Tiger Woods

American professional golfer Tiger Woods came onto the radar of the sporting public as a child prodigy and never left the spotlight. Born in Cypress, California, he began being schooled in the game of golf by his father, Earl Woods, while still a toddler. As a 3-year-old, he appeared on "The Mike Douglas Show" (Syndicated, 1961-81), hitting balls with comedian Bob Hope. Magazines began featuring his exploits shortly after, and Woods made an appearance on the human interest program "That's Incredible!" (ABC, 1978-82) at five.

He became a storied amateur golfer, winning the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship three times and the Junior World Golf Championships six times. After a single year at Stanford University, Woods turned professional. When he was 21, he became the youngest person to win The Masters, the first of his major championships. He quickly became a sought after spokesperson, signing lucrative deals to endorse a variety of products, most notably Nike. Before long, the golfer became a fixture on television commercials, spreading his public recognition well beyond fans of his sport.

At 24, he became the youngest to win golf's career "Grand Slam," adding victories in the British Open, U.S. Open, and PGA Championship to his Masters title. He would later win all four titles consecutively, although not all in the same year. He became the first athlete to be named Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year" more than once and in 2009, the Associate Press named him the "Athlete of the Decade."

After winning more than 50 PGA tour events and 12 majors, Woods began to have physical issues. A knee injury put his career on hold in 2008. Just as he was returning to form in 2009, Woods found himself caught in a tabloid scandal after reports of his marital infidelities came to light. He took a break from golf, and ultimately became divorced from his then wife, model Elin Nordegren. An elbow injury cost him part of the 2013 season, and in 2014 he began experiencing back pain that would affect the rest of his career.

Multiple back surgeries caused Woods to miss long-stretches for the next several years. He returned to a fuller golf schedule in 2018, when he also won his 80th PGA tour event. Woods capped his comeback by partnering with longtime rival Phil Mickelson for a heavily publicized made-for-TV one-on-one match in November 2018.