Tiger Woods timeline: The highs and lows of a compelling career

Tiger Woods announced himself to the world with a record-breaking 12-shot win at the Masters, becoming the youngest player to win the tournament at age 21.

In 2000, Woods put together what many consider to be the greatest single season in golf history, winning the final three majors and nine total events. That same year, he also signed a 5-year, $105 million endorsement contract with Nike. He would win the Masters in 2001 to hold all four major titles at the same time.

Woods was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year for the second time in his career in 2000. That season, he began a stretch of more than five straight years as the world No. 1 ranked golfer.

By the mid-2000s, the Woods phenomenon had taken full effect. His success drew unprecedented galleries to events and brought a new audience to the sport that was both younger and more racially diverse.

Woods married Swedish model Elin Nordegren in 2004 during the peak of his career.

Woods was hit hard by the death of his father, Earl Woods, in 2006. He took significant time off from golf and initially struggled on the course.

An emotional Tiger Woods won the 2006 British Open just months after his father died.

Woods and his wife had their first child, daughter Sam Alexis Woods, in 2007. Their son Charlie was born two years later.

When Woods won the 2008 U.S. Open on an injured knee, he collected his 14th major victory. At the time, he was 32 and seemingly at the top of his game. Little did the world know what was going on behind the scenes.

Woods’ personal life began to unravel Thanksgiving weekend 2009, when he was in a car accident that was later revealed to be related to his wife learning of his extramarital affairs.

Wood eventually admitted to cheating on his wife, which led to their divorce in 2010. In the years that followed, his game struggled and leg injuries caused him to miss time and lose ground in the world rankings.

Though he never reached the heights of his early career, Woods did get back to winning, claiming five tournament victories and regaining his world No. 1 status en route to PGA Player of the Year honors in 2013.

Woods underwent the first of four back surgeries in 2014. He missed significant time from golf and didn’t play well when he was in action.

Woods tried to get back on the golf course earlier in 2017 when he entered the Farmers Insurance Open in January, but that wound up being the last event he’d complete before requiring another surgery.

Years of injury-shortened seasons and poor play was punctuated with what could be a rock bottom moment for Woods when he was arrested on suspicion of DUI on May 29, 2017. Woods cited prescription pain medications as the reason for his arrest.

Tiger returned to being a threat on the final day of majors, finishing second at the PGA championship and sixth at the British Open in 2018.

Finally, he’s back. After so many ups and downs through the past 11 years, Tiger was once again crowned Masters champion in 2019 after a thrilling four days in Augusta.