On-course & off-course career earnings of Tiger Woods 1996-2016
Tiger Woods’ golf career - additional information
Eldrick (Tiger) Woods, born in California in 1975, is not only one of the most successful professional golf players of all time, but also one of most accomplished athletes worldwide. Throughout his career he has broken a number of records, but he is also credited for having changed the way the sport was both played and perceived by the public. He was consistently named “the youngest” to win a certain title, including the youngest Masters champion ever (at 21) and in a sport dominated by white players, he was the first major championship winner of African or Asian descent. Overall he has won 106 tournaments, out of which four were Masters titles and 79 were on the PGA TOUR.
His father first introduced him to golf before the age of two and he made several television appearances as a prodigy player throughout his childhood. Before turning professional at age 20 in August 1996, Woods had an impressive amateur career, which included titles such as Golf Digest Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992, Golf World Player of the Year in 1992 and 1993, Golfweek National Amateur of the Year in 1992 and Golf World Man of the Year in 1994, as well as records such as winning six United States Golf Association national championships and the National Collegiate Athletic Association title. He was also the youngest player ever to win the U.S. Junior Amateur at 15 and the youngest ever to win the U.S. Amateur at 18.
As a result of his many wins, Woods has earned hundreds of millions on the course, but has also made very lucrative endorsement deals with major companies off the course, from Gillette to Buick or Gatorade. He most notably started a deal with Nike in 1996, which was famously renewed in 2000 for a reported 105 million U.S. dollars for a period of six years. This contract was renewed again in 2006 and 2013 for undisclosed sums, which contributed to his status as the richest golf player and one of the best paid athletes in the world.