Rookie of the Year may refer to:

Rookie of the Year (award), a sports award for the most outstanding rookie in a given season

''Rookie of the Year'' (film), a 1993 film starring Thomas Ian Nicholas

''Rookie of the Year'' (TV drama), a 1955 short film by John Ford, starring John Wayne

''Rookie of the Year'' (album) by rapper Ya Boy

Rookie of the Year (band), an indie rock band from Fayetteville, North Carolina

"Rookie of the Year", a song from Funeral for a Friend's debut album ''Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation''

ja:ルーキー・オブ・ザ・イヤー fi:Vuoden tulokas

Coordinates	54°6′″N23°23′″N
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

Coordinates	54°6′″N23°23′″N
name	Keegan Bradley
birth date	June 07, 1986
birth place	Woodstock, Vermont, U.S.
death date
height
weight
nationality
residence	Jupiter, Florida, U.S.
college	St. John's University
yearpro	2008
retired
tour	PGA Tour
extour	Nationwide TourNGA Hooters Tour
prowins	4
pgawins	2
eurowins
japwins
asiawins
sunwins
auswins
nwidewins
chalwins
champwins
seneurowins
otherwins	2
majorwins	1
masters	DNP
usopen	DNP
open	DNP
pga	Won: 2011
wghofid
wghofyear
award1
year1
awardssection	}}

Keegan Bradley (born June 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer who is a rookie on the PGA Tour. He has won two tour events, most notably the 2011 PGA Championship. He is one of three golfers to win in their major debut.

Early life and college career

Keegan Bradley is the elder child of Mark Bradley, the head professional at the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club just outside Jackson, Wyoming. Growing up as an all-state ski racer in Woodstock, Vermont, Bradley decided as a teenager to pursue golf over skiing. He moved to Hopkinton, Massachusetts prior to his senior year at Hopkinton High School, where he won the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 2 individual state championship in 2004. Bradley attended St. John's University and won nine collegiate events before graduating in 2008.

His aunt is former LPGA player and World Golf Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley. As a child he attended some of her tournaments and he credits her with inspiring his success in the game.

Professional career

Bradley turned professional in 2008 and began playing on the NGA Hooters Tour, where he won at Southern Dunes in his fifth and final start of the year. Bradley won a second Hooters Tour event in 2009 at the Texas Honing Open. He played two Nationwide Tour events that year, making the cut in both of them. He attempted to earn a 2010 PGA Tour card through qualifying school but fell short by two strokes. In 2010, Bradley played on the Nationwide Tour, where he recorded four consecutive top-five finishes late in the season to finish 14th on the money list and earn his PGA Tour card for 2011. After making the cut in his first PGA Tour event, the 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii, Bradley finished T-7 the following week at the Bob Hope Classic. He added a second top 10 finish at the Valero Texas Open in April.

Bradley won his first PGA Tour event at the 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship. He defeated Ryan Palmer on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. The victory gained him entry into the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where he shared the 36-hole lead and led midway through the final round before finishing T-15.

2011 PGA Championship

The week after the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Bradley played in his first major, the 2011 PGA Championship. A second-round 64 propelled him into a share of the lead at the halfway stage, and Bradley remained only one shot out of the lead after 54 holes. In the final round, he triple-bogeyed the 15th hole to fall five shots behind Jason Dufner with three holes to play before recovering with back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 which, combined with three consecutive bogeys for Dufner, left Dufner and Bradley tied after 72 holes of regulation play. Bradley won the three-hole playoff with a birdie and two pars, while Dufner went par-bogey-birdie to finish one stroke behind. Bradley became only the third player after Francis Ouimet (1913) and Ben Curtis (2003) to win a major in his first attempt, and was the the first golfer to win a major with a long putter. He also became the seventh consecutive first-time major winner and the first American major champion since Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters. With the victory, Bradley moved from number 108 to number 29 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (2)

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

Legend

Major Championships (1)

Other PGA Tour (1)

|}

!No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of victory!!Runner-up
1		HP Byron Nelson Championship	-3 (66–71–72–68=277)	Playoff	Ryan Palmer
2		PGA Championship	-8 (71–64–69–68=272)	Playoff	Jason Dufner

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result
1	2011	HP Byron Nelson Championship	Ryan Palmer	Won with par on the first extra hole; Palmer made bogey
2	2011	PGA Championship	Jason Dufner	Won three-hole aggregate playoff:Bradley 3–3–4=10 (−1), Dufner 4–4–3=11 (E)

NGA Hooters Tour wins (2)

2008 Southern Dunes

2009 Texas Honing Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

{|class="wikitable" !Year!!Championship!!54 Holes!!Winning Score!!Margin!!Runner-up |-bgcolor="#D8BFD8" | 2011 ||PGA Championship || 1 shot deficit ||−8 (71–64–69–68=272) || Playoff¹ || Jason Dufner |} ¹ Defeated Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff: Bradley (3–3–4=10) and Dufner (4–4–3=11)

Results timeline

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: #aaa solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;" |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" !align="left"|Tournament !!2011 |- |The Masters |align="center"|DNP |- |U.S. Open |align="center"|DNP |- |The Open Championship |align="center"|DNP |- |PGA Championship |align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|1 |}

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

Summary

Tournaments played: 1

Wins: 1

2nd: 0

3rd: 0

Top 10s: 1

Top 25s: 1

Missed cuts: 0

Most consecutive cuts made: 1

Results in World Golf Championships

!Tournament!!2011
align="left"	DNP
align="left"	DNP
align="left"	T15
align="left"

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.

See also

2010 Nationwide Tour Graduates

References

External links

Keegan Bradley profile at St. John's University Athletic Department site

Category:American golfers Category:PGA Tour golfers Category:Winners of men's major golf championships Category:St. John's University (New York) alumni Category:People from Windsor County, Vermont Category:People from Hopkinton, Massachusetts Category:1986 births Category:Living people

it:Keegan Bradley nl:Keegan Bradley ja:キーガン・ブラッドリー no:Keegan Bradley

Coordinates	54°6′″N23°23′″N
name	Tiger Woods
fullname	Eldrick Tont Woods
nickname	Tiger
birth date	December 30, 1975
birth place	Cypress, California
death date
height
weight
nationality
residence	Jupiter Island, 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	98
pgawins	71 (3rd all time)
eurowins	38 (3rd all time)
japwins	2
asiawins	1
auswins	1
champwins
otherwins	16
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 does. 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 of any other golfer. 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.

From December 2009 to early April 2010, Woods took leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity. His multiple infidelities were revealed by several different women, through many worldwide media sources.

In October 2010, Woods lost the world number one ranking; his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58 in November 2011. He snapped a career-long winless streak of 107 weeks when he captured the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011. As of February 27, 2012, he is ranked #21. He remains winless on the PGA Tour since September 2009.

Background and family

Woods was born Eldrick Tont Woods 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).

Woods' first name, Eldrick, was coined by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend Col. Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger.

Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods, who is an amateur golfer on Wake Forest University's golf team.

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' 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 (a record which stood until it was broken by Jin Liu in 2010). He was named 1991's Southern California Amateur Player of the Year (for the second consecutive year) and Golf Digest Junior Amateur Player of the Year. 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; he remains the event's only three-time winner. In 1994, at the TPC at Sawgrass in Florida, 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. 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 enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship, winning his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, that September. He declared a major in economics, and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammate Notah Begay III. In 1995, he successfully 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 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

Woods became a professional golfer in August 1996, and immediately signed deals with Nike, Inc. and Titleist that ranked as the most lucrative endorsement contracts in golf history at that time. Woods was named ''Sports Illustrated'''s 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. In April 1997, he won his first major, the Masters, becoming the tournament's youngest-ever winner. Two months later, he set the record for the fastest-ever ascent to #1 in the Official World Golf Rankings. After a lackluster 1998, Woods finished the 1999 season with eight wins, including the PGA Championship, a feat not achieved since 1974.

In 2000, Woods achieved six consecutive wins, the longest winning streak since 1948. One of these was the 2000 U.S. Open, where he broke or tied nine tournament records in what Sports Illustrated called "the greatest performance in golf history." At age 24, he became the youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam. At the end of 2000, Woods had won nine of the twenty PGA Tour events he entered and had broken the record for lowest scoring average in tour history. He was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, the first and only athlete to be honored twice, and was ranked by Golf Digest magazine as the twelfth-best golfer of all time.

Following a stellar 2001 and 2002 in which Woods continued to dominate the tour, Woods' career hit a "slump". He did not win a major in 2003 or 2004. In September 2004, Vijay Singh overtook Woods in the Official World Golf Rankings, breaking Woods' record streak of 264 weeks at #1. Woods rebounded in 2005, winning six official PGA Tour money events and reclaiming the top spot in July after swapping it back and forth with Singh over the first half of the year.

In 2006, Woods began dominantly, winning his first two PGA tournaments but failing to capture his fifth Masters championship in April. Following the death of his father in May, Woods took a nine-week hiatus from the tour and appeared rusty upon his return at the U.S. Open, missing the cut at Winged Foot. However, he quickly returned to form and ended the year by winning six consecutive tour events. At the season's close, with 54 wins and 12 majors wins, Woods had broken the tour records for both total wins and total majors wins over eleven seasons.

He continued to excel in 2007 and the first part of 2008. In April 2008, he underwent knee surgery and missed the next two months on the tour. Woods returned for the 2008 U.S. Open, where he struggled the first day but ultimately claimed a dramatic victory over Rocco Mediate, after which 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." Two days later, Woods announced that he would miss the remainder of the season due to further knee surgery, and that his knee was more severely damaged than previously revealed, prompting even greater praise for his U.S. Open performance. Woods called it "my greatest ever championship." In Woods' absence, TV ratings for the remainder of the season suffered a huge decline from 2007.

Upon Woods' much-anticipated return in 2009, he performed well, including a spectacular performance at the 2009 Presidents' Cup, but failed to win a major, the first year since 2004 that he failed to do so. After his marital infidelities came to light at the end of 2009 and received massive media coverage, Woods announced in December that he would be taking an indefinite break from competitive golf. In February 2010, he delivered a televised apology for his behavior. During this period, several companies ended their endorsement deals with Woods.

He returned to competition in April at the 2010 Masters Tournament, where he finished in a tie for fourth place. He followed the Masters with poor showings at the Quail Hollow Championship and the Players Championship, where he withdrew in the fourth round citing injury. Shortly afterward, Woods' coach since 2003, Hank Haney, resigned the position; he was replaced in August by Sean Foley. The rest of the season went badly for Woods, who failed to win a single event for the first time since turning professional, while nevertheless finishing the season ranked #2 in the world.

Woods' performance continued to suffer in 2011, taking its toll on his ranking. After falling to #7 in March, he rebounded to #5 with a strong showing at the 2011 Masters Tournament, where he tied for fourth place. Due to leg injuries incurred at the Masters, he missed several summer events; in July he fired his longtime caddy Steve Williams, replacing him temporarily with friend Bryon Bell. After returning to tournament play in August, Woods continued to falter, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58. He rose to #50 in mid-November after a third-place win at the Emirates Australian Open, and broke his winless streak with a victory at December's Chevron World Challenge.

His 2012 season started at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on the European Tour in late January. For the first two days of play Tiger was grouped with Rory McIlroy and world No.1 Luke Donald. He shot under par rounds of 70 and 69 on Thursday and Friday respectively, which left him in joint 4th place at 5-under par. His low round of the week came on Saturday, shooting a 6-under par 66, giving him the joint lead with England's Robert Rock. Woods struggled on Sunday and couldn't mount a big enough charge, shooting a level par 72 and settling for joint 3rd place. Woods' second tournament of the year came at the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in early February which he had not played since 2002. His amateur partner for the week was Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Woods shot solid rounds of 68-68-67 on the first three days, and began Sunday in third place, four shots behind leader Charlie Wi. However, he struggled with his putting and shot a final round 75 while his playing partner Phil Mickelson shot a 64 and won the tournament. His next tournament was the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. Woods battled to win his first round match against Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, 1-up, and then played Nick Watney in the second round. On the 18th hole, Woods had to make birdie to extend the match, however his 5 foot putt missed and he was knocked out of the tournament. Woods commented that his putting was hindered technically and required some work after battling with it throughout the round.

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.

Tiger-proofing

Early in Woods' 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.

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. From March 2004 to 2010, Woods was coached by Hank Haney, who worked on flattening his swing plane. Woods continued to win tournaments with Haney, but his driving accuracy dropped significantly. Haney resigned in May 2010 and was replaced by Sean Foley.

Mike "Fluff" Cowan served as Woods' caddy from the start of his professional career until March 1999. He was replaced by Steve Williams, who became a close friend of Woods and is often credited with helping him with key shots and putts. In June 2011, Woods fired Williams and replaced him with Woods' friend Bryon Bell.

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.

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!!2012

align="left"

style="background:yellow;"

style="background:yellow;"

DNP

R64

R32

style="background:yellow;"

style="background:yellow;"

R32

DNP

R64

R32

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;"

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DNP

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	660,238	128
2012*	0	197,400	73
!Career*	!71 (14)	!95,014,942	1

: * As of February 26, 2012.

Other ventures

Tiger Woods Foundation

The Tiger Woods Foundation was established in 1996 by Woods and his father Earl, with the primary goal of promoting golf among inner-city children. The foundation has conducted junior golf clinics across the country, and sponsors the Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team in the Junior World Golf Championships. As of December 2010, TWF employed approximately 55 people.

The foundation operates the Tiger Woods Learning Center, a $50 million, 35,000-square-foot facility in Anaheim, California, providing college-access programs for underserved youth. The TWLC opened in 2006 and features seven classrooms, extensive multi-media facilities and an outdoor golf teaching area. The center has since expanded to four additional campuses: two in Washington, DC; one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and one in Stuart, Florida.

The foundation benefits from the annual Chevron World Challenge and AT&T; National golf tournaments hosted by Woods. In October 2011, the foundation hosted the first Tiger Woods Invitational at Pebble Beach. Other annual fundraisers have included the concert events Block Party, last held in 2009 in Anaheim, and Tiger Jam, last held in 2011 in Las Vegas after a one-year hiatus.

Tiger Woods Design

In November 2006, Woods announced his intention to begin designing golf courses around the world through a new company, Tiger Woods Design. A month later, he announced that the company's first course would be in Dubai as part of a 25.3 million-square-foot development, The Tiger Woods Dubai. The Al Ruwaya Golf Course was initially expected to finish construction in 2009. As of February 2010, only seven holes had been completed; in April 2011, the New York Times reported that the project had been shelved permanently.

Tiger Woods Design has taken on two other courses, neither of which has materialized. In August 2007, Woods announced The Cliffs at High Carolina, a private course in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. After a groundbreaking in November 2008, the project suffered cash flow problems and suspended construction. A third course, in Punta Brava, Mexico, was announced in October 2008, but incurred delays due to issues with permits and an environmental impact study. Construction on the Punta Brava course has not yet begun.

The problems encountered by these projects have been credited to factors including overly optimistic estimates of their value; declines throughout the global economy, particularly the U.S. crash in home prices; and decreased appeal of Woods following his 2009 infidelity scandal.

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.

Personal life

Marriage and children

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 in Barbados, and lived at Isleworth, a community in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando, Florida. In 2006, they purchased a $39 million estate in Jupiter Island, Florida, and began constructing a 10,000-square-foot home; Woods moved there in 2010 following the couple's divorce.

Woods and Nordegren's first child, a daughter named Sam Alexis Woods, was born on June 18, 2007. Woods chose the name because his own father had always called him Sam. Their son, Charlie Axel Woods, was born on February 8, 2009.

Infidelity scandal and fallout

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. Two days later, around 2:30 AM on November 27, Woods left home in his Cadillac Escalade SUV and, while still on his street, collided with a fire hydrant, a tree, and several hedges. He was treated for minor facial lacerations and received a ticket for careless driving. Following intense media speculation about the accident, Woods released a statement on his website taking sole responsibility for the accident, calling it a "private matter" and crediting his wife for helping him from the car. On November 30, Woods announced that he would not be appearing at his own charity golf tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, nor any other tournaments in 2009, due to his injuries.

On December 2, following the release by ''US Weekly'' of a voicemail message allegedly left by Tiger for a mistress, Woods released another statement in which he admitted "transgressions" and apologized to "all of those who have supported [him] over the years", while reiterating his and his family's right to privacy. Over the next several days, more than a dozen women claimed in various media outlets to have had affairs with Woods. On December 11, he released a third statement admitting to infidelity and apologizing again, as well as announcing that he would be taking "an indefinite break from professional golf."

In the days and months following Woods' admission of infidelity, several companies re-evaluated their relationships with him. Accenture, AT&T;, Gatorade and General Motors completely ended their sponsorship deals, while Gillette suspended advertising featuring Woods. TAG Heuer dropped Woods from advertising in December 2009 and officially ended their deal when his contract expired in August 2011. The magazine ''Golf Digest'' suspended Woods' monthly column beginning with the February 2010 issue. In contrast, Nike continued to support Woods, as did Electronic Arts, which was working with Woods on the game ''Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online''. A December 2009 study estimated the shareholder loss caused by Woods' affairs to be between $5 billion and $12 billion.

On February 19, 2010, Woods gave a televised statement in which he said he had been in a 45-day therapy program since the end of December. He again apologized for his actions. "I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to," he said. "I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them. I was wrong. I was foolish." He said he did not know yet when he would be returning to golf. He announced a few weeks later on March 16 that he would be returning at the 2010 Masters Tournament on April 8.

Woods and Nordegren officially divorced on August 23, 2010.

Other

From childhood Woods was raised as a Buddhist, and actively practised this faith from childhood until well into his adult professional golf career. In a 2000 article, Woods was quoted as saying he "believes in Buddhism... Not every aspect, but most of it." 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."

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.

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 started 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.

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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Coordinates	54°6′″N23°23′″N
name	Rory McIlroy MBE
fullname	Rory McIlroy
nickname(s)	Rors
birth date	May 04, 1989
birth place	Holywood, Co. Down, Northern Ireland
death date
height
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residence	Carryduff, Co. Down, Northern Ireland
yearpro	2007
tour	European TourPGA Tour
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japwins
asiawins
sunwins
auswins
otherwins	1
majorwins	1
masters	T15: 2011
usopen	Won: 2011
open	T3: 2010
pga	T3: 2009, 2010
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Rory McIlroy, MBE (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer from Holywood in County Down. He has represented Europe, Great Britain & Ireland, and 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. In November, he finished tied for 4th at the WGC-HSBC Champions to move to a new career high of number 2.

Early life, family, and early golf development

McIlroy was born in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. 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. 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. Rory became the youngest club member at age seven. 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.

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 with the score of 274.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. McIlroy became 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, preferring to play the European Open.

McIlroy started his 2008 European Tour season at the UBS Hong Kong Open. He did not make the one-under cut. He finished 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 after a play-off.

McIlroy finished the 2008 season 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. 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 the 2009 Masters Tournament. 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. 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.

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. 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.

McIlroy accepted an invitation from Gary Player to participate in the 2009 Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, South Africa in December, but withdrew after feeling unwell.

2010

McIlroy finished 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. 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. His tied third finish in the 2010 Open Championship sent him to a career high world ranking of seventh.

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.

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

Masters

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. 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 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 shot a round of 80, finishing T15 at 4-under for the tournament.

McIlroy 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 but finished in 5th place.

2011 U.S. Open win

McIlroy won the U.S. Open held at Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland on 19 June 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. At The Open Championship he struggled in tough weather over a difficult layout at Royal St George's Golf Club, failing to contend with the conditions. He was again a non-factor at the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club after injuring his wrist on the 3rd hole of the first round after attempting to hit a ball behind a tree root. McIlroy then went on to win the Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters in a playoff against Anthony Kim. In December, he won the UBS Hong Kong Open by 2 shots.

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 was managed by Englishman Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, a former European Tour player who founded International Sports Management. The pair split in October 2011, with McIlroy joining Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management.

Personal life

McIlroy self-identifies as both British and Irish, and carries a British passport. When in Northern Ireland, he lives in a £2.2 million home near the town of Carryduff 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.

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

He is currently in a relationship with Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.

McIlroy was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to sport.

Amateur wins (5)

2005 West of Ireland Championship, Irish Close Championship

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

Professional wins (5)

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 (3)

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

Legend

Major championships (1)

Other European Tour (2)

|}

!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
		UBS Hong Kong Open	64–69–70–65=268	align=center
2 strokes	Grégory Havret

Other wins (1)

2011 Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters (Not sanctioned by any major tour)

European Tour professional career summary

4 27 25 16 19

Season !! Starts !! Cuts Made !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top 10 !! Top 25 !! Earnings (€) !! Money list rank
2007	4	|	0	0	1	2	2	277,255	95
2008	|	16	0	1	0	6	10	696,335	36
2009	|	24	1	3	3	14	18	3,610,020	2
2010	|	14	0	0	3	9	11	1,821,050	13
2011	|	19	2	2	3	12	17	4,002,168	2
! Career* !! 91 !! 77 !! 3 !! 6 !! 10 !! 43 !! 58 !! 10,406,829 !! 25

As of end of 2011 season.

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, 2011

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:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:People of the Year Awards winners Category:People educated at Sullivan Upper School Category:People from Holywood Category:1989 births Category:Living people

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