Tiger Woods 50 at 50 moments timeline: From majors to the surgeries
Nick PuglieseIt seems like we have been following Tiger Woods for a long time on the professional golf front. As he turns 50, here is a Top 50-moments timeline of his life on and off the PGA Tour - and with a special focus on his time in Palm Beach County:
August 1996: Turns pro, immediately signs highly lucrative deals with Nike and Titleist.
September 1, 1996: In the final round of his first professional tournament, the Greater Milwaukee Open, Tiger has a hole-in-one on the 14th hole. He finishes 60th and earns $2,544.
Oct. 6, 1996: Wins first pro tournament, the Las Vegas Invitational, pocketing $297,000 and - more importantly - an invitation to the Masters.
December 1996: Named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Tiger Woods wins first Masters
April 13, 1997: Wins first Masters with an 18-under 270 and record-breaking margin of victory (12 strokes) - while also becoming the tournament's youngest winner at 21.
June 1997: Ascends to No. 1 in official world golf rankings, marking the fastest ascent in history.
August 15, 1999: Wins PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club , one stroke ahead of runner-up Sergio García.
September 26,1999: Part of U.S. Ryder Cup team that defeated Europe 14.5 to 13.5 in what became known as the "Battle of Brookline." Tiger earned a crucial point by defeating Andrew Coltart 3 & 2 in a singles match on the final day.
June 18, 2000: Wins U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by record 15 strokes, his greatest margin of victory.
July 23, 2000: Won first Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrew's, becoming youngest golfer to complete the grand slam.
March 26, 2001: Wins first of two Players Championship titles, one stroke ahead of runner-up Vijay Singh. Because of bad weather, the tournament finished on a Monday.
April 8, 2001: Defeating David Duval by 2 strokes at the Masters meant that Tiger held all four majors at the same time, creating the "Tiger Slam."
May , 2001: Makes a 50-foot putt on the 17th hole enroute to winning the Players Championship.
April 14, 2002: Defended his Masters championship, making his move in the final two rounds.
Tiger Woods outduels Phil Mickelson at US Open
June 16, 2002: Finishes 3 shots ahead of Phil Mickelson to win the U.S. Open at the Black Course of Bethpage State Park.
Dec. 13, 2002: Surgery on left knee to remove fluid inside and outside the ACL and remove benign cysts from his left knee. Misses the season opener in 2003.
March 6, 2005: Wins Ford Championship at Doral, outdueling Phil Mickelson, helped by a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th. Returns to No. 1 in the world.
April 10, 2005: Won his fourth Green Jacket on the first hole of a playoff with Chris DiMarco.
July 2005: Captures his 10th major at the Open Championship at St. Andrew's while Jack Nicklaus played in his final major.
July 23, 2006: Repeats as Open Champion, playing at Royal Liverpool Golf Club - and first major since his father's death.
August 20, 2006: Became the only golfer to win the PGA Championship at the same venue (Medinah).
Oct. 1, 2006: Wins WGC-American Express Championship in Hertfordshire, England, with a record aggregate score of 261 for his fifth WGC-American Express Championship and his 12th World Golf Championships title.
Injuries start to take toll on Tiger Woods
August 12, 2007: Wins PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, including a 63, weeks after rupturing the ACL in his left knee.
April 15, 2008: Two days after the Masters, has arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair cartilage damage.
June 16, 2008: Wins U.S. Open at Torrey Pines playing with a double stress fracture in his left tibia and a torn ACL in his left knee.
June 24, 2008: Eight days after winning the U.S. Open, has surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee by using a tendon from his right thigh. Additional cartilage damage is repaired. Misses rest of the season.
August 16, 2009: The only time Tiger failed to win a major when leading after 54 holes as Y.E. Yang overtakes him to win the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
Nov. 27, 2009: Thanksgiving domestic incident with then-wife Elin Nordegren at their home near Orlando. Upset about Tiger's infidelity, she chases him out of the house with a golf club, he jumps in his Cadillac Escalade, clips a fire hydrant and crashes into a neighbor's tree. He was hospitalized overnight with a sore neck and a cut lip that required five stitches.
Dec. 11, 2009: Announces he is taking an indefinite break from golf.
Feb. 19, 2010: Apologizes for his "irresponsible and selfish behavior," surrounded by his mother and close friends at PGA Tour Headquarters.
Tiger Woods, family move into Jupiter Island mansion
2011: He and his family move into a mansion on Jupiter Island that is now worth $60 million. He bought the 12-acre plot of land in 2006 for $40 million.
March 4, 2012: Plays in his first Honda Classic at PGA National and shoots a final-round 8-under 62 to finish tied for second, two shots behind Rory McIlroy, who jumped to No. 1 in the world for the first time in his career.
March 25, 2012: Wins Arnold Palmer Invitational, his first title since 2009 (924 days), by two strokes over Graeme McDowell.
August 4, 2013: Wins WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, by 7 shots; flirting with a 59 and shooting 61 during the second round when only 3 other golfers broke 68.
April 1, 2014: News release comes out stating Tiger would miss the Masters for the first time as a pro after undergoing microdiscectomy surgery on his back (removing a disc fragment). This was no April Fool's Day joke.
August 10, 2015: Opens The Woods, a restaurant/sports dining club located in Jupiter.
Sept. 18, 2015: Underwent a second micro-discectomy surgery to remove a disc fragment that was pinching his nerve.
April 20, 2017: Undergoes a fourth back surgery. The spinal fusion, labeled "a success" was to alleviate pain he had been experiencing in his back and leg.
May 29, 2017: While recovering from back surgery, Tiger is arrested in Jupiter on suspicion of driving under the influence and spends nearly four hours in jail before being released. Police said he was found asleep at the wheel in a Mercedes with its engine running. According to the police report, he had painkillers, sleeping drugs and an ingredient active in marijuana in his system at the time.
Oct. 27, 2017: He pleads guilty to reckless driving following his arrest in May on suspicion of DUI. Instead of jail time, he has to complete probation, attend DUI school and perform community service.
April 14, 2019: Wins his fifth Masters, breaking an 11-year majors drought.
Tiger Woods receives Presidential Medal of Freedom
May 6, 2019: Received Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House.
Oct. 27, 2019: Wins Zozo Championship in Japan for PGA Tour record-tying 82nd title, tying Sam Snead.
Feb. 23, 2021: In Los Angeles for the Genesis Invitational, Tiger loses control of his SUV, crosses a median, hits a tree and rolls over, resulting in severe, career-threatening injuries to his right leg that require surgery. It is later reported he was driving an estimated 76 MPH.
March 9, 2022: Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
August 24, 2022: Tiger, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley create TGL, a tech-infused indoor golf league that would hold its matches at the newly built SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens.
August 21, 2023: Named by commissioner Jay Monahan to PGA Tour Policy Board as sixth player director.
January 7, 2025: TGL is launched with Tiger looking on. His team, Jupiter Links Golf Club, makes its debut on Jan. 14.
March 1, 2025: Sam Woods, Tiger's daughter, and the Benjamin girls soccer team win the Class 2A girls soccer state championship in DeLand with her dad cheering in the stands.
Nov. 15, 2025: Charlie Woods, Tiger's son, and the Benjamin boys golf team win the Class 1A state championship in Howey-in-the-Hills with his dad following him around the course.
