EA Sports

Type	Brand name of Electronic Arts
Industry	Interactive entertainment Computer and video games
Founded	1991 (as the Electronic Arts Sports Network)
Headquarters	Redwood City, California, United States
Key people	John Riccitiello, CEO, Electronic Arts Peter Moore, President, EA Sports label Larry Probst, Chairman of the board and former CEO (1991-2007) Trip Hawkins, Founder and former CEO (1982-1991)
Products	Sports games
Revenue	US$4.02 billion (2008)[1]
Net income	US$339 million (2008)
Owner(s)	Electronic Arts
Employees	8,000 (2010)[2]
Parent	Electronic Arts
Website	easports.com

EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" (EASN) with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John Madden, it soon grew up to become a sub-label on its own, releasing game series such as NBA Elite, FIFA, NHL, Madden NFL, and NASCAR.

Most games under this brand are developed by EA Canada, the studio of Electronic Arts in Burnaby, British Columbia, as well as at EA Blackbox, Vancouver, British Columbia and EA Tiburon in Maitland, Florida. EA Sports mainly competes with 2K Sports.

EA Sports' early motto was If it's in the game, it's in the game, later changed to "It's in the game" This tag line, strategized by Don Transeth, written by Jeff Odiorne and Michael Wilde, and delivered by the voice of EA Sports, Andrew Anthony, has become a cultural rallying cry throughout the sports universe.^[3]

Unlike some other companies, EA Sports has no special ties to a single platform, which means that all games are released for the best-selling active platforms, sometimes long after most other companies abandon them. For example, FIFA 98, Madden NFL 98, NBA Live 98, and NHL 98 were released for the Sega Genesis and the Super NES throughout 1997; Madden NFL 2005 and FIFA 2005 had PlayStation releases in 2004 (FIFA 2005 was also the last PlayStation title to be released); and NCAA Football 08 had an Xbox release in 2007. Madden NFL 08 also had Xbox and GameCube releases in 2007, and was the final title released for the GameCube, with Madden NFL 09 following as the final Xbox title. Additionally, NASCAR Thunder 2003 and NASCAR Thunder 2004 were released not only for the PlayStation 2, but for the original PlayStation as well. The EA Sports brand name is used to sponsor English Football League Two team Swindon Town F.C. from 2009-10 season onwards and the EA Sports Cup in Republic of Ireland.

Series and games[link]

This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (August 2011)

Most EA Sports games are distinguished by year, as most games are released on a yearly basis. Nevertheless, as EA Sports is the leading purchaser of official licenses, it is not uncommon that in a short span several games of the same sport but with different licenses are released: FIFA 98 was shortly followed by World Cup 98 (as EA has the license for the FIFA World Cup and the European Football Championship, each happening regularly in four-year intervals), and college football and basketball games are released that are based on Madden NFL and NBA Live, respectively.

• FIFA series, 1993 (EA Sports also released several other games, most notably the games with World Cup, UEFA European Championships and UEFA Champions League licenses)
• Madden NFL series, 1988–Present (games prior to 1993 did not have an NFL license)
• NCAA Football series, 1993 (prior to 1996 the name of the franchise was Bill Walsh College Football and College Football USA)
• EA Sports GameShow, 2008 EA Sports GameShow is a nationwide, online trivia game hosted by a live, on-air DJ.
• NBA Elite series, 2011, preceded by The NBA Playoffs (1989–1993), NBA Showdown (1994), and NBA Live (1995–2010/2012). Starting with NBA Live 08, the games have included FIBA-sanctioned national teams as well. Since the rebrand as "NBA Elite" in 2010, NBA Elite 11 was cancelled for consoles due to a large amount of criticism following the game's glitch-filled demo, with EA citing "concerns about gameplay polish". An Apple iOS version of Elite 11 was released, however.
• NCAA Basketball series, (2008–2010), preceded by the NCAA March Madness series (1995–2007)^[4]
• MVP Baseball series and MVP NCAA Baseball series, 2003, preceded by the Triple Play series (1996–2002)
• NHL series, 1991

Three Elitserien titles were also released in Sweden

Three SM-liiga titles were released in Finland

A Japanese version called NHL Pro Hockey '94 was released on the Super Famicom

• PGA Tour series, 1990, renamed to Tiger Woods PGA Tour in 1999
• NASCAR series, exclusive license from 2003–2010, canceled due to license expiration after release of NASCAR Kart Racing.
• Knockout Kings (boxing), which was composed of five titles (between 1998 and 2002) and then discontinued when Fight Night 2004 was released. In the past, Toughman Contest was also released.
• FIFA Manager, 2006

Preceded by FIFA Soccer Manager (1996), the Premier League Manager series (2001) and the Total Club Manager series (2004).

• AFL series (Australian Football League, Australian Rules Football)

Started at AFL Finals Fever on the PC which went on to AFL 98 and AFL 99 all on PlayStation as well as PC.

• Rugby (rugby union) series

Started at Rugby World Cup 1995 on Sega Mega Drive which went on to Rugby (A late version of Rugby World Cup 1999, PC only), Rugby (2002), Rugby 2004, Rugby 2005, Rugby 06 and Rugby 08 all on PlayStation 2 and Xbox as well as PC

• Rugby League series

Australian Rugby League was released on Sega Genesis as the player goes through the 1995 ARL season and the other ARL 96 was on PC depicting the 1996 ARL season.

• Arena Football

First version released in February 2006

• Cricket Series

Started out with Cricket 96; Its sequel was Cricket 97 which was complemented with Cricket 97 Ashes Tour Edition. Following releases include Cricket Ashes Tour, Cricket World Cup 99 and Cricket 2000. From then onwards, the series was a biennial one, with the releases of Cricket 2002 and 2004. It returned to being an annual release with the releases of Cricket 2005 and Cricket 07. EA has not worked on any Cricket games since the release of Cricket 07.

• Fight Night Series

Follows your career either as a boxer of your creation, or as a legend.

• There are other series, including F1 Championship (discontinued after Sony acquired the exclusive license for the Formula One championship), Superbike and others with a limited distribution such as AFL
• Grand Slam Tennis: which was released for the Wii in June 2009
• EA Sports Active: Personal Trainer: an exercise game which was released for the Wii in March 2009
• SSX SSX is also known as Snowboard Supercross and the first game of the series was released the 6th October 2000. All 4 games of the series were released to PS2 except from SSX Blur that was released only for the Wii.

Exclusivity deals[link]

This section has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (May 2008)

In 2002, EA purchased the license to NASCAR for six years, ending competition from Papyrus and Infogrames.

On December 13, 2004, EA Sports signed an exclusive deal with the National Football League (NFL) and its Players' Union for five years. On February 12, 2008, EA Sports announced the extension of its exclusive deal until the 2012 NFL season.

Less than a month after the NFL Exclusive deal, EA Sports signed a four-year exclusive deal with the Arena Football League (AFL).

On April 11, 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and EA Sports signed a deal to grant EA Sports the sole rights to produce college football games for six years.

EA lost the rights for Major League Baseball (MLB) games to 2K Sports in 2005, ending EA's MVP series; however, EA made NCAA Baseball games in 2006 and 2007 after losing the MLB license. In January 2008, EA Sports decided not to renew their NCAA College Baseball license while they evaluate the status of their MVP game engine.^[5]

In 2005, EA Sports and ESPN signed a massive 15-year deal for ESPN to be integrated into EA Sports video games. EA's use of the ESPN license has steadily increased over the early life of the deal. EA's early usage of the ESPN license began with ESPN Radio and a sports ticker in titles like Madden NFL, NBA Live, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and NCAA Baseball and Football. The ESPN integration now includes streaming podcasts, text articles (including content only available previously to ESPN Insider subscribers), and ESPN Motion video (including such programs as Pardon the Interruption).

Windows games[link]

In June 2009, EA Sports announced that for 2010, the games Madden NFL, NCAA Football, NASCAR, NHL, NBA Live, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour would not be shipped for Microsoft Windows.^[6][7] The NCAA football series hadn't been released on the PC since 1998, The Tiger Woods series last PC game was the 2008 version, the NASCAR series hadn't had a PC version since NASCAR Sim Racing in 2005, and the Madden series last PC game was the 2008 edition as well. The NHL series last PC game was the 2009 edition. Likewise, NBA Live 08 was the final PC version. The head of EA Sports at that time, Peter Moore, cited piracy and the fact the "PC as a platform for authentic, fully-licensed, simulation sports games has declined radically in the past three years as the next generation consoles [...] have attracted millions of consumers."^[8][9]

The company noted that the FIFA and FIFA Manager series would still be released for the PC platform.

PlayStation Home[link]

On April 23, 2009, EA Sports released the long awaited "EA Sports Complex" space for the PlayStation 3's online community-based service, PlayStation Home in the European and North American versions.^[10] In the Complex, users can play a series of mini-games, including poker, kart racing, golf, and it also features a Virtual EA Shop. There are also a number of advertisements for upcoming EA Sports games. Each mini-game that the Complex features has a reward or rewards. Heavy Water, a company dedicated to developing for Home, developed the EA Sports Complex for EA Sports.^[11]

Originally, the Complex just featured two rooms: the EA Sports Complex and the EA Sports Complex Upstairs. The EA Sports Complex featured racing and had a golfing range that was unavailable to play. The Upstairs had four poker tables that users could play at anytime. With the June 18, 2009 update, the Complex's name changed to the EA Sports Racing Complex and the Upstairs changed to the EA Sports Complex Green Poker Room.^[12] Other than the name change, the update took away the golfing range and added four more karts for users to play Racing at and it also added one red poker table to the poker room.

The July 2, 2009 update added golf and another poker room making four rooms for the Complex; the EA Sports Racing Complex, the EA Sports Golf Complex, the EA Sports Complex Green Poker Room, and the EA Sports Complex Red Poker Room. The Racing Complex features Racing with a total of eight karts; four on each side of the Complex. The Golf Complex features two Practice Ranges for golfing; one range on each side of the Complex. A Golf Pro-shop is coming soon for the Golf Complex. The Green Poker Room featured four green poker tables that users can play anytime. The Red Poker Room featured four red poker tables but requires users to have 2,000 points to play.

On July 16, 2009, EA Sports released another room for the Complex making five rooms for the Complex. This room is the game space for Fight Night Round 4 called "Club Fight Night" featuring a mini-game called Club DJ and coming soon, robot boxing.^[13]

On July 30, 2009, EA Sports added a Black Poker Table to the EA Sports Complex Red Poker Room for the higher level players. In time, there will be a room dedicated for this table just like the Green Poker Room and the Red Poker Room. They also added a fifth green table to the Green Poker Room. The update also included the addition of the EA Sports Pro Shop where users can purchase full boxing outfits and furniture from Fight Night Round 4. The Pro Shop is found in the Racing Complex.^[14] The August 16, 2009 update replaced the fifth green table in the Green Poker Room with a red table. They also reduced the amount of points for the Black Table from 20,000 to 10,000. The August 27, 2009 update separated the scoreboards for each level of play - Green, Red, and Black - and into Daily boards and Season boards (left side and right side), improved card readability, additional rail seating near the poker tables, player removal on lock-up while playing poker, and player buy-in refund on removal (does not refund on Home disconnect) while playing poker.^[15]

On October 9, 2009, EA Sports released the EA Sports Complex to the Japanese version of Home. They also released NFL jerseys for every team in the league for purchase inside of the EA Sports Complex and in Home's shopping complex. EA Sports have also teamed up with the Home team to produce and distribute exclusive virtual items that serve to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 100% of proceeds for these items will go to the Brees Dream Foundation in support of breast cancer research and awareness programs. The items are black jerseys with a pink number 9 on the front and the name Brees on the back also in pink. These jereys will be available from October 15, 2009 to November 25, 2009.^[16][17] On November 5, 2009, for those who purchased the Brees Breast Cancer jersey, they received a free DJ kit that is featured in the Club Fight Night space by entering one of the two EA Sports Complex poker rooms between November 5, 2009 and November 25, 2009. On November 25, 2009, Fight Night Round 4 producers Mike Mahar and Brian Hayes were in Home between the hours of 4:00pm and 5:00pm PT (7:00pm and 8:00pm EST), for a live chat with the PlayStation Home community in one instance of the Club Fight Night space.^[18] On January 7, 2010, EA Sports released NCAA college football jerseys in the EA Sports Complex and in Home's shopping complex.^[19]

On August 2, 2011, EA Sports launched the EA Sports Season Ticket subscription service.

Games[link]

2012 and beyond[link]

2012[link]

• FIFA Football
• FIFA 13
• FIFA Manager 13
• FIFA Street
• Grand Slam Tennis 2
• Madden NFL 13
• NBA Live 13
• NCAA Football 13
• NFL Blitz
• NHL 13
• SSX
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13
• UEFA Euro 2012

See also[link]

• EA Sports BIG - Subsidiary of EA Sports

References[link]

External links[link]

• EA Sports official website
• EA Sports games at MobyGames

Andrew Anthony is a journalist who has written for The Guardian since 1990,^[1] and The Observer.^[2] He is also the author of On Penalties (2000) and The Fall-Out (2007).

Published works[link]

• On Penalties (Yellow Jersey Press, 2000)
• The Fallout: How a Guilty Liberal Lost His Innocence (Jonathan Cape, 2007)

Reviews[link]

The chapters are entitled Shock, Shame, Anger, Denial and Guilt – as if lifted from a textbook on popular psychology. The word "albeit" crops up throughout. The author's disillusionment with multiculturalism begins well before 9/11, when he reads a report on the future of cultural diversity in Britain compiled by men and women who are liberal in their outlook. It may sit well with Andrew Anthony to pronounce the death of multicultural society, but for those of us who have come here from other countries, multiculturalism cannot and must not fail.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile at the Guardian
• Anthony Andrew's page on Randomhouse.co.nz
• "Andrew Anthony: My book upset a few people - and now I'm a racist". The Independent (London). 5 October 2007. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/andrew-anthony-my-book-upset-a-few-people--and-now-im-a-racist-394292.html. Retrieved 2009-10-27. 

Tiger Woods
Woods at a Chevron World Challenge charity event (2011)
Personal information
Full name	Eldrick Tont Woods
Nickname	Tiger
Born	(1975-12-30) December 30, 1975 (age 36) Cypress, California
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Jupiter Island, Florida
Spouse	Elin Nordegren (2004–2010)
Children	Sam Alexis (b. 2007) Charlie Axel (b. 2009)
Career
College	Stanford University (two years)
Turned professional	1996
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour (joined 1996)
Professional wins	99[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	72 (3rd all time)
European Tour	38 (3rd all time)[2][3]
Japan Golf Tour	2
Asian Tour	1
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
Other	16
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 14)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005
U.S. Open	Won: 2000, 2002, 2008
The Open Championship	Won: 2000, 2005, 2006
PGA Championship	Won: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Rookie of the Year	1996
PGA Player of the Year	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
PGA Tour Player of the Year	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
PGA Tour leading money winner	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Vardon Trophy	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009
Byron Nelson Award	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
FedEx Cup Champion	2007, 2009
(For a full list of awards, see here)

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975)^[4][5] 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.^[6][7]

Woods turned professional in 1996, and by April 1997 he had already won his first major, the 1997 Masters. He first reached the number one position in the world rankings in June 1997. Through the 2000s, Woods was the dominant force in golf, spending 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as world number one. 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.^[8] This was followed by a loss of form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58 in November 2011.^[7][9] He snapped a career-long winless streak of 107 weeks when he captured the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011.^[9] As of April 8, 2012, he is ranked #8.^[10]

Woods has broken numerous golf records. He has been world number one 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,^[11] 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. He has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any player (Jack Nicklaus leads with 18), and 72 PGA Tour events, third all time behind Sam Snead and Nicklaus.^[12] 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.

Background and family[link]

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.^[13] 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.^[14] He refers to his ethnic make-up as "Cablinasian" (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).^[15]

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.^[16]

Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods, who is an amateur golfer on Wake Forest University's golf team.^[17]

Early life and amateur golf career[link]

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.^[18] 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.^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21] He first broke 80 at age eight.^[22] He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}

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.^[28][29] Woods first broke 70 on a regulation golf course at age 12.^[30]

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.^[31] 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.^[32] Earl Woods had researched in detail the career accomplishments of Nicklaus, and had set his young son the goals of breaking those records.^[30]

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).^[33] 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.^[34][35]

The following year, Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur Championship; he remains the event's only three-time winner.^[36] 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.^[37] 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).^[38][39]

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.^[40]

College golf career[link]

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.^[41] He declared a major in economics, and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammate Notah Begay III.^[42] In 1995, he successfully defended his U.S. Amateur title at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island^[37] and was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year (an award that encompasses all sports).^[43][44] 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^[45] and won the NCAA individual golf championship.^[46] In winning the Silver Medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship, he tied the record for an amateur aggregate score of 281.^[47] He left college after two years and turned professional.

Professional career[link]

Woods in 2001

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.^[48][49] Woods was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.^[50] In April 1997, he won his first major, the Masters, becoming the tournament's youngest-ever winner.^[51] Two months later, he set the record for the fastest-ever ascent to #1 in the Official World Golf Rankings.^[52] After a lackluster 1998, Woods finished the 1999 season with eight wins, including the PGA Championship, a feat not achieved since 1974.^[53][54]

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."^[55] At age 24, he became the youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam.^[56] 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.^[57][58]

Woods at the 2004 Ryder Cup

Woods' victory in the 2001 Masters Tournament made him the first player to hold all four major professional golf titles at the same time.^[59] Following a stellar 2001 and 2002 in which Woods continued to dominate the tour, Woods' career hit a "slump".^[53][60] 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.^[61] 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.^[62]

In 2006, Woods began dominantly, winning his first two PGA tournaments but failing to capture his fifth Masters championship in April.^[63][64] 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.^[65] 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.^[66]

Woods at the 2006 Masters Tournament

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.^[67] 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."^[68][69][70] 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."^[71][72][73] In Woods' absence, TV ratings for the remainder of the season suffered a huge decline from 2007.^[74]

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.^[75][76][77] 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.^[78] 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.^[79] 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.^[80][81][82] 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.^[83][84] After returning to tournament play in August, Woods continued to falter, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58.^[9] 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.^[9][85]

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.^[86] The following week Woods teed off at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Woods commented that he had referred back to putting basics instead of new technique he had been applying. Woods' putting over the first three days of tournament play was noticeably better, but the ball was struggling to fall into the hole. Tiger began the fourth round on 2-under par, 9 shots behind leader Rory McIlroy. After parring the first hole and being delayed by adverse weather, Woods returned and played the remaining 17 holes in 8-under par including two eagles and no bogeys. A birdie-eagle finish set up Woods to possibly claim the title, however McIlroy kept his cool and won the tournament. Tiger finished joint second, and the round also marked his lowest final round score in his PGA Tour career.

Woods played the following week at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami, Florida. Tiger spent the first three days near the top of the leaderboard and shot 72-67-68 to start the fourth round in tied 8th place at 9-under par, 8 shots behind leader Bubba Watson. Woods struggled on the front 9 and shot 2-over par going out. He then began to noticeably limp on the next three holes and went on to withdraw from the tournament with an apparent left leg injury, which was later confirmed as a strain on his left Achilles tendon that had been injured previously at the 2011 Masters Tournament. After a short time off, Woods played in the Tavistock Cup at the Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, representing Team Albany, finishing 4th. The same week, Woods began the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After three rounds of 69, 65 and a 71, he began Sunday in the lead at 11-under par, one shot ahead of Graeme McDowell. Woods remained in the lead throughout the round and shot a 2-under par 70 to claim his seventh win at Bay Hill and also marked his first win on the PGA Tour since the BMW Championship in September 2009. After a week off, he returned to Augusta for the Masters Tournament. Over the four days, Woods was never close to contending the title, and shot rounds of 72-75-72-74 to finish tied 40th. After a 3 week break from competition, Woods traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Wells Fargo Championship. Although starting positively with a 1-under par 71, Woods' second round of 73 (1-over) derailed his tournament hopes and resulted in him missing his eighth cut as a professional by 1 shot and second in as many years for the tournament. The following week, Woods played The Players Championship. After an opening round of 74 (2-over), he was in threat of missing a second consecutive cut, a first for his professional career, however after a 4-under 68, he was firmly staying in the tournament as well as being in the hunt for the weekend. However, a weekend charge never mounted despite good ball striking and he settled for T40th at 1-under par.

Endorsements[link]

Woods has been called the world's most marketable athlete.^[87] 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.^[88] 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.^[87][89] Nike Golf is one of the fastest growing brands in the sport, with an estimated $600 million in sales.^[90] Woods has been described as the "ultimate endorser" for Nike Golf,^[90] frequently seen wearing Nike gear during tournaments, and even in advertisements for other products.^[88] Woods receives a cut from the sales of Nike Golf apparel, footwear, golf equipment, golf balls,^[87] and has a building named after him at Nike’s headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon.^[91]

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.^[88]

Woods collaborated closely with TAG Heuer to develop the world's first professional golf watch, released in April 2005.^[92] 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.^[92] In 2006, the TAG Heuer Professional Golf Watch won the prestigious iF product design award in the Leisure/Lifestyle category.^[93]

Woods preparing for a photo shoot in 2006

Woods also endorses the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of video games; he has done so since 1999.^[94] In 2006, he signed a six-year contract with Electronic Arts, the series' publisher.^[95]

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.^[96]

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.^[97] The company decided in early fall 2009 to discontinue the drink due to weak sales.^[98]

According to Golf Digest, Woods made $769,440,709 from 1996 to 2007,^[99] and the magazine predicted that by 2010, Woods would pass one billion dollars in earnings.^[100] 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.^[101][102] The same year, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $600 million, making him the second richest "African American" behind only Oprah Winfrey.^[103]

Honors[link]

Woods driving in 2007

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.^[104][105]

He has been named "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press in December 2009.^[106] 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.^{[50][107][108][109][110][111]}

Tiger-proofing[link]

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).^[112] 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.^[113]

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.^[114]

Playing style[link]

Woods practicing before 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

When Woods first joined the professional tour in 1996, his long drives had a large impact on the world of golf.^[115][116] 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),^[117] 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.^[118][119] 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.^{[120][121][122]}

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.^[123] 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. ^[124]

Mike "Fluff" Cowan served as Woods' caddy from the start of his professional career until March 1999.^[125] 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.^[126] In June 2011, Woods fired Williams and replaced him with Woods' friend Bryon Bell, on an interim basis. Joe LaCava, a former caddy of both Fred Couples and Dustin Johnson, was hired by Woods shortly after.^{[citation needed]}

Equipment[link]

As of 2011:^{[127][128][129]}

• Driver: Nike VR Tour (8.5 degree; Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6x shaft)
• Fairway Woods: Nike VR Pro 15° 3-wood and Nike SQ II 19° 5-Wood with Mitsubishi Diamana Blueboard 103 shaft
• 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.^[130]
• Wedges: Nike VR Pro (56 and 60 degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts)
• Putter: Nike Method 001
• Ball: Nike ONE Tour D (with "Tiger" imprint)
• Golf Glove: Nike Dri-FIT Tour glove
• Golf Shoes: Nike TW '13
• Driver club cover: Frank, a plush tiger head club cover created by his mother. Frank has appeared in several commercials.^[131]

Career achievements[link]

Woods has won 72 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.^{[132][133][134]} 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.^[135] 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 (72)
• 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[link]

Wins (14)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1997	Masters Tournament	099 shot lead	-18−18 (70–66–65–69=270)	1212 strokes	Tom Kite
1999	PGA Championship	00Tied for lead	-11−11 (70–67–68–72=277)	011 stroke	Sergio García
2000	U.S. Open	1010 shot lead	-12−12 (65–69–71–67=272)	1515 strokes	Ernie Els, Miguel Ángel Jiménez
2000	The Open Championship	066 shot lead	-19−19 (67–66–67–69=269)	088 strokes	Thomas Bjørn, Ernie Els
2000	PGA Championship (2)	011 shot lead	-18−18 (66–67–70–67=270)	00Playoff 1	Bob May
2001	Masters Tournament (2)	011 shot lead	-16−16 (70–66–68–68=272)	022 strokes	David Duval
2002	Masters Tournament (3)	00Tied for lead	-12−12 (70–69–66–71=276)	033 strokes	Retief Goosen
2002	U.S. Open (2)	044 shot lead	-03−3 (67–68–70–72=277)	033 strokes	Phil Mickelson
2005	Masters Tournament (4)	033 shot lead	-12−12 (74–66–65–71=276)	00Playoff 2	Chris DiMarco
2005	The Open Championship (2)	022 shot lead	-14−14 (66–67–71–70=274)	055 strokes	Colin Montgomerie
2006	The Open Championship (3)	011 shot lead	-18−18 (67–65–71–67=270)	022 strokes	Chris DiMarco
2006	PGA Championship (3)	00Tied for lead	-18−18 (69–68–65–68=270)	055 strokes	Shaun Micheel
2007	PGA Championship (4)	033 shot lead	-08−8 (71–63–69–69=272)	022 strokes	Woody Austin
2008	U.S. Open (3)	011 shot lead	-01−1 (72–68–70–73=283)	00Playoff 3	Rocco Mediate