Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Originals Tiger Tales

Nicknames have long been a staple on the PGA Tour. The Golden Bear. The Black Knight. The King. But perhaps the most iconic moniker belongs to Eldrick Taunt Woods. A name given to him by his father, Earl, in honor of a fellow soldier and friend. His nickname's Tiger for a reason. Like his highlight reel, he just destroyed fields, you know, and everyone that showed up felt like they were gonna lose. Right from when he came out to be a pro to now, you know, he keeps doing things that people don't think anyone can do, and he does it. He took care of business, and to have winning percentage in there, at one point, around 30%, that doesn't really happen. Pretty amazing stuff. The thing about golf, it is a marathon. It's 72 holes. It's four days. And so, just because I won this week doesn't mean I'm assured to win the next week. I'm just gonna do it again. If I won, I was gonna do it again. It's just how soon I was gonna do it. If there's anything Tiger loves just as much as winning, it's needling his competitors with nicknames of his own. The first time I ever met him, I said, Hey, I'm Bryson. He goes, Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're Rain Man. And I'm like, you gotta be kidding me. He already gave me a nickname and I barely met him. He calls me Zatch. I mean, he calls me a lot of things, but that would be the thing that he probably calls me the most is Zatch. Z-A-T-C-H. He thought I was nuts. He thought I was crazy and very smart, apparently, which is not true. But Rain Man is actually kind of a compliment. It was cool. He's very cerebral when it comes to his golf game, but he's also extremely clever and downright funny at times. I don't think that Tiger's that funny. He thinks he is, but I don't think he is. That day on, he gives me all these different nicknames. He's calling me Beefy right now. I've gotten bigger and I look beefy, apparently. I don't know. He loves that kind of stuff. He's got a lot of nicknames, too. It goes by his nickname, technically. Once you get to know him and you understand the personal side of him, he's extremely enjoyable to be around and just a great individual. Tiger's personality has been on display more over the past few years than ever before. And while paired with Kevin Na at the 2019 Players, he took a page right out of his competitor's playbook. Great example of the new Tiger. It was a downhill quick putt. You barely got to hit it. And it helps when the ball is moving slowly because you can get to the hole before the ball. I hit a great putt and it started right on line and I took a big stride and I got it really quick there. My hand went right in as soon as the ball went in. I've always done it, so it wasn't a big deal. And I kind of looked over and he was just cracking up. Tiger got a kick out of that one. It looked like he was going to catch it before he got to the hole. I thought I'd have a little fun with it. Never in a million years would I have thought he was going to imitate me and do that. I said, oh my God, I can't believe Tiger the GOAT just did that. I said, I can't believe you just did that. And he goes, well, I had to make sure I had it started on line first. And I said, I didn't want to try to do it and miss. Would you have ever seen Tiger do that a few years back? What a place to do it on 17th at Sawgrass and the whole world to see that. And we had a lot of fun. That's the modern Tiger. Tiger's definitely changed a lot in the last few years. I think he was a bit more maybe serious, kind of standoffish did his thing. At the start of his career, you could tell he meant business. He's become a lot more fan friendly, which has been a really good thing. Tiger Woods, very appreciative of the crowd as the crowd is of him. I played with Tiger when he was going through his prime. You realize the killer instinct he had. He still has that now, but he's just a softer Tiger Woods. And I'm not saying that in a competitive standpoint. It's just more so as the person. He went from a guy who shut everyone out and just dominated golf. And then he was able to show the softer side, yet still be successful on the golf course. I have been very fortunate last year or so, just getting to know Tiger and him spending the amount of time with me that he has. Next on the tee, Kentucky's Mr. Golf in 2009. Please welcome Justin Conant. Now you know that Tiger Woods set that up. Yeah. Mr. Kentucky. That was fantastic. We have fun together. We like to joke around. This actually wasn't too long ago. We were at their house and we were just having dinner and watching TV, played some ping pong. And Charlie decided he wanted to play home run derby in the living room, which I guess is a common thing in the Woods house. Tiger's pitching to Charlie and he has like a little golf club. And then he's like, well, I want to get a bigger bat. So we got a legit bat. So I'm wondering how hard they're going to hit it because we're in the living room. He hits them and he's hitting them as hard as he can. And Tiger's like, okay, I'll get an idea of how hard he's going to hit it then. And he's pretty much just peppering them. I mean, he's hitting as hard as he can, bouncing off the walls. And then, of course, I go and I hit one a little bit off the end of the bat. I hit a candle and break a candle in the living room. So, yep, that was my first experience of home run derby in Tiger Woods' living room. They were fine with it, though. They were like, that's fine. It happens all the time. I still don't feel good about it, but I'm glad it happens often. As long as it didn't hit any of the major trophies, that's fine. Tiger Woods motivated a crop of young golfers to rise to the professional level, including fifth-year pro Harold Varner III, who got an early taste of Tiger mania. I guess I would have been 11, 12. It was just like a walk through. And I waited right there on the road right there. And I was just like, dude, come on. And he walked right by me. Pissed. So mad. And I'll never forget the first time we played together. We were walking up 18. I was like, man, you didn't sign my autograph. He's like, that's probably why you're here right now. You probably got mad. I was like, you're right. Tiger has his own unique way of connecting with the galleries. They are infatuated with his every move. Tiger's following has existed since long before the child prodigy debuted on the PGA Tour. Welcome to the future. The crowd was so loud. It was kind of deafening. The galleries were great. As we anticipate his first event on the PGA Tour as a professional, I'll turn it over to Tiger Woods. With the media attention and just the fact I haven't got a chance to rest yet. It's been a little hectic, obviously. It's called high expectations. And they're being met. With three victories and his first nine starts as a pro, the 82-time champion has always given media and fans a reason to believe the hype. I've never seen so many people run just to get a close glimpse of Tiger Woods. Have we ever seen anything like this in golf? Look at this scene. Having all those people around all the time, we know where he is. You can just look down and you know. The marshals are running out trying to hold him back. It's a team effort. We have security and of course the police department and our volunteers. Some people just get so excited to see their favorite player, especially Tiger, because of his celebrity. Officer Ganley is used to guiding Tiger through the ropes at Torrey Pines. But this year in San Diego, it took on another dimension. Since 2002, I have been the officer in charge out here. So from that point on, I have had a relationship with Tiger only because he brings the biggest crowd. Dev and I have known each other for a very long time and she's always taken great care of us. And without Dev and people like her, we wouldn't be as safe as we are. When I first started doing this tournament, he does a practice round on Tuesday, which I found out, OK, practice round, not a lot of people at the golf course. And he came off 18. And the ropes had not been set up to bring them up to the putting green. And he literally was mobbed. I mean, we're trying to push people back. I've never seen anything like that in my life. And I said to my sergeant, OK, we need to make sure these ropes are up. Even on the practice round. So it really brought to light Tiger Woods and his celebrity. Randall Chamblee asked me one time, why I follow Tiger Woods so many practice rounds. And I said, if I would have been the beat writer for the Chicago Bulls, I would have watched Michael Jordan in a shoot around every day. This is a different guy. Michael Jordan said he idolizes only one athlete. That's Tiger Woods. There's guys out there that are fan favorites. I like to think I'm one of them at times. Tiger kind of keeps you humble. I played two groups in front of Tiger. And I look over and Tiger's in this flop shot from way right of the green. Has a 1 in 20 chance of getting up and down from there. Tiger's got it. He's still got it. Crowd goes crazy. I mean, there's 4,000 or 5,000 people watching him. It's our group. It was three people. One's my girlfriend. People joke about how Tiger moves the needle. He is the needle. I never thought we would play for a million dollar first place check. And then 1996 comes along and Tiger comes out and creates this interest in the game of golf that attracts sponsors, attracts the media, and brings this awareness to the game. Unharnessed enthusiasm for the young legend. What he's been able to do for all of us as players is immeasurable. It's about as good a place as maybe golf's ever been in right now and we owe a lot of thanks to him in that. He's such an iconic figure in this game and he's certainly revolutionized the sport. We owe him a great deal financially and from an exposure point of view out here in the game of golf. It was what Tiger Mania is all about. Tiger's presence is felt in every event he tees it up. I remember one time everyone's putting on the greens and then Tiger walks on, he starts putting to one hole and then there was like a 20 foot barrier of nothingness around him where it was just him putting to one hole and everyone else was putting to all these other holes and he just had one special hole. It was just amazing to see the Tiger aura. And it's that aura that sparked the imagination of those watching from home. As a little kid you're like how cool would that be to have that intimidation factor. The Tiger effect. Tiger made it cool to play golf. That 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 year old range that's when you can really get involved in a sport. We watched him have no mercy on anybody. That's when I was like you know I want to be playing against Tiger. I want to be doing what he's doing. I was a senior in high school and when you watch Tiger Woods with a sweater that was too big and fist pumping on 18 to set all kind of records and different things got me excited about trying to play golf as a professional. We grew up idolizing him and wanting to do what he did. My pre-shot routine, my warm-up routines based off what Tiger does. I haven't seen this much club twirling since Tiger Woods' heydays. He's the Dr. J and the Michael mixed in one. He taught us how to slam dunk, crossover, all that stuff we learned from Tiger. And he made it big so we're just carrying the torch now. Tiger's been so dominant for so long and now that you're seeing these new guys creep up that are dominating in a different way the game's kind of turning itself over to a different breed of superstars out here on tour. The youth movement has arrived in full force. The way that he played the game inspired me to want to be a professional golfer. I mean I'm sure you can talk to a number of the young guys out here and they'll say the same thing. I grew up in the Tiger era and it's totally normal for kids to want to emulate you know one of our greats. He brought this Tiger roar to the game and kids were watching that and thought it was cool. So it's all his fault. Tiger's 46 victories before the age of 30 set a new precedent on the PGA Tour. Tiger's the one that showed everybody you could win at 20. There's a lot of people out there that would have said it's impossible for Tiger to do what he did. But he did it and it's paved the way for us kids. They're not scared of the limelight and you have to be that way. You've got to want to play in front of the big crowds. You have to want to win and I think they all learned that from the man himself, Tiger. A very good golfer once told me that you've got five hours to grind it out and 19 hours to rest. And that was Tiger Woods. I work hard and then once I'm ready nothing's going to stop me from winning the event. And for those guys to look at it as something they would like to do was very flattering. The generation fueled by the man they all idolized now find themselves on the same stage as their childhood hero. You dream of having a chance to win and it being against Tiger Woods. That's what every kid my age or younger was dreaming of. When you're on the putting green you've got to putter to beat Tiger Woods. To have that come true, it really is a dream come true. It's just a dream scenario. I don't think you can imagine anything better than that. He's been such an influence on all of us. Just to share that moment with him, it was great. While a few have prevailed against him down the stretch, Tiger set the record straight at the 2019 Masters. Everybody was kind of hoping he was going to have a run to be on that conversation of who's the best in history and who's the GOAT. It just felt like it was destiny for him to win one more. And of course it happened the way it happened. Everybody in the locker room was rooting for him. And for him to come through to do it at Augusta, if I'm not going to win I was hoping he would. To be able to put it on somebody you grew up watching, one of your idols growing up, was unbelievable. I'm just happy that I was able to put the jacket on him correctly and didn't make him stumble and try to figure out where the holes were. To be there for it and in contention, it was cool for me. Just to watch. Right after he won, he said it's 1-1, so looking forward to kind of changing that. When other athletes get the opportunity to go see another athlete in their sport, you have an unbelievable respect for what they do at that high level. I barely could sleep knowing I was going to have an opportunity to walk with Tiger inside the ropes. Tiger brought strength and conditioning to the course like Jordan brought the strength and conditioning to the court. When he came on the scene, he was lean, streamlined, and he hit it a long way. So everybody started saying, wait a second, maybe if I can get myself in better shape, it would give me an advantage on the course. When I first came out here, I was the only guy in the gym. There was nobody else. Generally, that's when athletes peak, around 25. Fortunately for me, I was able to take advantage of my peak years. Tiger's devotion to fitness paved the way for a new era of golfers. While stories of his workout regimen will forever be ingrained in PGA Tour folklore. I used to get up in the morning, run four miles, then I'd go to the gym, do my lift, and I'd hit balls for about two to three hours. I'd go to play, come back, work on my short game, I'd go run another four more miles, and then if anybody wanted to play basketball or tennis, I would go play basketball or tennis. That was a daily routine. He kind of set the standard, the physical fitness of guys now on the Tour, they're different looking, obviously. I think he had a lot to do with that. We grew up watching one of the best athletes of all time dominate in Tiger Woods, and just watching him do what he did, I think we all kind of want to be something dominating on camp. Guys are much more prepared now coming on the Tour, physically, mentally. Now, everybody's in the gym. Everyone has their own personal trainer that travels with them, or they have a program that they follow. The game is way more athletic. We're getting guys who grew up doing other sports, who transitioned into golf. Tiger Woods changed that for everybody. I mean, the way he prepared, the way he dominated the sport, and the way he looked, he looked athletic. He looked like a football player or a baseball player. Now, all of a sudden, Tiger comes in, now they're in shape. It's changed because the guys are fit, and those guys, I mean, they are bombing the ball. I was saying throughout my career, one day we're going to get a guy that is going to be like a Bo Jackson. He's going to be like a Michael Jordan. He's going to be that explosive and that good, but decide to play golf. If you look at the golfer today, they're taller, they're stronger, they hit it further. So, that's just how the sport is developed. I spend probably more time taking care of my body, working out, more time doing all that stuff than I actually do playing golf. He was able to put fitness into his routine and become one of the better athletes in the world. I mean, it's impressive, and I think he led by example, and the rest of us are just following. With the strength and conditioning of today's players on full display, Tiger keeps a watchful eye on the athletes he inspired. At Bay Hill, doing the pro-am, I was going to go out and play an early night hold before they teed off. It's dark, he's warming up for his pro-am tee time, comes over to me, and I think he's going to tell me something good. And he comes over to me and he says, it's really true, white men can't jump. And he was referring to Inside the PGA Tour, just aired a day before. Did some fitness stuff, was doing some box jumps, and he was giving me a little crap. And I'm like, dude, that's 42 inches. And he's like, no, that's fake. And so he's giving me a little hard time. So a couple days later, he's warming up for Friday's round. And I sort of get his attention, and there's a water cooler right there. I'm like, hey, Tiger, look at me, I can jump on this water cooler. Well, unfortunately, the water cooler's hinges were broken. And so I jumped up on it, and the cooler top went out from under me, and I fell backwards, and he absolutely died laughing. I mean, on his knees laughing, just, I mean, hysterical. Thank God, all the cameras were positioned on him, and I was behind the cameras. We had lunch together at Genesis. I went and sat down with my girlfriend, sitting there, and Tiger was talking to a bunch of people, and he was touching a chair at my table. So I snapped a picture and said, I mean, if he's touching the chair at my table, I count that as, you know, having lunch with him. But I made a par on 18 on Friday from about 225 yards and left rough at Riviera. And if I had made bogey, I would have played with Tiger on Saturday. So I'm going to call that the worst par I've ever made. Some remember just missing out on a chance to play with Tiger Woods. Nobody forgets their first time teeing it up with arguably the greatest of all time. I played with him at his tournament at Sherwood. Pretty nervous for the first few holes, and then I settled in and sort of did my thing. I've never said good shot as much in my life, playing with anyone. It's just good shot, good shot, good shot. But I think it was just, he was consistently hitting great shots the entire day. Shot six on the par. Keegan Bradley playing along with Tiger Woods. I remember I sent the text message at the beginning of the tour to my buddies in the group chat. They were more excited than I was. I've never seen an atmosphere quite like that. Just the atmosphere he plays in is like a Sunday for everybody else in contention every single day. It was fun. But often times the excitement of playing alongside Tiger is paired with other emotions. Especially come Sunday. It's tough. First time you're nervous. Way more nervous than I would have been even in the last group. Tiger Woods with a seven shot lead over Mark Leishman and Brent Snedeker. It was nice playing with him in the last group when he was at his peak. Unbelievable. I was very nervous. I actually played quite well that day. What a day for Leishman. Sixty-nine playing right alongside Tiger Woods for the very first time. I unfortunately had a poor putt on the last hole. Trying to get out of his way. I hit a few putts really quickly. Ended up missing tour championship because I didn't take my time. They actually taught me a really valuable lesson that day. He said something to me after the round. He said, what are you doing? Why are you? I said, I was in your way. He said, I'm getting ready to win by seven shots. You weren't in my way. Don't worry about it. He taught me a few things. It's a really cool memory. Such was the case for a star-struck Max Holla in his first start as an amateur. Tiger was a few groups in front of me. Joe LaCava's caddie put down the bag. I told my caddie, go put the bag next to Tiger's. Let's go hit balls next to Tiger Woods. I'm hitting him the whole time I'm warming up. All I'm thinking about is I really want to go meet him. My hero or whatever. I'm sitting there hitting balls. I'm probably hitting it terrible. He's hitting it perfect. I'm kind of staring at him too much. I remember getting text messages. I guess the golf channel was doing the warm-up. I'm right behind him just staring at him. I finally walk over to him. In between bites of snack, I remember he had. I said, hey, Tiger. I'm Max. There's no chance you know who I am. I'm a big fan. I'm sure he gets this all the time. He was so nice. He shook my hand. He said, have a great day. He has a picture of me staring at him while he's hitting. I'm doing an awful job. If you guys are wondering, I missed a cut. Through the years, there's little that Tiger hasn't seen. Yet Scott Brown's second career ace marked Tiger's first. It's the only one he said he's ever put on a card. Nobody had ever made one with him, he said. I'll take his word for it. I grew up a Tiger fan. It's always cool getting to play with your idols. And in just his second year on tour, Mackenzie Hughes authored a moment of his own alongside Tiger. I made a putt on the eighth hole from like 75 feet. I didn't really fist pump, but I kind of gave it one of those like, you know, just sort of like can't believe that thing went in, kind of like raise your arm in the air, fist pump. And he was smiling and laughing and he enjoyed it too. So playing with him has been great. And he's been a huge asset to our game. Witnessing the 82-time champion up close can be nerve wracking. And even practice rounds have led to stories worth sharing. Like Bubba Watson's encounter at Torrey Pines. That was the first time ever playing with him. Never met him. He yelled at me across the fairway. He said, hey, can I play with you? And I looked around, trying to be funny, because there's thousands of people watching him. And I said, yep, you can play with us. So he just picks his ball up, comes under the rope, drops it right there in the fairway. And we played that nine holes. It was the thrill of a lifetime. After we got done, he said, hey, you want to go to dinner? And I said, yeah, man, I'd love to. And he said, you got my number? I was like, where do you think I got your number from? So he gave me his number and we went to dinner a couple days later. An eight-shot victory for Tiger. I probably inspired him. And while Tiger has no misgivings breaking bread with other players, when it comes time to compete, he's back to business. His competitiveness, his mental drive, he was always right there in contention. You watch other guys start to back up and fold just as his name was coming up. I was hitting a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, and making everything. It's going to add up to some Ws. Another victory for Tiger. I've won eight times in 99, and then nine in 2000. 17 times in four majors in that two-year span. Tiger Woods was winning everything. He was probably the best golf ever played over a 10-year period in the history of the game. He's a pretty fierce guy when it comes down to it. Maybe one of the most respected or almost feared, in a way, when he was at his best. Seemingly, every time he tees it up in a big event, he adds to the history. That was peak Tiger, where everybody was legitimately playing for second. And they knew it. Whenever you dominate or win a lot, it can be intimidating to the rest of the field. It's a demeanor that's tied to the edge more often than not. But he still stood tall. We were playing the L.A. Open on a Saturday, and I was 4-under playing the last hole, and he was 3-under. We're both fairly competitive, and we both knew what was going on. He parsed the last hole, and I had about a 10-footer to nip him by one in the day. I went in the hole, and I looked right up at Tiger. He had the big old grin on his face. I just kind of smiled back at him. I'm like, you know, I got you. I know you're better than me, but I got you this time. Despite losing some battles, Tiger's fierce reputation stems from a 55-4 record when holding a lead or co-lead entering the final round, a 93% winning rate. He got into this zone where nothing bothered him, where he just had this absolute Teflon coating where nothing got inside. He's 100% on every shot. So even if he's not playing so great through 13 or 14 holes, he's thinking, I'm going to birdie the last five. You know, and then if he makes one or two, he gets on a roll and takes it off the sheet. Tiger Woods flashing his high-scoring offense here today. Tiger Woods there for 12, 15 years, I mean, if he had to make a putt for par on the back nine, he made it. And that's why he won so much. Just typical Tiger. When he's got a chance to win, he normally wins. This is the Tiger that's impossible to beat. Tiger's competitive nature was even more evident as a playing captain at the 2019 President's Cup. Tiger Woods doing Tiger Woods things. You almost expect something like that. If there's anybody that's going to be a playing captain, it's going to be him. The captain is leading the way in more ways than one. He didn't play Saturday morning. Two and a half hours into the matches, he gets on the radio with Stricker, myself, and Zach, and he says, fellas, I don't feel good enough. I'm going to take the afternoon off. We came here to win as a team, and each person has their own role. I have my role as a player, I have my role as captain, and I trust my team to go out there and turn this thing around. He doesn't play, we do well. Then on Sunday, he goes first off, so he can hopefully win his match, which he did. That's his 27th match win, the most now in President's Cup history. We're hugging and having fun about him winning his match, and things are looking good, and he comes over to me and goes, dude, how did you do this? I'm so nervous. I'm done with my match, but I'm so nervous. Are we going to win this thing? As a player, we're in complete control of what we're doing. As a captain, it's tough. Yeah, I felt it all day today, rooting for my guys. It was nerve-wracking. And Captain Tiger Woods, who added three points of his own to the cause, will celebrate this one for a long, long time. We did it together. We came here as a team. My teammates and my boys all played well. All my boys. They did it. He wanted to win for the team, but I've never seen him nervous, and he was definitely nervous on Sunday of the President's Cup. Trying to go out there and beat my dad, that was the ultimate. I started playing golf at a very early age. I call it four. I used to always have to play from the blue tees. Always had to play with my dad, and it was frustrating when it took two good shots and I couldn't get to his golf ball. Then it became I got past his golf ball. Then it became that my tee shots were kind of close to him. Then it became we're right neck and neck, and that's when it happened when I beat him. I was 11 years old playing Navy golf course. I was one down playing the last two holes, and I went birdie, birdie, shot 70 to 71, and clipped him. So that's probably one of the biggest highlights I've ever had is beating my dad at our home course. How do you describe the relationship between a father and son? Something so unique, yet so common. And what if that bond developed in the spotlight from the very beginning? The story of Earl Woods and his son Tiger is well documented. A duo so inextricably linked. All smiles for the Woods. Earl, the architect of one of the winningest golfers of all time. And Tiger, his willing protege. People think that he pushed me into golf, and it was the exact opposite. He was trying to get me not to play it. I grew up playing baseball, so you play baseball, you're always going to have speed. You have to. You've got to have hand speed. You've got to have hip speed. You've got to get that barrel of that bat around. And fortunately for me, I followed my dad, and I grew up playing baseball. I fell in love with golf at a very early age because my dad kept it fun and light. Because of that intense bond and shared love of the game, Earl Woods was able to produce one of the most prolific clutch putters that golf has ever seen. I don't know what that dude saw in my game, but he really knew of putting. He knew my stroke. I've had coaches throughout my career, and my dad was the best teacher I've ever had with putting, and probably ever will. Under pressure, under the gun, when I need to make putts in the back nine, I always revert back to my dad's teachings. Hello, Ben Pergin! The perfect season alive. Five straight PGA Tour victories. I grew up on my dad's golf course, part 72, so as I got older, my dad kept dropping par, which I didn't like. I dropped par four, and it took me what, four to get there. The first time I got there in three, par automatically went down. It taught me never to be afraid to go low. Got it! Tiger Woods to 11 under par! I miss my dad dearly, and he was an integral part of my life. I don't ever want to forget the things he's taught me over the years. It's worked for 30-plus years. Sometimes I'll even hear his voice coming down a stretch on the back nine, and that's pretty neat. Earl's words of wisdom would translate off the course as Tiger transitioned into a father himself. He asked me to drive him to pick the kids up at school, so Tiger and I are sitting in carpool lane with all the other moms and dads waiting to pick up their kids, and we looked at each other and kind of chuckled because we'd come a long way. We were both fathers, and we both loved parenting. Now, I'm out of golf because of my back. His future in golf is uncertain because of his back, and it was just sort of a funny moment between two friends that had sort of experienced a lot of similar things. It's a great moment in golf right here with the comeback, to put it all together. Tiger's comeback from Hail Mary back fusion surgery in 2017 culminated with his 80th career PGA Tour victory at the 2018 Tour Championship. Tiger Woods, a winner again. The win having massive repercussions around the sporting landscape. Yet for Tiger, it was at home where its impact was felt the most. They've only associated golf with pain and discomfort and the fact that it hurts their dad. It's not fun, and so they don't really remember that it was fun for me to play. Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! They don't remember me ever being in that position of winning a golf tournament. To do something that I know that they will always remember, and then for the people who were there to make it so distinctive that it's burned in their memory forever, that they will always remember their dad coming back and winning the Tour Championship. When Tiger, the golfing genius, retired in 2007, he was still in the midst of his unprecedented dominance in the game. But injuries put a hold to his epic run. The time away, the rebuilding of his body and mind, giving him a newfound perspective for the game, and more importantly, life. When I had the procedure done, I never thought for a moment at that particular time that I would ever be at this level again. I would probably never play golf again at the elite level. I just wanted to have a life again and be part of my kids' life. It all came together for Woods the dad and Woods the golfer at the 2019 Masters. As those worlds collided in a spectacular way, his children finally getting the chance to witness what the rest of the world had lived for all these years. Just to see him being able to celebrate that with his kids and all they know him as is just kind of a YouTube star. They've never seen him do that in person. So I've seen firsthand how great of a dad he is and how interacting he is with them. So to see that side of it was really cool from my perspective. Now through his maturity as a man, he started to understand that compassion and those sorts of emotions are okay to have because that's what opens you up to new relationships. You don't necessarily create weakness but you can actually create strengths. Hey Tiger, this is Evan. I just wanted to say you've meant so much to me throughout all these years and getting me to where I am today now as a newly graduated doctor. I had all these dreams and aspirations of wanting to be a physician but I needed someone else to get me there. This Oral Woods Scholarship program altered the rest of my life for the better. I got to experience being a scholar here at the Foundation. That's cool. That's what it's all about. Lending a hand to the next generation through the Oral Woods Scholar Program along with TGR Foundation's Learning Labs and a digital site, TGR EDU Explore, are a few of many ways Tiger Woods is building a legacy off the golf course. TGR Foundation started in 1996 when Tiger and Oral traveled the country doing junior golf exhibitions to show him that if something happened to him that foundation would be done. The TGR Foundation will outlast anything I do competitively. We decided to refocus the foundation on something that was really near and dear to him and that was education. We opened the TGR Learning Lab. To Tiger it was all about creating a safe place for kids to imagine a new future. Tiger has evolved his foundation to address STEM subjects and help them pave a path towards college and the workforce. Education was number one in my household. If I didn't get my homework done I could never play in a sport. Eventually I ended up going to Stanford because of it. I knew I wanted to go to college. I knew I wanted to have a successful career but I didn't know how to make it happen necessarily. The foundation demystified that entire process for me. Not knowing what to do with it but now with the Earlwood Scholarship Program I feel like I'm just this burning flame that can't be stopped. We were impacting so many kids through the Learning Lab and he said why can't we do millions? We created a digital platform TGRE Do You Explore. That's where the world is trending. It's becoming more tech involved and everything we do is now with a mobile device. Just this past September there's more to come. This is free education and a way of learning that will help not only their lives but I think their communities. We can have such a more permanent impact around the world. It's going to be bigger than anything I've ever done on a golf course. While Tiger remains a hero in the eyes of the students he's helped along the way it's come full circle from the time he met one of his heroes Sam Sneed. He was one of the first ones to give the needle and it was always fun. It's always fun to listen to his stories over the years. I met Sam when I was five. He was playing at Calabasas, L.A. I was this little snot nose kid at five years old that he had to play the last two holes with and I remember as a par three and I'm five I can't carry very far into the water and he tells me to go and he would tell me that I was slightly competitive even at that age and I didn't like him telling me to pick the ball up because my dad always taught me you need to play it as it is there's no such thing as winner rules so I went and played and I made bogey on that hole in the par three and I made bogey in the last hole and I still have the card at home he signed it and he went par par so that's how Sam was Sam was always great and to be able to have a chance to break his record is going to be fun. Sneed inspired a young Tiger to break his elusive benchmark of 82 PGA TOUR victories. 16 years old you don't know how much better he can get he looks like he's going to be really a force on the TOUR. The record tying win came 27 years later. You're talking about setting all time records it's pretty impressive he's already won the all time grades and already a legend of the game. He's already accomplished so much he's already considered one of the best of all time 83 will definitely be knocking at the door. That's a career that's not something that happens overnight that's going to be done he's about more than any record. The number is almost irrelevant it's almost like a byproduct of the journey that he's been on to eventually pass Sam Sneed which I fully believe he's going to do it's going to be great but that's not the end. He's been through the mud so to see him looking happy smiling, being accepted by the younger players giving the respect that he deserves it means a lot. A lot of people get inspired and will really tell what his impact has been long term he can be a one in a million where nobody can ever get into that atmosphere again. The flame is still burning and there's a couple more wins in his future so he's not done yet. I've got to earn my way into 83. That's a lot of wins trust me I appreciate all those wins.