Here are 10 things you did not know about golf icon Tiger Woods

Widely regarded as one of the most successful golfers and famous athletes of all time, Tiger Woods is an American professional golfer holding multiple golfing records to his name.Here, are some of the lesser known interesting facts about the 5-time masters’ winner that you did not know-

1. His real name isn’t Tiger

We all know the famous golfer by his nickname ‘Tiger’, however his real name is Eldrick Tont Woods.His father was a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army whose life was saved by a Vietnamese soldier and his friend.He got his name when his father named him in the honor of the fellow soldier.

2. He went to Stanford University

Even though Woods witnessed success in the sport from an early age with shooting a 48 over nine holes at the Cypress Navy course at the age of 3, he always took his academic education also very seriously.He studied at Stanford University and majored in Economics.However, he returned after 2 years to pursue golf professionally.

3.He has both African American and Thai roots

Woods was born in 1975 to Earl and Kultida Woods.His mother is a mix of Chinese,Dutch and Thai ancestry.In fact, Woods’ middle name ‘Tont’ is a traditional Thai name and his first name, Eldrick, was chosen by his mother because it began with “E” (for Earl) and ended with “K” (for Kultida)

4. Met with an unfortunate car accident
In February of this year, the 15 time Masters sustained several leg injuries when he was unable to negotiate a curve while he was driving at more than double speed.His Genesis SUV crashed outside Los Angeles County causing him to suffer from multiple open leg fractures and injuries to his foot and ankle.After being discharged from the hospital, he is expected to go an entire year without playing.

5. He was raised Buddhist

Woods was raised by a Buddhist mother. Having seen many successes along with trials and tribulations in his life from an early age, he claims that his faith helps keep him centered, “Buddhism teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint.”

6. Rocky personal life

Woods was involved in another car accident outside his home in Florida in late 2009.The strange circumstances of the one-car accident led to a great deal of media scrutiny and interrogation into his personal life.His solid citizen and phenomenal athlete image was jeopardized when it was discovered that he had a series of extramarital affairs.He then took an indefinite leave and returned to the sport in April next year divorcing his former spouse Elin No rdegren in August.

7. Wears red for good luck

Some can call Woods superstitious as he always wears red color on the final day of the tournament for good luck, with him remarking once, “I’ve worn red ever since my college days basically, or junior golf days – big events on the last day,I just stuck with it out of superstition, and it worked. I just happened to choose a school that actually was red, and we wore red on our final day of events. So it worked out.”

8. Youngest winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship

Woods has always been a naturally gifted player and a prodigy.90’s were his era of success- in 1991, he became the youngest winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship along with capturing the title in 1992 and 1993.In 1997, he won his first major and became the youngest ever winner. Not only that, 2 months later, he set the record for the fastest ever to be No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

9. Richest golfer

Apart from being one of the most successful golf players of all time winning a total of 110 professional tournaments worldwide, Woods is also the richest.In 2020, his net worth was estimated to be around $900 million.The 15-time Major winner has earned $1.5bn from endorsements alone since turning professional in 1996 according to Forbes.

10. Huge expensive yacht

Tiger’s yacht is more huge than your house or mine costing a whopping $20 million.The 150 foot ship named Privacy, is a 3 story yacht which can host 10 people on board along with having 5 separate bedrooms for guests.It has a bar, a gym, a jaccuzzi and even an elevator!