 and fourth in 2004. In September 2004, his record streak of 264 consecutive weeks as the world's top-ranked golfer came to an end at the Deutsche Bank Championship, when Vijay Singh won and overtook Woods in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Many commentators were puzzled by Woods's "slump," offering explanations that ranged from his rift with swing coach Butch Harmon to his engagement and marriage. At the same time, he let it be known that he was again working on changes to his swing, this time in hopes of reducing the wear and tear on his surgically repaired left knee, which was subjected to severe stress in the 1998–2003 version of his swing. Again, he anticipated that once the adjustments were complete, he would return to his previous form. Woods changed coaches, working with Hank Haney after leaving Harmon.

2005–07: Resurgence

In the 2005 season, Woods quickly returned to his winning ways. He won the Buick Invitational in January, and in March he outplayed Phil Mickelson to win the Ford Championship at Doral and temporarily return to the Official World Golf Rankings number one position (Singh displaced him once again two weeks later). In April, he finally broke his "drought" in the majors by winning the 2005 Masters Tournament in a playoff, which regained him the number one spot in the World Rankings. Singh and Woods swapped the #1 position several times over the next couple of months, but by early July Woods had reclaimed the top spot, propelled further by a victory at the 2005 Open Championship, his 10th major. He went on to win six official money events on the PGA Tour in 2005, topping the money list for the sixth time in his career. His 2005 wins also included two at the World Golf Championships.

For Woods, the year 2006 was markedly different from 2005. While he began just as dominantly (winning the first two PGA tournaments he entered on the year) and was in the hunt for his fifth Masters championship in April, he never mounted a Sunday charge to defend his title, allowing Phil Mickelson to claim the green jacket.

Death of father

On May 3, 2006, Woods' father, mentor and inspiration, Earl, died at age 74 after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. Woods took a nine-week hiatus from the PGA Tour to be with his family. When he returned for the 2006 U.S. Open, the rust was evident—he missed the cut at Winged Foot, the first time he had missed the cut at a major as a professional, and ended his record-tying streak of 39 consecutive cuts made at majors. Still, a tie for second at the Western Open just three weeks later showed him poised to defend his Open Championship crown at Hoylake.

Returns to top form

At the 2006 Open Championship, Woods almost exclusively used long irons off the tee (he hit driver only one time the entire week—the 16th hole of the first round), he missed just four fairways all week (hitting the fairway 92% of the time), and his score of −18 to par (three eagles, 19 birdies, 43 pars, and seven bogeys) was just one off of his major championship record −19, set at St Andrews in 2000. The victory was an emotional one for Woods, who dedicated his play to his father's memory.

Four weeks later at the 2006 PGA Championship, Woods again won in dominating fashion, making only three bogeys, tying the record for fewest in a major. He finished the tournament at 18-under-par, equaling the to-par record in the PGA that he shares with Bob May from 2000. In August 2006, he won his 50th professional tournament at the Buick Open—and at the age of thirty years and seven months, he became the youngest golfer to do so. He ended the year by winning six consecutive PGA Tour events, and won the three most prestigious awards given by the PGA Tour (Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Byron Nelson Awards) in the same year for a record seventh time.

At the close of his first 11 seasons, Woods's 54 wins and 12 major wins had surpassed the all time eleven-season PGA Tour total win record of 51 (set by Byron Nelson) and total majors record of 11 (set by Jack Nicklaus). He was named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for a record-tying fourth time.

Woods and tennis star Roger Federer, who share a major sponsor, first met at the 2006 U.S. Open tennis final. Since then, they have attended each other's events and have voiced their mutual appreciation for each other's talents.

Woods began 2007 with a two-stroke victory at the Buick Invitational for his third straight win at the event and his seventh consecutive win on the PGA Tour. The victory marked the fifth time he had won his first tournament of the season. With this win, he became the third man (after Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead) to win at least five times in three different events on the PGA Tour (his two other events are the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and WGC-CA Championship). He earned his second victory of the year at the WGC-CA Championship for his third consecutive and sixth win overall at the event. With this victory, he became the first player to have three consecutive victories in five different events.

At the 2007 Masters Tournament, Woods was in the final group on the last day of a major for the thirteenth time in his career, but unlike the previous twelve occasions, he was unable to come away with the win. He finished tied for second two strokes behind winner Zach Johnson.

Woods earned his third victory of the season by two strokes at the Wachovia Championship, the 24th different PGA Tour tournament he won. He has collected at least three wins in a season nine times in his 12-year career. At the U.S. Open, he was in the final group for the fourth consecutive major championship, but began the day two strokes back and finished tied for second once again. His streak of never having come from behind to win on the final day of a major continued.

In search of a record-tying third consecutive Open Championship, Woods fell out of contention with a second-round 75, and never mounted a charge over the weekend. Although his putting was solid (he sank a 90-footer in the first round), his iron play held him back. "I wasn't hitting the ball as close as I needed to all week," he said, after he finished tied for twelfth, five strokes off the pace.

In early August, Woods won his record 14th World Golf Championships event at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational by 8 strokes for his third consecutive and sixth victory overall at the event. He became the first golfer to win the same event three straight times on two different occasions (1999–2001) and (2005–2007). The following week, he won his second straight PGA Championship by defeating Woody Austin by two strokes. He became the first golfer to win the PGA Championship in back-to-back seasons on two different occasions: 1999–2000 and 2006–2007. He became the second golfer, after Sam Snead, to have won at least five events on the PGA Tour in eight different seasons.

Woods earned his 60th PGA Tour victory at the BMW Championship by shooting a course record 63 in the final round to win by two strokes. He sank a fifty-foot putt in the final round and missed only two fairways on the weekend. He led the field in most birdies for the tournament, and ranked in the top five in driving accuracy, driving distance, putts per round, putts per green, and greens in regulation. Woods finished his 2007 season with a runaway victory at the Tour Championship to capture his fourth title in his last five starts of the year. He became the only two-time winner of the event, and the champion of the inaugural FedEx Cup. In his 16 starts on Tour in 2007, his adjusted scoring average was 67.79, matching his own record set in 2000. His substantial leads over the second, third, and fourth players were similar in 2000 (1.46 (Phil Mickelson), 1.52 (Ernie Els), 1.66 (David Duval)) and 2007 (1.50 (Els), 1.51 (Justin Rose), 1.60 (Steve Stricker)).

2008: Injury-shortened season

Woods started the 2008 season with an eight-stroke victory at the Buick Invitational. The win marked his 62nd PGA Tour victory, tying him with Arnold Palmer for fourth on the all time list. This marked his sixth victory at the event, the sixth time he has begun the PGA Tour season with a victory, and his third PGA Tour win in a row. The following week, he was trailing by four strokes going into the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic, but made six birdies on the back nine for a dramatic one-stroke victory. He took home his 15th World Golf Championships event at the Accenture Match Play Championship with a record-breaking 8 & 7 victory in the final.

In his next event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods got off to a slow start, finishing the first round at even par and tied for 34th place. After finishing the third round in a five-way tie for first place, he completed his fifth consecutive PGA Tour victory with a dramatic putt on the 18th hole to defeat Bart Bryant by a stroke. It was also his fifth career victory in this event. Geoff Ogilvy stopped Woods's run at the WGC-CA Championship, a tournament Woods had won in each of the previous three years. He remains the only golfer to have had more than one streak of at least five straight wins on the PGA Tour.

Despite bold predictions that Woods might again challenge for the Grand Slam, he did not mount a serious charge at the 2008 Masters Tournament, struggling with his putter through each round. He would still finish alone in second, three strokes behind the champion, Trevor Immelman. On April 15, 2008, he underwent his third left knee arthroscopic surgery in Park City, Utah, and missed two months on the PGA Tour. The first surgery he had was in 1994, when he had a benign tumor removed, and the second in December 2002. He was named Men's Fitness's Fittest Athlete in the June/July 2008 issue.

Woods returned for the 2008 U.S. Open in one of the most anticipated golf groupings in history including Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott, the top three golfers in the world. Woods struggled the first day, notching a double bogey on his first hole. He would end the round at +1 (72), four shots off the lead. He scored −3 (68) his second day, still paired with Mickelson, managing five birdies, one eagle and four bogeys. On the third day of the tournament, he started off with a double bogey once again and was trailing by five shots with six holes to play. However, he finished the round by making two eagle putts, a combined in length, and a chip-in birdie to take a one-shot lead into the final round. His final putt assured that he would be in the final group for the sixth time in the last eight major championships.

On Sunday, June 15, Woods began the day with another double bogey, and trailed Rocco Mediate by one stroke after 71 holes. He winced after several of his tee shots, and sometimes made an effort to keep weight off his left foot. Woods was behind by one stroke when he reached the final hole. Left with a putt for birdie, he sank it to force an 18-hole playoff with Mediate on Monday. Despite leading by as many as three strokes at one point in the playoff, Woods again dropped back and needed to birdie the 18th to force sudden-death with Mediate, and did so. Woods made par on the first sudden-death hole; Mediate subsequently missed his par putt, giving Woods his 14th major championship. After the tournament, Mediate said "This guy does things that are just not normal by any stretch of the imagination," and Kenny Perry added, "He beat everybody on one leg." His third win in the U.S. Open tied him with Bobby Jones for the career lead in USGA championships won, with nine.

Two days after winning the U.S. Open, Woods announced that he would be required to undergo reconstructive anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery on his left knee and would miss the remainder of the 2008 golf season, including the final two major championships: The Open Championship, and the PGA Championship. Woods also revealed that he had been playing for at least ten months with a torn ligament in his left knee, and sustained a double stress fracture in his left tibia while rehabbing after the surgery he had after the Masters. Publications throughout the world asserted his U.S. Open victory as "epic" and praised his efforts, especially after learning of the extent of his knee injury. Woods called it "My greatest ever championship – the best of the 14 because of all the things that have gone on over the past week."

Woods' absence from the remainder of the season caused PGA Tour TV ratings to decline. Overall viewership for the second half of the 2008 season saw a 46.8% decline as compared to 2007.

2009: Returning to the PGA Tour

Called "one of the most anticipated returns in sports" by the Associated Press, Woods' first PGA Tour event after an eight-month layoff came at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He lost to Tim Clark in the second round. His first stroke play event was the WGC-CA Championship at Doral, where he finished 9th (−11). Woods won his first title of the year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he was five strokes behind Sean O'Hair entering the final round. Woods shot a final round 67 and made a birdie putt at the final hole to defeat O'Hair by one stroke. Afterwards, he would continue to perform consistently. At The Masters, he finished sixth, four strokes behind eventual winner Ángel Cabrera. Then, despite having the 18-hole lead at the Quail Hollow Championship, he finished two strokes behind Sean O'Hair. At The Players Championship, he played in the final group on Sunday, but finished eighth.

Woods won his second event of 2009 at the Memorial Tournament. He trailed by four shots after three rounds but shot a final round 65, which included two consecutive birdies to end the tournament. The win was Woods' fourth at the event. Woods won his third event of the 2009 season on July 5 at the AT&T; National, an event hosted by Woods himself. However, for the third time going into a 2009 major, Woods failed to capitalize on his preceding win. Instead, at the 2009 Open Championship, played at Turnberry, he missed the cut for only the second time in a major championship since turning professional.

On August 2, Woods captured the Buick Open for his fourth win of the season, with a three-shot victory over three other players. After firing an opening-round 71 that put him in 95th place and outside of the cutline, Woods responded with a second-round 63, nine-under-par, that vaulted him into contention. A third-round 65 put him atop the leaderboard and he coasted to victory with a final-round 69 for a 20-under 268 four-round total. This was his biggest turnaround pro victory to date.

Woods won his 70th career event the following week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He went head-to-head against Pádraig Harrington on Sunday until the 16th, where Harrington made a triple-bogey-8 on the par five hole, and Woods made birdie. Tiger went on to win the event by four strokes over Harrington and Robert Allenby.

At the 2009 PGA Championship, Woods shot a 5-under 67 to take the lead after the first round. He remained leader or co-leader through the second and third rounds. Going into the final round, Woods had a 2-stroke lead at 8-under. However, at the 68th hole, Woods was overtaken for the first time atop the leaderboard by Yang Yong-eun. Yang eventually won the tournament by three strokes over Woods, who finished second. It marked the first time that Woods failed to win a major when leading or co-leading after 54 holes, and the first time he had lost any tournament on American soil when leading by more than one shot. It also meant that Woods would end the year without a major for the first time since 2004.

Woods won his 71st career title at the BMW Championship. The win moved him to first place in the FedEx Cup standings going into the final playoff event. It was his fifth win at the BMW Championship (including three wins as the Western Open) and marked the fifth time he had won an event five or more times in his career on the PGA Tour. Woods finished second at The Tour Championship to capture his second FedEx Cup title.

At the 2009 Presidents Cup, Woods had a spectacular performance, winning all five of his matches at the event. He joined his friend Mark O'Meara, who won all five of his matches at the 1996 Presidents Cup, and Shigeki Maruyama, who accomplished this feat in the 1998 Presidents Cup. In all three instances, their respective teams won the competition. Woods was paired with Steve Stricker for all four partners' rounds of the competition, in foursomes and four-ball. On the first day of foursomes, they won 6 and 4 over the team of Ryo Ishikawa and Geoff Ogilvy. In Friday's match of four-ball, they won over the team of Ángel Cabrera and Geoff Ogilvy, 5 and 3. On Saturday, they beat the team of Tim Clark and Mike Weir after trailing for most of the match, by winning the 17th and 18th holes to win 1-up in morning foursomes, and in the afternoon four-ball they defeated the team of Ryo Ishikawa and Y. E. Yang by the score of 4 and 2. In the singles match, Woods was paired with his nemesis from the 2009 PGA Championship, Yang. Yang grabbed the quick 1-up lead on the first hole, but on the third hole lost the lead and Woods went onto win the match by a score of 6 and 5. In addition, Woods clinched the Cup for the United States, which was the first time ever in his career he had the honor and opportunity to do this in a team event competition.

In November 2009, Woods was paid $3.3 million to play in the JBWere Masters, held at Kingston Heath in Melbourne, Australia from November 12 to 15. The event was sold out for the first time. He went on to win at 14 under par, two strokes over Australian Greg Chalmers, marking his 38th European Tour win and his first win on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

2010: Turbulent, winless season

After his past marital infidelities came to light, with massive worldwide media coverage which would eventually last for several months, Woods announced an indefinite break from competitive golf at the end of 2009. He apologized for his behaviour at a news conference held at PGA Tour headquarters on Feb. 19; the statement received live network coverage. In March 2010, he announced that he would be playing in the 2010 Masters.

Missing the start of the 2010 season, Woods returned to competition for the 2010 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, starting on April 8, 2010, after a break lasting nearly 20 weeks. He began with a 4-under-par round of 68, his best ever start at the Masters, and remained in contention until nearly the end of the fourth day, eventually finishing the tournament tied for fourth. Woods next competed at the 2010 Quail Hollow Championship at the end of April, but missed the cut for just the sixth time of his career. He shot his second-worst round as a professional on April 30, a 7-over 79 during the second round to miss the 36-hole cut by eight strokes. Woods withdrew from The Players Championship during the fourth round, on May 9, later citing a neck injury. He had scored 70–71–71 in the first three rounds, and was two over par for the round, while playing the seventh hole, when he withdrew. Hank Haney, who had coached Woods since 2003, issued a statement resigning as his coach shortly after The Players Championship.

Woods returned to competitive golf four weeks later to defend his title at The Memorial Tournament. He made the cut and went on to finish T19, his worst finish in that tournament since 2002. His next competitive tournament began June 17 at the U.S. Open held at Pebble Beach, the site of his 2000 win by a record 15 shots. After a relatively unspectacular performance through the first two rounds, Woods showed signs of his pre-2010 form, as he managed a back nine 31 in route to shooting a five-under-par 66 on Saturday, which would tie for the low round of the tournament and put him back into contention. However, he was unable to mount a charge on Sunday, despite the collapse of 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson, and went on to finish the tournament at three-over-par and in a tie for fourth place, repeating his top-5 result at the 2010 Masters Tournament.

Woods then played in the AT&T; National in late June, which he had formerly hosted, before AT&T; dropped his personal sponsorship. He was the defending champion, and the favorite among many, but he struggled all four days of the tournament, failed to post a round under par, and tied for 46th place.

Woods then flew to Ireland to play in a two-day charity event -– the JP McManus Pro-Am –- and then flew home to Florida to "see his kids", before preparing for The Open Championship just over a week later. He changed his putter for the Open Championship at St Andrews Old Course, saying he always struggled on slow greens and needed this new Nike Method 001 putter to "get the ball rolling faster and better". This was a somewhat surprising statement, considering he had won the previous two Open Championships held at St Andrews, in 2000 and 2005. It was the first time Woods had used any other putter than his Titleist Scotty Cameron since 1999. Woods putted well the first day of the tournament, shooting a 5-under 67, but wind gusts of over 40 mph suspended play for 66 minutes the next day at St Andrews, and Woods was never able to get anything going. It was the same story Saturday. He missed short putts over and over again. He changed his putter back to his old Scotty Cameron for the final round, but did not putt any better. Woods finished 3-under overall, 13 shots behind winner Louis Oosthuizen (tied for 23rd place).

Woods finished in 18-over par, tying for 78th place (second-to-last place) in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on August 8. He posted his worst four-round result as a professional golfer.

Woods began working with Canadian golf coach Sean Foley in August 2010; the two had been discussing a possible partnership for several previous weeks. In the 2010 PGA Championship, played at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, Woods made the 36-hole cut but failed to mount a challenge, ending in a tie for 28th place.

Woods's inconsistent play in the 2010 FedEx Cup playoffs failed to qualify him into the top 30 players for The Tour Championship, for the first time since he turned professional in 1996. He had won the FedEx Cup in 2007 and 2009. He also failed to qualify on points for the 2010 Ryder Cup team, for the first time in his career. But captain Corey Pavin chose Woods as one of his four captain's picks. Woods, again partnering with Steve Stricker in pairs play, played inconsistently in terrible weather conditions at Celtic Manor in Wales; the matches were delayed several times when the course became unplayable, and the format had to be significantly modified and then even extended to a fourth day to complete the event. The U.S., entering as Cup holders, lost the Cup to the European team, by the narrowest possible margin, 14.5 to 13.5. However, Woods played impressive golf in his final-day singles match, winning decisively over Francesco Molinari.

Woods then took an extended break from competition, to refine new techniques with Foley. He returned in early November, after more than a month off, at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, where he had placed 2nd in 2009, but failed to challenge seriously. Next was a visit to Thailand, his mother's birthplace, for a one-day Skins Game, honoring King Bhumibol. At the 2010 JBWere Masters, held near Melbourne, Australia in mid-November, Woods arrived as defending champion and was paid an appearance fee of more than $3 million. He charged late on the final day to finish in fourth place. Over his final six holes, Woods made two eagles, two birdies, and two pars, to end with a round of 6-under 65. Three weeks later, resuming his role as host of the elite-field Chevron World Challenge near Los Angeles (he had skipped the 2009 event because of personal crisis; the tournament serves as a primary benefactor of his charitable foundation), Woods put up three straight rounds in the 60s, and led going into the final round for the first time in 2010. But he struggled with his long-game control in mixed weather conditions on Sunday, and putted much worse than he had in previous rounds, winding up in a tie with Graeme McDowell after 72 holes. McDowell sank a birdie putt on the final green; Woods then sank his own short birdie putt to tie. McDowell again made birdie on the first playoff hole (the 18th) from to take the title, when Woods missed from shorter range. The playoff loss meant that Woods went winless for an entire season, for the first time since turning professional. However, Woods finished the 2010 season ranked #2 in the world. He again used the Nike Method 003 putter for his final two events of 2010.

2011: Work in progress

Woods opened his 2011 season at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course near San Diego. He has enjoyed tremendous success there, with six past Tour titles and a dramatic playoff win in the 2008 U.S. Open, but was making his first appearance at the course since that 2008 major win. Woods played strongly for the first two rounds, scoring 69–69 to sit five strokes behind halfway leader Bill Haas. But on the weekend, many wayward approach shots found greenside bunkers, and Woods was unable to recover sufficiently well to stay in contention. He scored 74–75 to end at one-under-par 287, 15 strokes behind winner Bubba Watson, in a tie for 44th place. It was the worst season-opening performance of his career.

Woods made his next appearance at the Dubai Desert Classic, an event he had previously won twice and always ended inside the top five, in six previous appearances. Woods, ranked #3 in the world, was grouped with #1 Lee Westwood and #2 Martin Kaymer for the first two rounds. Woods started with 71 and scored 6-under 66 in round two to move into contention, and stayed in the hunt with 72 for round three, but struggled on Sunday with 75, to end in a tie for 20th, at 4-under 284, seven shots back of winner Álvaro Quirós. During the final round of that competition, Woods spat on the ground a few feet from the hole, after missing a putt at the 12th green. The incident was shown on televised coverage worldwide. Woods apologized for the incident in which he breached the European Tour's code of conduct; he will be fined an undisclosed sum. Later starters had to play across the area where Woods spat. Sportswriter John Feinstein stated on Golf Channel a few days after the incident that Woods is in fact the most-fined player in the history of the PGA Tour.

Woods made his next appearance at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, a World Golf Championship event for the top 64 players. He was playing in this tournament for the first time since Accenture dropped his personal sponsorship some 14 months earlier. Woods, a three-time champion who has more match wins in the event than any other player, came in as one of the four #1 seeds, but lost in the first round on the first sudden-death hole, the 19th, to Thomas Bjørn, after the two players had tied their 18-hole match. On February 27, Woods had his world ranking drop to #5,;

Woods played next in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral's Blue Monster course, where he had never missed the top ten in any event. Woods was never in contention to win, but kept his streak going with a tie for tenth place, scoring 70–74–70–66, for eight-under-par 280, eight shots behind winner Nick Watney. His final round tied for best of the day, and was his lowest 18-hole score on the PGA Tour since the third round of the 2010 U.S. Open. After the final round, Woods commented that he was making good progress on his game with coach Sean Foley, being able to identify and correct faults during his final round at Doral. Woods put a Nike heel-shafted blade putter in play for the final two rounds, replacing his center-shafted Titleist Scotty Cameron blade model; he explained afterward he wanted a hotter putter to tackle Doral's grainy greens.

Woods competed in the 2011 Tavistock Cup, a charity interclub team event, held at his home course, Isleworth Country Club, but represented the new club Albany, of the Bahamas, where he is an investor. Woods teamed with Arjun Atwal the first day to post a better-ball score of 64, and shot 69 on his own ball on day two. Lake Nona won the team portion of the event, and England's Oliver Wilson won the Payne Stewart Salver with the low individual score of 65.

Woods next competed in the 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational, an event he has won six times. Woods showed inconsistent play over the four rounds, carding 73–68–74–72 to finish at one-under-par 287, in a tie for 24th place, seven shots behind winner Martin Laird. His world ranking dropped to #7 following this event, the lowest it has been since the week before the 1997 Masters. Woods contended strongly in the 2011 Masters Tournament, scoring 71–66–74–67 to finish at ten-under 278, in a tie for fourth place, four shots behind winner Charl Schwartzel. His ranking rose to #5.

Woods was sidelined from tournament play until May 12 by two leg injuries incurred in round three of the Masters. He entered the 2011 Players Championship, but withdrew after nine holes of the first round, with a score of +6, as his injuries caused him to limp noticeably. His world rank fell to #15 on June 6, his lowest since early 1997, more than 14 years ago.

Woods announced on June 7 via his website and twitter that he would not be playing in the 2011 U.S. Open, set to begin June 16, due to continued pain in his left Achilles tendon and left anterior cruciate ligament. Woods stated he was very disappointed to not be able to play in the season's second major championship, but that he was listening to his doctors, continuing to work on his recovery, and planning for the long term. He also stated the same day that he would remain with longtime agent Mark Steinberg after the agent's contract was not renewed by the International Management Group. Both stories were picked up immediately by media outlets worldwide. Woods also missed the 2011 British Open, still recovering from injury. He fired his longtime caddy Steve Williams following the AT&T; National in early July; Williams will now caddy for Adam Scott.

Woods returned to tournament play in early August, following a break of 11 weeks, at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where he is a seven-time champion. He had Bryon Bell as caddy; Bell is a childhood friend, former high school golf teammate, and current employee of Tiger Woods Design; Bell had caddied for Woods on several previous occasions, dating back to amateur golf. Woods stated in a pre-tournament press conference that Bell is serving temporarily as his caddie, and that he has yet to make a decision on a permanent replacement for Williams. Woods also stated he is "completely healthy". He tied for 37th place after rounds of 68-70-71-70, as Adam Scott won with a 17-under-par total 263. Woods finished last in the field of 76 players in driving accuracy, hitting only slightly more than 40% of his fairways.

Fred Couples, 2011 Presidents Cup U.S. team captain, stated he would use a captain's pick to select Woods for the team should he not automatically qualify. Woods had his contract discontinued by sponsor Tag Heuer, a luxury Swiss watchmaker, on August 10.

Woods, again with Bell on his bag, missed the cut at the 2011 PGA Championship, held at Atlanta Athletic Club, for the first time in that major and for only the third time in a major championship as a professional. After starting with three birdies and two pars over his first five holes, he collapsed to shoot 77, his highest first-round major score since turning pro in 1996, and followed this up with 73 the second day, to finish at ten-over-par 150, missing the cut by six strokes. He had five holes with double bogey or worse in 36 holes; the only other previous event where he had this was the 2007 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Woods also failed to qualify for the 2011 FedEx Cup playoffs since he is outside the top 125 qualifying point earners.

Playing style

When Woods first joined the professional tour in 1996, his long drives had a large impact on the world of golf. However, when he did not upgrade his equipment in the following years (insisting upon the use of True Temper Dynamic Gold steel-shafted clubs and smaller steel clubheads that promoted accuracy over distance), many opponents caught up to him. Phil Mickelson even made a joke in 2003 about Woods using "inferior equipment", which did not sit well with Nike, Titleist or Woods. During 2004, Woods finally upgraded his driver technology to a larger clubhead and graphite shaft, which, coupled with his clubhead speed, made him one of the Tour's lengthier players off the tee once again.

Despite his power advantage, Woods has always focused on developing an excellent all-around game. Although in recent years he has typically been near the bottom of the Tour rankings in driving accuracy, his iron play is generally accurate, his recovery and bunker play is very strong, and his putting (especially under pressure) is possibly his greatest asset. He is largely responsible for a shift to higher standards of athleticism amongst professional golfers, and is known for putting in more hours of practice than most.

From mid-1993, while he was still an amateur, until 2004, Woods worked almost exclusively with leading swing coach Butch Harmon. From mid-1997, Harmon and Woods fashioned a major redevelopment of Woods' full swing, achieving greater consistency, better distance control, and better kinesiology. The changes began to pay off in 1999. Since March 2004, Woods has been coached by Hank Haney, who has worked on flattening his swing plane. Woods has continued to win tournaments with Haney, but his driving accuracy has dropped significantly since his move from Harmon. In June 2004, Woods was involved in a media spat with Harmon, who also works as a golf broadcaster, when Harmon suggested that he was in "denial" about the problems in his game, but they publicly patched up their differences.

Haney announced that he was stepping down as Woods' coach on May 10, 2010.

On August 10, 2010, Sean Foley helped Woods with his swing during a practice round at the PGA Championship and confirmed the possibility of working with him.

When Woods turned pro, Mike "Fluff" Cowan was his caddie until March 8, 1999. He was replaced by Steve Williams, who has become a close friend of Woods and is often credited with helping him with key shots and putts.

Equipment

As of 2011:

Driver: Nike VR Tour Driver (8.5 degrees; Mitsubishi Diamana Whiteboard 83g shaft)

Fairway Woods: Nike VR Pro 15° 3-wood with Mitsubishi Diamana Blueboard and Nike SQ II 19° 5-Wood

Irons: Nike VR Pro Blades (2-PW) (Tiger will put his 5 Wood or 2 Iron in the bag depending upon the course setup and conditions). All irons are 1 degree upright, have D4 swingweight, standard size Tour Velvet grips and True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts.

Wedges: Nike VR 56° Sand Wedge and Nike SV 60° Lob Wedge

Putter: Nike Method 001, 35 inches long; Titleist Scotty Cameron; Nike Method 003 (switches putters depending on the greens of certain courses)

Ball: Nike ONE Tour D (with "Tiger" imprint)

Golf Glove: Nike Dri-FIT Tour glove

Golf Shoes: Nike Air Zoom TW 2011

Driver club cover: Frank, a plush tiger head club cover created by his mother. Frank has appeared in several commercials.

Other ventures and aspects

Charity and youth projects

Woods has established several charitable and youth projects. The Tiger Woods Foundation: The Tiger Woods Foundation was established in 1996 by Woods and his father Earl. It focuses on projects for children. Initially these comprised golf clinics (aimed especially at disadvantaged children), and a grant program. Further activities added since then include university scholarships, an association with Target House at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee; the Start Something character development program, which reached one million participants by 2003; and the Tiger Woods Learning Center. The Tiger Woods Foundation recently has teamed up with the PGA Tour to create a new PGA tour event that will take place in the nation's capital (Washington, D.C.) beginning in July 2007. In The City Golf Clinics and Festivals: Since 1997, the Tiger Woods Foundation has conducted junior golf clinics across the country. The Foundation began the “In the City” golf clinic program in 2003. The first three clinics were held in Indio, California, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and were targeted to all youth, ages 7–17, and their families. Each three-day event features golf lessons on Thursday and Friday of clinic week and a free community festival on Saturday. Host cities invite 15 junior golfers to participate in the annual Tiger Woods Foundation Youth Clinic. This three-day junior golf event includes tickets to Disney Resorts, a junior golf clinic, and an exhibition by Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods Learning Center: This is a educational facility in Anaheim, California which opened in February 2006. It is expected to be used by several thousand students each year in grades 4 to 12. The center features seven classrooms, extensive multi-media facilities and an outdoor golf teaching area. Tiger Jam: An annual fundraising concert which has raised over $10 million for the Tiger Woods Foundation. Past performers at Tiger Jam include Sting, Bon Jovi and Stevie Wonder. Chevron World Challenge: An annual off-season charity golf tournament. The event carries generous prize money, and in 2007 Woods donated his $1.35 million first-place check to his Learning Center. Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team: An eighteen member team which competes in the annual Junior World Golf Championships.

Woods has also participated in charity work for his current caddy, Steve Williams. On April 24, 2006 Woods won an auto racing event that benefited the Steve Williams Foundation to raise funds to provide sporting careers for disadvantaged youth.

Writings

Woods wrote a golf instruction column for Golf Digest magazine from 1997 to February 2011. In 2001 he wrote a best-selling golf instruction book, How I Play Golf, which had the largest print run of any golf book for its first edition, 1.5 million copies.

Laser eye surgery

Woods underwent laser eye surgery in 1999. Before this surgery, Woods eyesight was minus 11, meaning he was almost legally blind. He considered the surgery a big help in his career and a good alternative to the glasses and contact lenses. He immediately starting winning tour events after the surgery. He received money from TLC Laser Eye Centers to endorse them. In 2007, he had a second laser eye surgery when his vision began to deteriorate again.

Golf course design

Woods announced on December 3, 2006 that he will develop his first golf course in the United Arab Emirates through his golf course design company, Tiger Woods Design. The Tiger Woods Dubai will feature a , par-72 course named Al Ruwaya (meaning "serenity"), a clubhouse, a golf academy, 320 exclusive villas and a boutique hotel with 80 suites. Tiger Woods Dubai is a joint venture between Woods and Tatweer, a member of the government-affiliated Dubai Holding. Woods chose Dubai because he was excited about the "challenge of transforming a desert terrain into a world-class golf course." The development was scheduled to be finished in late 2009 at Dubailand, the region's largest tourism and leisure project. However, economic difficulties in Dubai have delayed the completion of this project. A Feb. 1, 2011 report on The Golf Channel stated the project has been abandoned, with only six holes completed.

On August 14, 2007, Woods announced his first course to be designed in the U.S., The Cliffs at High Carolina. The private course will sit at about in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina.

Woods will also design a golf course in Mexico. This will be his first oceanfront course. It will be called Punta Brava, which will be located by Ensenada, Baja California. The project will include an 18-hole course designed by Woods, 40 estate lots of up to three acres in size, and 80 villa homes of up to . Construction will start in 2009 with the project scheduled for completion in 2011.

Endorsements

Woods has been called the world's most marketable athlete. Shortly after his 21st birthday in 1996, he began signing endorsement deals with numerous companies, including General Motors, Titleist, General Mills, American Express, Accenture, and Nike, Inc. In 2000, he signed a 5-year, $105 million contract extension with Nike. It was the largest endorsing deal ever signed by an athlete at that time. Woods' endorsement has been credited with playing a significant role in taking the Nike Golf brand from a "start-up" golf company earlier in the past decade, to becoming the leading golf apparel company in the world, and a major player in the equipment and golf ball market. Nike Golf is one of the fastest growing brands in the sport, with an estimated $600 million in sales. Woods has been described as the "ultimate endorser" for Nike Golf, frequently seen wearing Nike gear during tournaments, and even in advertisements for other products. Woods receives a cut from the sales of Nike Golf apparel, footwear, golf equipment, golf balls, and has a building named after him at Nike’s headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon.

In 2002, Woods was involved in every aspect of the launch of Buick's Rendezvous SUV. A company spokesman stated that Buick is happy with the value of Woods' endorsement, pointing out that more than 130,000 Rendezvous vehicles were sold in 2002 and 2003. "That exceeded our forecasts," he was quoted as saying, "It has to be in recognition of Tiger." In February 2004, Buick renewed Woods' endorsement contract for another five years, in a deal reportedly worth $40 million.

Woods collaborated closely with TAG Heuer to develop the world's first professional golf watch, released in April 2005. The lightweight, titanium-construction watch, designed to be worn while playing the game, incorporates numerous innovative design features to accommodate golf play. It is capable of absorbing up to 5,000 Gs of shock, far in excess of the forces generated by a normal golf swing. In 2006, the TAG Heuer Professional Golf Watch won the prestigious iF product design award in the Leisure/Lifestyle category.

Woods also endorses the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of video games; he has done so since 1999. In 2006, he signed a six-year contract with Electronic Arts, the series' publisher.

In February 2007, along with Roger Federer and Thierry Henry, Woods became an ambassador for the "Gillette Champions" marketing campaign. Gillette did not disclose financial terms, though an expert estimated the deal could total between $10 million and $20 million.

In October 2007, Gatorade announced that Woods would have his own brand of sports drink starting in March 2008. "Gatorade Tiger" was his first U.S. deal with a beverage company and his first licensing agreement. Although no figures were officially disclosed, Golfweek magazine reported that it was for five years and could pay him as much as $100 million. The company decided in early fall 2009 to discontinue the drink due to weak sales.

According to Golf Digest, Woods made $769,440,709 from 1996 to 2007, and the magazine predicted that by 2010, Woods would pass one billion dollars in earnings. In 2009, Forbes confirmed that Woods was indeed the world's first athlete to earn over a billion dollars in his career (before taxes), after accounting for the $10 million bonus Woods received for the FedEx Cup title. The same year, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $600 million, making him the second richest "African American" behind only Oprah Winfrey.

Honors

On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced that Woods would be inducted into the California Hall of Fame. He was inducted December 5, 2007 at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento.

He has been named "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press in December 2009. 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.

Since his record-breaking win at the 1997 Masters Tournament, golf's increased popularity is commonly attributed to Woods' presence. He is credited by some sources for dramatically increasing prize money in golf, generating interest in new audiences, and for drawing the largest TV audiences in golf history.

Politics

Tiger Woods is registered as an independent. In January 2009, Woods delivered a speech commemorating the military at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. In April 2009, Woods visited the White House while in the Washington, D.C. area promoting the golf tournament he hosts, the AT&T; National.

Cut streak

In both Byron Nelson's and Woods's eras, "making the cut" has been defined as receiving a paycheck. However, in Nelson's day, only players who placed in the top 20 (sometimes as few as 15) in an event won a paycheck, whereas in Woods's day only players who reach a low enough score (top 70 and ties for most events) within the first 36 holes win a paycheck. Several golf analysts argue that Woods did not actually surpass Nelson's consecutive cuts mark, reasoning that 31 of the tournaments in which Woods competed were "no-cut" events, meaning all the players in the field were guaranteed to compete throughout the entire event regardless of their scores through 36 holes (and hence all "made the cut," meaning that they all received a paycheck). These analysts argue that this would leave Woods's final consecutive cuts made at 111, and Nelson's at 113.

However, at least ten of the tournaments in which Nelson played did not have modern-day cuts; that is, all of the players in these events were guaranteed to compete past 36 holes. The Masters, for example, did not institute a 36-hole cut until 1957 (which was well after Nelson retired), the PGA Championship was match play until 1958, and it is unclear whether or not three other events in which Nelson competed had 36-hole cuts. Therefore, these analysts remove "no 36-hole cut" events from both cut streak measures, leaving Nelson's consecutive cuts made at 103 (or possibly less) and Woods's at 111.

In the tournaments in which Nelson competed that did not have 36-hole cuts (that is: the Masters, PGA Championship and the possible three other tournaments), only the top 20 players received a paycheck even though all players in these events were guaranteed to compete past 36 holes. Hence, in these no-cut events, Nelson still placed in the top 20, so Nelson's 113 cuts made are reflective of his 113 top 20 finishes. Woods achieved a top 20 finish 21 consecutive times (from July 2000 to July 2001) and, in the 31 no-cut events in which he played, he won 10 and finished out of the top 10 only five times. Others, including Woods himself, argue that the two streaks cannot be compared, because the variation of tournament structures in the two eras is too great for any meaningful comparison to be made.

A more relevant comparison on cut streaks is the 105 consecutive cuts made by Jack Nicklaus between 1970 and 1976, ending at the 1976 World Open. The cut format from that era was virtually identical to the current PGA Tour practice, and most events in Nicklaus' streak, except for the Tournament of Champions (now the SBS Championship), the World Series of Golf (now the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational), and the U.S. Professional Match Play Championship (10 events for Nicklaus) had a cut made after 36 holes.

Tiger-proofing

Early in Woods's career, a small number of golf experts expressed concern about his impact on the competitiveness of the game and the public appeal of professional golf. Sportswriter Bill Lyon of Knight-Ridder asked in a column, "Isn't Tiger Woods actually bad for golf?" (though Lyon ultimately concluded that he was not). At first, some pundits feared that Woods would drive the spirit of competition out of the game of golf by making existing courses obsolete and relegating opponents to simply competing for second place each week.

A related effect was measured by economist Jennifer Brown of the University of California, Berkeley who found that other golfers played worse when competing against Woods than when he was not in the tournament. The scores of highly skilled (exempt) golfers are nearly one stroke higher when playing against Woods. This effect was larger when he was on winning streaks and disappeared during his well-publicized slump in 2003–04. Brown explains the results by noting that competitors of similar skill can hope to win by increasing their level of effort, but that, when facing a "superstar" competitor, extra exertion does not significantly raise one's level of winning while increasing risk of injury or exhaustion, leading to reduced effort.

Many courses in the PGA Tour rotation (including Major Championship sites like Augusta National) began to add yardage to their tees in an effort to slow down long hitters like Woods, a strategy that became known as "Tiger-Proofing". Woods himself welcomed the change as he believes adding yardage to the course does not affect his ability to win.

Ryder Cup performance

Despite his outstanding success on the PGA Tour, Woods had little success in the Ryder Cup early in his career. In his first Ryder Cup in 1997, he earned only 1½ points competing in every match and partnering mostly with Mark O'Meara. Costantino Rocca defeated Woods in his singles match. In 1999, he earned 2 points over every match with a variety of partners. In 2002, he lost both Friday matches, but, partnered with Davis Love III for both of Saturday's matches, won two points for the Americans, and was slated to anchor the Americans for the singles matches, both squads going into Sunday with 8 points. However, after the Europeans took an early lead, his match with Jesper Parnevik was rendered unimportant and they halved the match. In 2004, he was paired with Phil Mickelson on Friday but lost both matches, and only earned one point on Saturday. With the Americans facing a 5–11 deficit, he won the first singles match, but the team was not able to rally. In 2006, he was paired with Jim Furyk for all of the pairs matches, and they won two of their four matches. Woods won his singles match, one of only three Americans to do so that day. Woods missed the 2008 Ryder Cup competition altogether, as he was recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Despite Woods' absence, the United States team posted its largest margin of victory in the event since 1981.

Career achievements

Woods has won 71 official PGA Tour events including 14 majors. He is 14–1 when going into the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead. He has been heralded as "the greatest closer in history" by multiple golf experts. He owns the lowest career scoring average and the most career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history.

He has spent the most consecutive and cumulative weeks atop the world rankings. He is one of five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus) to have won all four professional major championships in his career, known as the Career Grand Slam, and was the youngest to do so. Woods is the only player to have won all four professional major championships in a row, accomplishing the feat in the 2000–2001 seasons.

PGA Tour wins (71)

European Tour wins (38)

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

Asian Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Other professional wins (15)

Amateur wins (21)

Major championships

Wins (14)

{|class="sortable wikitable" !Year!!Championship!!54 Holes!!Winning Score!!Margin!!Runner(s)-up |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" | 1997 ||Masters Tournament ||9 shot lead ||−18 (70–66–65–69=270) ||12 strokes || Tom Kite |- style="background:thistle;" | 1999 ||PGA Championship ||Tied for lead ||−11 (70–67–68–72=277) ||1 stroke || Sergio García |- style="background:#fbceb1;" | 2000 ||U.S. Open ||10 shot lead ||−12 (65–69–71–67=272) ||15 strokes || Ernie Els, Miguel Ángel Jiménez |- style="background:#abcdef;" | 2000 ||The Open Championship ||6 shot lead ||−19 (67–66–67–69=269) ||8 strokes || Thomas Bjørn, Ernie Els |- style="background:thistle;" | 2000 ||PGA Championship (2)||1 shot lead ||−18 (66–67–70–67=270) ||Playoff ¹ || Bob May |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" | 2001 ||Masters Tournament (2)||1 shot lead ||−16 (70–66–68–68=272) ||2 strokes || David Duval |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" | 2002 ||Masters Tournament (3)||Tied for lead ||−12 (70–69–66–71=276) ||3 strokes || Retief Goosen |- style="background:#fbceb1;" | 2002 ||U.S. Open (2)||4 shot lead ||−3 (67–68–70–72=277) ||3 strokes || Phil Mickelson |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" | 2005 ||Masters Tournament (4)||3 shot lead ||−12 (74–66–65–71=276) ||Playoff ² || Chris DiMarco |- style="background:#abcdef;" | 2005 ||The Open Championship (2)||2 shot lead ||−14 (66–67–71–70=274) ||5 strokes || Colin Montgomerie |- style="background:#abcdef;" | 2006 ||The Open Championship (3)||1 shot lead ||−18 (67–65–71–67=270) ||2 strokes || Chris DiMarco |- style="background:thistle;" | 2006 ||PGA Championship (3)||Tied for lead ||−18 (69–68–65–68=270) ||5 strokes || Shaun Micheel |- style="background:thistle;" | 2007 ||PGA Championship (4)||3 shot lead ||−8 (71–63–69–69=272) ||2 strokes || Woody Austin |- style="background:#fbceb1;" | 2008 ||U.S. Open (3)||1 shot lead ||−1 (72–68–70–73=283) ||Playoff ³ || Rocco Mediate |} ¹ Defeated May in three-hole playoff by 1 stroke: Woods (3–4–5=12), May (4–4–5=13) ² Defeated DiMarco with birdie on first extra hole ³ Defeated Mediate with a par on 1st sudden death hole after 18-hole playoff was tied at even par

Results timeline

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align:center" |- style="background:#eee;" !align="left"|Tournament !1995 !1996 !1997 !1998 !1999 !2000 !2001 !2002 !2003 !2004 !2005 !2006 !2007 !2008 !2009 !2010 !2011 |- | style="text-align:left;"|The Masters |T41 LA |CUT | style="background:lime;"|1 | style="background:yellow;"|T8 |T18 | style="background:yellow;"|5 | style="background:lime;"|1 | style="background:lime;"|1 |T15 |T22 | style="background:lime;"|1 | style="background:yellow;"|T3 | style="background:yellow;"|T2 | style="background:yellow;"|2 | style="background:yellow;"|T6 | style="background:yellow;"|T4 | style="background:yellow;"|T4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|U.S. Open |WD |T82 |T19 |T18 | style="background:yellow;"|T3 | style="background:lime;"|1 |T12 | style="background:lime;"|1 |T20 |T17 | style="background:yellow;"|2 |CUT | style="background:yellow;"|T2 | style="background:lime;"|1 | style="background:yellow;"|T6 | style="background:yellow;"|T4 |DNP |- | style="text-align:left;"|The Open Championship |T68 |T22 LA |T24 | style="background:yellow;"|3 | style="background:yellow;"|T7 | style="background:lime;"|1 |T25 |T28 | style="background:yellow;"|T4 | style="background:yellow;"|T9 | style="background:lime;"|1 | style="background:lime;"|1 |T12 |DNP |CUT |T23 |DNP |- | style="text-align:left;"|PGA Championship |DNP |DNP |T29 | style="background:yellow;"|T10 | style="background:lime;"|1 | style="background:lime;"|1 |T29 | style="background:yellow;"|2 |T39 |T24 | style="background:yellow;"|T4 | style="background:lime;"|1 | style="background:lime;"|1 |DNP | style="background:yellow;"|2 |T28 |CUT |}

LA = Low Amateur DNP = Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

World Golf Championships

Wins (16)

¹ Won on the first extra hole of a sudden-death playoff. ² Won on the seventh extra hole of a sudden-death playoff. ³ Won on the second extra hole of a sudden-death playoff. ⁴ Won on the fourth extra hole of a sudden-death playoff.

Results timeline

!Tournament!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011

align="left"

style="background:yellow;"

style="background:yellow;"

DNP

R64

R32

style="background:yellow;"

style="background:yellow;"

R32

DNP

R64

align="left"

style="background:yellow;"

NT1

style="background:yellow;"

style="background:yellow;"

style="background:yellow;"

DNP

style="background:yellow;"

align="left"

style="background:yellow;"

style="background:yellow;"

style="background:yellow;"

DNP

T78

T37

align="left"

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

style="background:yellow;"

style="background:yellow;"

¹Cancelled due to 9/11 DNP = Did not play QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = tied NT = No Tournament Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10. Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

PGA Tour career summary

! Year !! Wins (Majors) !! Earnings ($) !! Money list rank
1996	2	790,594	24
1997	4 (1)	2,066,833
1998	1	1,841,117
1999	8 (1)	6,616,585
2000	9 (3)	9,188,321
2001	5 (1)	6,687,777
2002	5 (2)	6,912,625
2003	5	6,673,413
2004	1	5,365,472
2005	6 (2)	10,628,024
2006	8 (2)	9,941,563
2007	7 (1)	10,867,052
2008	4 (1)	5,775,000
2009	6	10,508,163
2010	0	1,294,765	68
2011*	0	629,863	113
!Career*	!71 (14)	!94,787,167	1

: * As of August 21, 2011.

Personal life

Marriage

In November 2003, Woods became engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish former model and daughter of former minister of migration Barbro Holmberg and radio journalist Thomas Nordegren. They were introduced during The Open Championship in 2001 by Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik, who had employed her as an au pair. They married on October 5, 2004 at the Sandy Lane resort on the Caribbean island of Barbados, and lived at Isleworth, a community in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando, Florida. They also have homes in Jackson, Wyoming, California, and Sweden. In January 2006, they purchased a $39 million residential property in Jupiter Island, Florida, intending to make it their primary residence. Jupiter Island residents include fellow golfers Gary Player, Greg Norman, and Nick Price, as well as singers Celine Dion and Alan Jackson. In 2007, a guest house owned by Woods on the Jupiter Island estate was destroyed in a fire caused by lightning.

Early in the morning of June 18, 2007, Elin gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter, Sam Alexis Woods, in Orlando. The birth occurred just one day after Woods finished tied for second in the 2007 U.S. Open. Woods chose to name his daughter Sam because his father said that Woods looked more like a Sam. On September 2, 2008, Woods announced on his website that he and his wife were expecting their second child. Five months later, it was announced Elin had given birth to a son, Charlie Axel Woods, on February 8, 2009. Woods and Nordegren divorced on August 23, 2010.

Marital infidelities and career break

On November 25, 2009, supermarket tabloid The National Enquirer published a story claiming that Woods had an extramarital affair with New York City nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel‎, a claim she denied.

Woods injured in car accident

The story about Woods's infidelity began to attract media attention when Woods had a car accident a day and a half later, on November 27, as he left his Orlando-area home around 2:30 am in his SUV, a 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Woods hit a hedge, a fire hydrant, and, finally, a tree, just down the street from his house. Woods was treated for minor facial lacerations, and cited for careless driving. He paid a $164 traffic ticket. He refused to speak to the police, and the accident fanned intense speculation for two days, until Woods released a statement on his website, taking blame for the crash and adding that it was a private matter; he also praised his wife, Elin, for getting him out of the car.

Woods announced shortly afterward that he would neither play in nor attend his own charity golf tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, nor any other remaining tournaments in 2009.

More women come forward with claims

Interest in the story grew, until San Diego cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs publicly claimed in the gossip magazine Us Weekly that she had a two-and-a-half-year affair with Woods, producing voice and text messages that she said Woods left her. The voice message stated: "Hey it's Tiger, I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone...You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye." Woods released an apology on the day that the story was published, expressing regret for "transgressions" and saying "I have let my family down." Woods was not specific about the reason for the apology, and requested privacy.

After over a dozen women claimed in various media outlets that they had affairs with Woods, media pressure increased. On December 11, he released another statement, admitting to infidelity, offering another apology, and announcing an indefinite hiatus from professional golf. On the same day, lawyers acting on his behalf obtained an injunction in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, preventing the publication in the UK of any images of Woods naked or having sexual intercourse, while denying that Woods was aware of the existence of any such images. Reporting the subject of the injunction was also enjoined. The following week, one of the women who had undertaken media interviews regarding her relationship with Woods admitted having taken photographs of Woods naked, on the pre-meditated premise that she would sell them if they ever broke up.

Sponsorships, business deals ended

The day after the statement, several companies indicated they were reconsidering endorsement deals. Gillette suspended advertising featuring Woods, and said they would not be hiring him for any public appearances for the company. On December 13, management consultancy firm Accenture completely cut its sponsorship of Woods, stating that the golfer was "no longer the right representative."

On December 8, 2009, Nielsen indicated that advertisers had tentatively suspended TV ads featuring Woods after news of his adulteries emerged. Major sponsors initially pledged support and to retain Woods, but he was suspended by Gillette on December 11, and completely dropped by Accenture on December 13. On December 18, TAG Heuer dropped Woods "for the foreseeable future" from its advertising campaigns, only to then change their home page by December 23 to the statement that "Tag Heuer stands with Tiger Woods". In August 2011, Tag Heuer ended its sponsorship arrangement with Woods when his contract expired. On January 1, 2010, AT&T; announced the end of its sponsorship of Woods. On January 4, 2010, Electronic Arts, via the blog of President Peter Moore, stated that they would continue to work with Woods and cited their collaboration on a web-based golf game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online. On January 13, General Motors ended a free car loan deal that had been due to end on December 31, 2010.

A December 2009 study by Christopher R. Knittel and Victor Stango, economics professors at the University of California at Davis, estimated that the shareholder loss caused by Woods' extramarital affairs to be between $5 billion and $12 billion.

Golf Digest magazine, which had featured monthly instructional articles from Woods on an exclusive basis since 1997, announced in its February 2010 issue that it would suspend publication of articles by Woods while he works out his problems. Woods resumed his articles with the magazine with its September 2010 issue. On January 6, 2011, the magazine announced that its publishing relationship with Woods would end with the February 2011 issue.

Press conference apology

On February 19, 2010, Woods delivered a televised speech from the PGA Tour headquarters in Florida. He admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife. He said he used to believe he was entitled to do whatever he wanted to do, and that, due to his success, normal rules did not apply to him. He said he realizes now that he was wrong to have had extramarital affairs, and apologized for the hurt his behavior caused to his family, friends, fans, and business partners. Woods stated he had strayed from Buddhism, his trained faith since childhood, and that he would work to re-embrace his faith in the future. Woods also stated he had been in a therapy program for 45 days, and would be returning there soon. He stated he planned to return to competitive golf in the future, but was unspecific on details. He did not take questions.

On February 27, 2010, energy drink firm Gatorade ended its sponsorship of Tiger Woods. However, Gatorade said it would continue its partnership with the charitable Tiger Woods Foundation. In March Irish bookmaker Paddy Power revealed that Woods had declined a $75 million endorsement deal with them.

Announces return to competition

On March 16, 2010, Woods announced that he would return to golf at the 2010 Masters. However, his wife Elin announced that she planned to return to Sweden at that time, instead of attending the tournament.

Woods admits to multiple infidelities

On March 21, 2010, Woods was interviewed by Tom Rinaldi, his first interview after the incident. On April 29, 2010, the National Enquirer reported that Woods had confessed to his wife that he has had 120 affairs. He also admitted having a one-night-stand with his neighbours' 21-year-old daughter Raychel Coudriet, whom he has known since she was 14.

Woods, Nordegren divorce

Woods and Nordegren officially divorced on August 23, 2010. While the precise financial terms of the divorce are confidential, published reports indicate that Nordegren received a settlement of approximately $100 million; the two will share custody of their two children.

Tiger Woods: The Rise and Fall documentary

Another Woods lover, porn star and exotic dancer Veronica Siwik-Daniels (stage name Joslyn James), was interviewed for the British television documentary Tiger Woods: The Rise and Fall, which was first broadcasted in mid-June 2010, on Channel 4 in the UK, and then by other media worldwide since that time. In her interview on the program, Siwik-Daniels, based in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, claimed that she and Woods had had a relationship lasting three years, with Woods paying to have her travel by air to meet him for trysts at several golf tournaments around the United States. Siwik-Daniels said that Woods had asked her to quit her porn career, since he was bothered by watching her videos. Siwik-Daniels said she had become pregnant by Woods on two occasions, with one pregnancy ending in a miscarriage, and the other ending in an abortion. Siwik-Daniels retained celebrity divorce lawyer Gloria Allred for a lawsuit against Woods.

Orlando waitress Mindy Lawton was interviewed as well; she claimed that she and Woods met frequently for sex, usually in the private den of his home, but sometimes in other locations, over a period of several months. One of their trysts was apparently observed and photographed, on a tip from Lawton's mother, with this information going to the National Enquirer. According to the program, the tabloid then contacted Woods's management team, with the outcome being an arrangement to cover up the affair, in exchange for Woods's appearance on the cover of a fitness magazine, and an article detailing his workout routine; the fitness magazine was part of the same publishing group as the National Enquirer. The program presented an interview with a Las Vegas madam, who stated that Woods had employed high-priced prostitutes from her agency on many occasions, either in Las Vegas or at golf tournaments around the United States, with Woods paying for flights for the women to join him at the tournaments. The program also stated that Woods likely had a child, a boy, with porn star Devin James, from a time before his marriage to Elin Nordegren; a photograph of the child was shown.

Other

In a 1997 GQ profile Woods speculated on the sexual attractiveness of certain athletes: "What I can't figure out," Tiger Woods asks Vincent, the limo driver, "is why so many good-looking women hang around baseball and basketball. Is it because, you know, people always say that, like, black guys have big dicks?".

On December 15, 2009, The New York Times reported that Anthony Galea, a Canadian sports doctor who had previously treated Woods, was under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly providing the drug Actovegin and human growth hormone to athletes. According to the same article, Galea visited Woods at his Orlando home at least four times in February and March 2009 to administer a special blood-spinning technique, and that Woods had responded well to the treatment.

Woods has said he "believes in Buddhism... Not every aspect, but most of it." In his February 19, 2010 public apology statement, Woods said that he had been raised as a Buddhist and had practiced this faith until recent years. He then said that he will turn back to Buddhism to help him turn his life around.

When Woods came to Thailand for a tournament in 2000, Thai officials tried to bestow on him royal decorations, and even offered him Thai citizenship, based on his mother being Thai. Although Woods said the bestowal would bring his family "a lot of honor [and] a lot of pride," he reportedly declined the offer because of tax complications.

Woods has a niece named Cheyenne Woods who, as of 2009, is an amateur golfer at Wake Forest University.

Woods and his former wife own a 155-foot (47 m) yacht called Privacy, berthed in Florida. The $20 million, vessel features a master suite, six staterooms, a theatre, gym, and Jacuzzi, and sleeps 21 people. Registered in the Cayman Islands, the boat was built for Woods by Christensen Shipyards, a Vancouver, Washington-based luxury yacht builder. Woods sometimes stays on the yacht when playing tournaments at oceanside golf courses. In October 2010, Woods moved into a new $50 million home on Jupiter Island with a 4-hole golf course.

See also

Career Grand Slam Champions

Golfers with most European Tour wins

List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins

List of men's major championships winning golfers

List of World Number One male golfers

Longest PGA Tour win streaks

Most PGA Tour wins in a year

Most wins in one PGA Tour event

References

Further reading

External links

Tiger Woods Foundation

Tiger Woods Learning Center

Tiger Woods' Videos on mReplay

Tiger Woods Video on ESPN Video Archive

Tiger Woods Video on FoxSports Video Archive

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name	Rory McIlroy
fullname	Rory McIlroy
nickname(s)	Rors
birth date	May 04, 1989
birth place	Holywood, Co. Down, Northern Ireland
death date
height
weight
nationality
residence	Carryduff, Northern Ireland
yearpro	2007
tour	European Tour
extour	PGA Tour
prowins	3
pgawins	2
eurowins	2
champwins
japwins
asiawins
sunwins
auswins
otherwins
majorwins	1
masters	T15: 2011
usopen	Won: 2011
open	T3: 2010
pga	T3: 2009, 2010
wghofid
wghofyear
award1
year1
awardssection	}}

Rory McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. He has represented Ireland, Europe, and Great Britain & Ireland as both an amateur and a professional. He had a successful amateur career, topping the World Amateur Golf Ranking for one week as a 17-year-old in 2007. Later that year he turned professional and soon established himself on the European Tour. He had his first win on the European Tour in 2009, and on the PGA Tour in 2010. He represented Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup.

On 19 June 2011, he won the U.S. Open, his first major. He finished with a record score of 16-under-par on his way to an eight-shot victory, as the youngest winner since Bobby Jones in 1923. He has been cited as the most exciting young prospect in golf and having the potential to become one of the highest earners in sports in terms of endorsements. The victory lifted McIlroy's position in the Official World Golf Ranking to a career high of number four.

Early life, family, and early golf development

McIlroy was born in Holywood, County Down, a port town of 12,000 people in Northern Ireland, located close to the capital city Belfast. He is the only child of Gerry and Rosie (McDonald) McIlroy; he attended St. Patrick's primary school and then the Sullivan Upper School.

He was introduced to golf at an exceptionally young age by his father, who coached him from at least the age of 18 months. Gerry McIlroy is a fine golfer himself, who once played at a scratch handicap level. Young Rory gave early evidence of his golf potential by hitting a 40-yard drive at the age of two years. Rory was very keen for the sport from the start, and asked his father virtually every day to take him to the golf course. Family lore relates young Rory receiving a new golf club as a present, being shown the correct grip by his father, then taking the club to bed with him that night, with his hands holding the club properly. A video on golf technique produced by champion Nick Faldo was his early favourite. Once Rory's golf talents started to show, Gerry McIlroy held down several jobs to earn additional income for his son's golf development, and his mother Rosie worked extra shifts at the local 3M plant. Within years Rory excelled and won a succession of competitions for his age group. His first significant international victory came in the World Championship for the 9–10 age group bracket at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, Florida.

McIlroy learned his early golf at the Holywood Golf Club, which he still retains as his home course. Holywood Golf Club, dating from 1904, features an 18-hole parkland course measuring just over 6,000 yards and playing to par 69 from the back tees, and McIlroy credits the club's course with challenging him to develop the full range of skills necessary to eventually become a top player. Rory was successfully proposed for club membership at Holywood at age seven, becoming its youngest-ever member. Young Rory started his early training with Michael Bannon, previously the Golf Professional of Holywood Golf Club, who is also his current coach and dedicated mentor. The nearby area has several other fine courses, including Royal Belfast Golf Club and the world-famous Royal County Down Golf Club, a difficult links which has been ranked by Golf Digest magazine as the best course in the world outside the United States.

Amateur career

McIlroy at age 15 was a member of Europe's winning 2004 Junior Ryder Cup team; the event was held in Ohio. In 2005 he became the youngest-ever winner of both the West of Ireland Championship and the Irish Close Championship. He retained the West of Ireland Championship in 2006 and followed that up with back-to-back wins at the Irish Close Championship. In August 2006 he won the European Amateur Championship at Biella Golf Club, near Milan, Italy. McIlroy won with the score of 274 (65–69–72–68). He won by three strokes over Englishman Stephen Lewton.

In July 2005, at age 16, McIlroy shot a new competitive course record score of 61 on the Dunluce links of Royal Portrush Golf Club, which had hosted the 1951 British Open Championship. In October 2006 McIlroy represented Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy, which is the Amateur World Team Championship. On 6 February 2007 he became the second man to top the World Amateur Golf Ranking, though he lost the top spot after just one week.

In the fall of 2004, McIlroy signed a letter of intent to play collegiate golf at East Tennessee State University, but after his wins in 2005, he decided to forgo the golf scholarship and continue to play amateur golf in Europe.

McIlroy shot an opening round of 3-under-par 68 at the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie, his first major championship entry, which put him in a tie for third place, three shots off the lead. He was also the only player in the field without a bogey in the first round. He then shot a 5-over-par 76 in round two to put him at +2 for the championship, comfortably making the cut. In the third round he shot a 2-over-par 73. In the final round he shot a 72 (+1) to finish at T42. He shot +5 overall and was the highest finishing amateur, winning the silver medal.

McIlroy was part of the Great Britain & Ireland team at the 2007 Walker Cup, held at the Royal County Down Golf Club, a course he had played many times, which is but a short distance from his home. On the first day of the event he was paired with Jonathan Caldwell for morning foursomes, and the match was halved. In the afternoon he faced Billy Horschel in singles, but Horschel won 1 up. On the second day McIlroy and Caldwell lost in morning foursomes by the score of 2 & 1. In the afternoon he faced Horschel in singles again, and this time he won by the score of 1 up. McIlroy's overall record was (1–2–1) in Win-Loss-Tie format. In the end the United States came out victorious by a score of 12½ to 11½.

McIlroy made his first appearance in a European Tour event a few days after turning 16, when he took part in the 2005 British Masters. He made the cut on the European Tour for the first time as a 17-year-old at the 2007 Dubai Desert Classic, where he had to forego prize money of over €7,600 due to his amateur status.

Professional career

2007

McIlroy turned professional on 19 September, which was the day before the Quinn Direct British Masters, at age 17. He signed with International Sports Management. At the British Masters, McIlroy shot 290 (+2), which put him in a tie for 42nd place.

McIlroy finished in 3rd place at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October. He finished three strokes behind the winner Nick Dougherty. Due to this performance, McIlroy put himself in position to become the youngest Affiliate Member in the history of The European Tour to earn a tour card. The next week he secured his card for 2008 by finishing in a tie for 4th place at the Open de Madrid Valle Romano. On the 2007 European Tour season, he earned €277,255 and finished in 95th place on the Order of Merit list. He was the highest ranked associate member.

2008

Before his season started, Tiger Woods invited McIlroy to play in the 2007 Target World Challenge, held in December. McIlroy declined the invitation, though, saying, "I was thrilled that they would want to invite me considering I'm only just starting out on my career". McIlroy also said "That event clashes with the European Open and that's an event I would be stupid not to play".

McIlroy started his 2008 European Tour season at the UBS Hong Kong Open. He did not make the one-under cut, though, missing it by four strokes. He shot a 69 in the 1st round, but slipped up in the 2nd round, though, and shot a 74. This poor round made him miss his first cut as a professional. He bounced back by finishing in a tie for 15th at the MasterCard Masters in Australia.

McIlroy entered the top 200 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time on 27 January 2008.

On 7 September 2008, McIlroy took a four-shot lead into the final round of the Omega European Masters in Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland, but finished in a tie for first place with Frenchman Jean-François Lucquin. McIlroy missed a four-foot putt for par at the 18th hole in regulation that would have given him the outright victory. In the sudden-death playoff, both players parred the 18th hole, and in the second go-around on the 18th, McIlroy missed a 1 foot par putt, giving Lucquin two putts for the victory. Lucquin subsequently holed his 15-foot birdie putt for the outright playoff victory.

McIlroy finished the 2008 season having established himself in the top 100 of the world rankings, and was ranked 36th on the European Tour Order of Merit.

2009

After finishing second in the UBS Hong Kong Open in November 2008, McIlroy attained his highest world ranking position of 50, making him at age 19 and a half the youngest player ever to make the top 50 (a record since broken by Ryo Ishikawa and Matteo Manassero). He finished the 2008 calendar year at 39th in the world rankings after finishing joint 3rd in the South African Open. This earned him an invitation to U.S. Masters in April 2009, only 18 months after turning pro. His first professional win came at age 19 when he won the Dubai Desert Classic on 1 February 2009, this win took him to 16th in the world rankings.

In the 2009 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, McIlroy reached the quarterfinals. In the first round he defeated Louis Oosthuizen 2 & 1, in the second round he beat Hunter Mahan 1-up, and in the third round he beat Tim Clark 4 & 3. He lost to Geoff Ogilvy (who won the tournament) in the quarterfinals, 2 & 1. McIlroy continued to play on the PGA Tour until May and was successful in his first string of events on tour. He finished tied for 13th at the Honda Classic, tied for 20th at the WGC-CA Championship and tied for 19th at the Shell Houston Open.

In April 2009, McIlroy appeared at The Masters in his first major tournament as a professional and his first Masters Tournament. He finished the tournament tied for 20th place, two shots under par for the tournament. Of the players to make the cut, McIlroy achieved the third highest average driving distance, beaten only by Dustin Johnson and Andrés Romero. McIlroy played in two more events on the PGA Tour after the Masters including his first appearance at The Players Championship where he was cut.

McIlroy then returned to Europe and recorded two top 25 finishes leading up to his first U.S. Open. He finished fifth at the BMW PGA Championship and 12th at the European Open. McIlroy played in his second major as a professional at the 2009 U.S. Open. His final round of 68 (−2) helped him finish in a tie for 10th, his first top ten finish in a major. The following week, McIlroy finished in 15th at the BMW International Open. McIlroy played in his first Open Championship as a professional in July and finished T-47. He finished T-3 at the 2009 PGA Championship, his best result in a major before winning the 2011 U.S. Open.

McIlroy finished the 2009 season ranked second on the Race to Dubai, behind Lee Westwood, and in November he entered the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time, the youngest player to do so since Sergio García. McIlroy finished 2009 ranked 9th in the world. In November 2009, McIlroy announced that he would join the American-based PGA Tour for the 2010 season.

Gary Player praised McIlroy as the "most exciting young player in the world" and McIlroy accepted an invitation from Player as the tournament host to participate in the 2009 Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, South Africa in December. McIlroy withdrew from the 2009 Nedbank Golf Challenge after feeling unwell.

2010

McIlroy made a good start to 2010 by finishing 3rd at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. McIlroy failed to defend his title at the 2010 Dubai Desert Classic after shooting a round of final-round 73 to finish in a tie for fifth place.

In the 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, McIlroy beat Kevin Na 1-up in the first round and then lost on a playoff hole to Oliver Wilson. After the Accenture Match Play Championship, McIlroy took time off from golf due to a sore back.

After a two-week break McIlroy returned in the 2010 Honda Classic and finished in a tie for 40th.

On 2 May, McIlroy recorded his first PGA Tour win after shooting 62 in the final round of the Quail Hollow Championship. The round set a new course record, and concluded with six consecutive scores of three. He became the first player since Tiger Woods to win a PGA Tour event prior to his 21st birthday. The win earned him a two-year Tour exemption. On 2 June, McIlroy played at the Memorial Skins Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus. McIlroy played with Tiger Woods, who some compare him to. McIlroy finished T10 at the Memorial Tournament.

On 15 July 2010, McIlroy confirmed his status as a favourite for the Open title on the Old Course at St Andrews by shooting a 9-under-par 63 on the opening day, the lowest-ever first round score in the 150-year history of the Open Championship, and tying the course record. He missed a putt on the 17th, "The Road Hole", that would have given him the outright record. McIlroy caught the bad weather conditions on Friday and shot 80. He shot 68–69 on the weekend to get a T3. His tied 3rd finish in the 2010 Open Championship sent him to a career high World Ranking of 7th.

McIlroy missed out on a chance to win the 2010 PGA Championship when he three-putted the 15th green to fall out of a tie for the lead. His final-hole birdie putt narrowly missed the hole to leave him a shot out of the playoff between Bubba Watson and eventual winner Martin Kaymer. McIlroy finished tied for third, his third top-three finish in a major.

On 4 October 2010, McIlroy won a crucial half-point to help Europe regain the Ryder Cup. Following the Ryder Cup, he announced in November that he would return to play full-time on the European Tour, although he also stated that he would continue to play 11 or 12 tournaments in the U.S. per year. He attributed the decision to having closer friends on the European Tour, his part in the Ryder Cup victory, and wanting to be nearer his girlfriend and family.

2011

On 7 April, McIlroy shot a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 in the first round of the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia to take the lead after the first day of the four-day competition. It was just his seventh round in competition ever on the course. He is the youngest player to ever lead the Masters at the close of the first day. On Friday, he shot 69 to lead by two strokes over Jason Day with a 10-under-par score. On Saturday, he shot 70 to finish at 12-under-par, four strokes ahead of four other challengers. However, on the fourth and final day, he not only failed to rise to the level of his previous three rounds, he actually shot the worst round in history by any professional golfer leading after the third round of the Masters. McIlroy scored one-over-par 37 on the first nine, and still had the lead. But his troubles began with a triple bogey on the tenth hole after a wild drive, costing him the lead. He three-putted the next two holes, and then found water with his tee shot at the 13th. In the end, he shot a round of 80, finishing T15 at 4-under for the tournament.

In his next few events, McIlroy's form dropped. He struggled and failed to make the cut in his title defence at Quail Hollow in early May, was well off the pace at the BMW PGA Championship. He held the 18 hole lead at the Memorial Tournament and finished in 5th but never contended for a victory.

2011 U.S. Open win

McIlroy won the U.S. Open held at Congressional in Bethesda, MD on 19 June 2011 winning by eight shots over Jason Day. McIlroy set several records in his victory, most notably, his 72-hole aggregate score of 268 (16-under) was a new U.S. Open record. The 268 aggregate beat the previous record of 272 held by Jack Nicklaus (Baltusrol, 1980), Lee Janzen (Baltusrol, 1993), Tiger Woods (Pebble Beach, 2000), and Jim Furyk (Olympia Fields, 2003). The 16-under in relation to par beat Tiger Woods' 12 under at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2000.

In preparation for the US Open, McIlroy practiced at Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey, rather than at Congressional, but did play two practice rounds at Congressional about a week before the start of the Open, after returning from a two-day trip to Haiti as an ambassador for UNICEF.

On 17 June during the second round, McIlroy became the first player in the history of the tournament to amass a score of 13-under-par at any point in the tournament. He achieved the feat by making a birdie at the 17th hole in the second round. Despite a double bogey on the final hole, his two-day total of 131 (65–66, 11-under par) set a record as the lowest 36-hole total in U.S. Open history. The score was one better than Ricky Barnes' 132 in 2009. He was also the fastest golfer to reach double digits under par in the U.S. Open, reaching 10 under par in 26 holes.

On 18 June, during the U.S. Open's third round, he became the first player to reach 14-under par at the tournament by making a birdie at the 15th hole, on his way to a 54-hole U.S. Open record of 199. In doing so, he also built an eight-shot lead going into the final round. A final round of 69 allowed him to claim his first major championship setting the 72-hole record.

Rest of 2011

McIlroy took a month off from competitive golf, and when he returned for The Open Championship, he struggled in tough weather conditions over a difficult layout at Royal St George's Golf Club, failing to contend, as Darren Clarke captured the Claret Jug.

Technique, additional mentors and coaches

McIlroy employs the interlocking grip on full shots; this same somewhat rare method is used by Tiger Woods, the dominant star golfer of McIlroy's youthful years. Previous great champions who have used this grip included Jack Nicklaus, Tom Kite, John Daly, Gene Sarazen, Francis Ouimet, and Willie Anderson.

Darren Clarke, the veteran Northern Irish Ryder Cup player and winner of pro events around the world, met McIlroy when he was 12 years old, and has been a mentor to him since that time. Nick Faldo, six-time major winner, welcomed young McIlroy into his youth golf tournament series from his early teen years. Graeme McDowell, the Northern Irish Ryder Cup player and 2010 U.S. Open champion who is ten years older, has helped and mentored McIlroy from his early professional years. McDowell frequently plays practice rounds at Tour events with McIlroy, and has seen his talents develop quickly. The two are close friends. McIlroy has recently obtained putting assistance and instruction from Dave Stockton, a retired PGA Tour star who won two major championships. Stockton is a renowned expert on putting who coaches several Tour players, and has written a well-received book on his techniques. Retired superstar Jack Nicklaus met young McIlroy when he was starting to play the U.S. Tour in 2009, and extended his friendship along with an early invitation to his Memorial Tournament, one of the Tour's most prestigious events. Nicklaus and McIlroy get together for lunch whenever possible, and Nicklaus reached out to McIlroy after his collapse in the 2011 Masters with some friendly advice on how to close out tournaments. Nicklaus has praised McIlroy and stated that he believes McIlroy has a very bright future in golf.

McIlroy is managed by Englishman Andrew (Chubby) Chandler, a former European Tour player. Chandler, who founded International Sports Management, also manages Darren Clarke, among other championship golfers.

Personal life

McIlroy self-identifies as British. When in Northern Ireland, he lives in a £2.2 million home near the town of Moneyreagh in County Down, about 20 minutes from Belfast. The land around his house also includes a custom-made practice facility, as well as a scaled-down football pitch.

He is an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland and made his first visit to Haiti with UNICEF in June 2011.

McIlroy's favourite band is the Northern Irish group General Fiasco, and he is an avid fan of Manchester United and Ulster Rugby.

His great uncle Joe McIlroy was killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force at his east Belfast home in November 1972.

He is currently dating Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.

Amateur wins (5)

2005 West of Ireland Championship, Irish Close Championship

2006 West of Ireland Championship, Irish Close Championship, European Amateur Championship

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (2)

{| style="width:53%;" |- | style="width:33%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left;"|

Legend

Major championships (1)

Other PGA Tour (1)

|}

!No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning Score!!To par!!Marginof victory!!Runner-up
		Quail Hollow Championship	72–73–66–62=273	align=center
4 strokes	Phil Mickelson
			65–66–68–69=268	align=center
8 strokes

European Tour wins (2)

{| style="width:53%;" |- | style="width:33%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left;"|

Legend

Major championships (1)

Other European Tour (1)

|}

!No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning Score!!To par!!Marginof victory!!Runner-up
		Dubai Desert Classic	64–68–67–70=269	align=center
1 stroke	Justin Rose
			65–66–68–69=268	align=center
8 strokes

European Tour professional career summary

! Season !! Starts !! Cuts Made !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top 10 !! Top 25 !! Earnings (€) !! Money list rank
2007	4	4	0	0	1	2	2		95
2008	27	16	0	1	0	6	10		36
2009	25	24	1	3	3	14	18		2
2010	16	14	0	0	3	9	11		13
!Career*	!72	!58	!1	!4	!7	!31	!41	6,240,798

As of 28 November 2010.

Major championships

Wins (1)

{|class="wikitable" !Year!!Championship!!54 Holes!!Winning Score!!Margin!!Runner-up |- style="background:#fbceb1;" |2011 ||U.S. Open ||8 shot lead || −16 (65–66–68–69=268) || 8 strokes || Jason Day |}

Results timeline

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;" |- style="background:#eee;" !align="left"|Tournament !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 |- |The Masters | style="text-align:center;"|DNP | style="text-align:center;"|DNP | style="text-align:center;"|T20 | style="text-align:center;"|CUT | style="text-align:center;"|T15 |- |U.S. Open | style="text-align:center;"|DNP | style="text-align:center;"|DNP | style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T10 | style="text-align:center;"|CUT | style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|1 |- |The Open Championship | style="text-align:center;"|T42 LA | style="text-align:center;"|DNP | style="text-align:center;"|T47 | style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T3 | style="text-align:center;"|T25 |- |PGA Championship | style="text-align:center;"|DNP | style="text-align:center;"|DNP | style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T3 | style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|T3 | style="text-align:center;"|T64 |}

LA = Low Amateur DNP = Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournaments played: 13

Wins: 1

2nd: 0

3rd: 3

Top 10s: 5

Top 25s: 8

Missed cuts: 2

Most consecutive cuts made: 6

Results in World Golf Championship events

!Tournament!!2009!!2010!!2011
align="left"		R32	R32
align="left"	T20	T65
align="left"	T68
align="left"

DNP = Did not play QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = tied Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances

Amateur

Junior Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2004 (winners)

Eisenhower Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2006

European Amateur Team Championship (representing Ireland): 2007 (winners)

Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2007

Professional

Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2010 (winners)

Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2009 (winners)

World Cup (representing Ireland): 2009

Equipment

Driver: Titleist 910 D2, Shaft: Rombax 7V05 Loft: 8.5

Fairway Woods: Titleist 909 F2 13.5°, 906 F2 18°

Irons: Titleist 710 MB Forged, 3–9

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled Wedges 46, 54, 60

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Select Fastback (Prototype) for Titleist

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

May 2009 Bag Shots and WITB with Donal Hughes, Irish Examiner with thanks to Titleist, Fairhaven, Massachusetts j

References

External links

Category:Golfers from Northern Ireland Category:European Tour golfers Category:PGA Tour golfers Category:Winners of men's major golf championships Category:People educated at Sullivan Upper School Category:Roman Catholics from Northern Ireland Category:People from Holywood Category:1989 births Category:Living people

da:Rory McIlroy de:Rory McIlroy fr:Rory McIlroy ga:Rory McIlroy it:Rory McIlroy sw:Rory McIlroy nl:Rory McIlroy ja:ローリー・マキロイ no:Rory McIlroy fi:Rory McIlroy

name	Camilo Villegas
fullname	Camilo Villegas Restrepo
birth date	January 07, 1982
birth place	Medellín, Colombia
death date
height
weight
nationality
residence	Gainesville, FloridaJupiter, Florida
college	University of Florida
yearpro	2004
retired
tour	PGA Tour (joined 2006)European Tour (joined 2009)
prowins	9
pgawins	3
eurowins
champwins
japwins	1
asiawins
sunwins
auswins
otherwins	5
majorwins
masters	T13: 2009
usopen	T9: 2008
open	T13: 2009
pga	T4: 2008
wghofid
wghofyear
award1
year1
awardssection	}}

Camilo Villegas (; born 7 January 1982) is a Colombian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour.

Early years

Villegas was born in Medellín, Colombia, and took up golf as a child. After several different National Junior Championships in Colombia in the ages between 8 and 15, at 16 he became the first player in Colombian golf history to win the Amateur's Grand Slam in the same year: The National Junior Championship (stroke play), the National Junior Championship (match play), the National Amateur Championship, and the Colombian Open in the amateur category. Then, in 2001, he became only the second player to win the Colombian Open as an amateur. His success in Colombian golf throughout the 1990s earned him the distinction of "Player of the Decade" issued by the Colombian Golf Federation.

College career

Villegas received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Buddy Alexander's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) competition from 2001 to 2004. As a freshman in 2001, Villegas was a member of the Gators' 2001 NCAA championship team. During his college golf career, he was the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year in 2001, the SEC Player of the Year in 2002 and 2004, and an All-American four consecutive years (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004). Villegas graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2004.

Villegas is known for his commitment to physical fitness, and says his mentor and inspiration is golf icon Gary Player. They have just starred together in a new MasterCard "priceless" commercial.

In the June 2006 issue of Golf Digest, he was named "the sexiest player on tour, Tiger Woods included." He has also gained notoriety for sporting flashy dress clothing by designer J. Lindeberg.

An alumnus of the University of Florida, Villegas frequently visits the University's Mark Bostick Golf Course when he is spending time at his residence at Gainesville, Florida.

Professional career

Villegas began playing on the PGA Tour in 2004 and earned his PGA Tour card just prior to the 2006 season. He had a blistering start to his 2006 rookie year on tour, with two second place finishes and a third place (at The Players Championship) in his first nine events. He missed making the 2006 Masters Tournament in his rookie year by a single position on the Official PGA Tour Money List (11th). However, he made his first Masters' appearance in 2007 by finishing in the top 40 of the Official PGA Tour Money List for 2006. He qualified for the 2008 Masters through his exceptional play during the inaugural FedEx Cup playoff system, that included an opening round 63 (8 under par) at the Deutsche Bank Championship and three straight top 10 finishes. He entered the FedEx Cup playoffs in 52nd place and improved to 28th place through his play in the first three events, thus qualifying for the 30-man field at The Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, where he finished in the top 10 for the third straight week and finished 24th on the FedEx Cup points list.

Villegas won his second professional event at the Coca-Cola Tokai Classic on the Japan Golf Tour in September 2007. By doing so, he earned ¥24,000,000 (approximately US$208,272). He shot a score of 282 (−2) and defeated Toyokazu Fujishima in a playoff by draining a 20 foot putt on the winning hole.

In 2006 Camilo signed an endorsement deal with Red Bull, and has represented the energy drink company since then as their sole PGA Tour golf athlete.

Villegas won his third professional event at the TELUS Skins Game in June 2008 where he defeated a field that included Greg Norman, Colin Montgomerie, Mike Weir and "Mr. Skins", Fred Couples. Villegas took six skins for $130,000 with a short birdie putt on the 14th hole, and then won an additional four skins for $100,000 in a playoff, which was decided with a closest-to-the-pin shootout from 130 yards out on the 18th hole.

Villegas recorded a record-breaking second round in the 2008 Open Championship. He shot 65, which was the lowest score for any Open Championship second round at Royal Birkdale. He started off with two bogeys but ended with five consecutive birdies which put him at 5 under for his round.

Villegas won his first PGA Tour title in September 2008, winning the BMW Championship by two shots over Dudley Hart. For the last 44 holes of the tournament, Villegas did not three putt, one-putting 27 of those last 44 holes. This victory took him to a career high of 18th in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Villegas followed his BMW Championship win with a victory in The Tour Championship. He beat Sergio García in a playoff, having trailed by five shots going into the final round. The win took Villegas to number seven in the Official World Golf Rankings and established him as the highest ranked golfer from South America. He finished the season 7th on the PGA Tour money list.

In late 2008 Villegas joined the European Tour, making his first European Tour appearance at the 2008 HSBC Champions, the first tournament of the 2009 season. However he will continue to play predominately in the United States. He had no victories in 2009 but had five top-10 finishes and ended the season ranked 45th on the PGA Tour money list and in the top 30 of the European Tour's Race to Dubai.

He has spent over 30 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings since 2008.

At the 2009 Chevron World Challenge, Villegas made a very rare albatross (double eagle) on a 568 yard par 5, firing a 262 yard second shot into the hole.

In March 2010, Villegas earned his third victory on the PGA Tour, winning The Honda Classic by five strokes over Anthony Kim.

Playing style

Villegas' tremendous physical power allows him to drive the ball far away from the tee box, averaging 302.1 yards in the 2006 season. He also adapts a homemade putting routine: while he reads a putt, he crouches down parallel to the ground without touching it, extending his left leg back while balancing with his right leg and his putter to get a better view of the slope of the green. He is given the nickname "Hombre Araña" (Spiderman) for this posture.

Pronouncing his name

Throughout the PGA Tour and among the media, there is a debate over how Villegas's name should be pronounced. In Spanish, Villegas is pronounced "bee-YAY-gahss" or "bee-JAY-gahss." The official language in Colombia is Spanish. For more on the ambiguity of this pronunciation, see Yeísmo. Recent examples from discussion forums, television coverage and sports articles—including interviews with Villegas himself—have supported the standard pronunciation of "bee-JAY-gahss" for his last name, although there are some who have not yet adopted the proper first name pronunciation, "kah-MEE-lo."

Equipment

Villegas is currently sponsored by the TaylorMade-adidas and promotes the Burner models. As of the 2011 Bay Hill Invitational his equipment is as follows:

Driver: TaylorMadeBurner SuperFast 2.0 TP (10.5*, 44.75", bent 2* open)

Fairway Woods: TaylorMade Burner SuperFast 2.0 TP (3, 5)

Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue 11 23.5*

Irons: TaylorMade Burner 2.0 (Chrome Finish on Head and Face) Project X 7.0

Wedges: TaylorMade XFT Wedges (54, 58, 62)

Putter: TaylorMade Ghost Prototype (Circa 62 #6 Style)

Ball: TaylorMade Penta TP #7

Amateur wins

2002 Mexican Open

2003 Players Amateur

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (3)

{| width=53% | valign=top width=33% align=left |

Legend

FedEx Cup Events (2)

Other PGA Tour (1)

|}

!No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning Score!!Margin of Victory!!Runner-up
1			-15 (65–66–66–68=265)	2 strokes	Dudley Hart
2		The Tour Championship	-7 (72–66–69–66=273)	Playoff	Sergio García
3		The Honda Classic	-13 (66–66–67–68=267)	5 strokes	Anthony Kim

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result
1	2007	The Honda Classic		Eliminated on second extra hole(Mark Wilson won on fourth extra hole)
2	2008	The Tour Championship	Sergio García	Won on first extra hole: García bogey, Villegas par

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

2007 Coca-Cola Tokai Classic

Other wins (5)

2001 Colombian Open (as an amateur)

2008 TELUS World Skins Game, CVS Caremark Charity Classic (with Bubba Watson), Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge

2010 World Golf Salutes King Bhumibol Skins Tournament

Results in major championships

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;" |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" !align="left"|Tournament !2004 !2005 !2006 !2007 !2008 !2009 |- |The Masters |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|CUT |align="center"|CUT |align="center"|T13 |- |U.S. Open |align="center"|CUT |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|T59 |align="center"|T26 |align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T9 |align="center"|T33 |- |The Open Championship |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|T39 |align="center"|T13 |- |PGA Championship |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|DNP |align="center"|CUT |align="center"|T23 |align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T4 |align="center"|T51 |} {| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;" |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" !align="left"|Tournament !! 2010 !! 2011 |- |The Masters |align="center"|T38 |align="center"|49 |- |U.S. Open |align="center"|T70 |align="center"|CUT |- |The Open Championship |align="center"|T44 |align="center"|CUT |- |PGA Championship |align="center" style="background:yellow;"|T8 |align="center"|CUT |}

DNP = Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied Yellow background for top-10.

Results in World Golf Championship events

!Tournament!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011
align="left"	R64			R64
align="left"	T26		T16	T35
align="left"	DNP	T36	T71	DNP
align="left"	–	DNP	T51

DNP = Did not play QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = tied Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10. Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Presidents Cup (International team): 2009

See also

Florida Gators

2005 Nationwide Tour Graduates

List of Florida Gators golfers

List of University of Florida alumni

References

External links

Why Camilo Villegas is the Man

"Here comes the Spider-Man" by Connell Barrett, GOLF.com

Category:Colombian golfers Category:Florida Gators men's golfers Category:PGA Tour golfers Category:European Tour golfers Category:People from Medellín (city) Category:1982 births Category:Living people

de:Camilo Villegas es:Camilo Villegas fr:Camilo Villegas nl:Camilo Villegas ja:カミロ・ビジェガス no:Camilo Villegas