Throwback Thursday: Tiger announces himself to the world
The Background
At eight years old, Eldrick Tont Woods tallied a score of 80 for the first time, and by the time he was in his teens he had broken 70. Something special was on the horizon.
In 1991, Woods became the US Junior Amateur Champion at 15. He would go on to win the next two consecutively.
Then, on February 27, 1992, the boy we now knew as Tiger made his PGA Tour debut at the Nissan Los Angeles Open. He was 16 years old.
Ahead of his professional debut, Tiger would go on to state: “I guess, hello world, huh?”
Hello, indeed.
The Scene
Surrounded by the glitz and the glamour of his new found fame, Woods stood proudly on the first tee and crashed his opening PGA Tour drive straight down the middle which led to a birdie in true Tiger fashion.
Although he went on to miss the cut by six shots following a 72 and 75, Woods certainly made the impression he had hoped.
“I’ve never felt a golf club that heavy in my life,” Woods recalled recently. “I teed it up fine, but as I took the club back, I’ve never felt a club weigh so much.”
The Legacy
Well, 79 PGA Tour wins, 40 European Tour victories, 14 major titles and a 10-time PGA Player of the Year would indicate that Tiger’s legacy within the game is already signed, sealed and delivered as one of the greatest ever.
Woods remains the youngest player to win the Masters and also holds the record of being the youngest ever golfer to complete the career Grand Slam.
There is absolutely no doubt that day – February 27, 1992 – changed the game forever.
Even then the watching world couldn’t have predicted just how much a scrawny 16-year-old from Cypress, California would go on to completely transform the game as we know it.
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Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
