The Tiger Woods Scandal – The Rise, Fall and Rise of a Legendary Golfer

As iconic sporting figures go, there are few more revered than golf’s Tiger Woods. After all, the 15-time major winner has had an incredible influence on the sport since his stunning performance at the Masters in 1997, when he shot a staggering 270 and finished 12 shots clear of the field on his debut at Augusta.

Notwithstanding a current Achilles tendon injury, Woods continues to play on the PGA Tour, and you can wager on him across a number of the best betting sites in the US. However, the infamous ‘Tiger Woods scandal’ proved highly detrimental to his golfing career, costing him millions of pounds and potentially a number of additional major titles. But what exactly happened and how has the fallout impacted Tiger’s once infallible legacy?

• Before Tiger Woods Affairs – An Incredible Golfing Career
• Tiger Woods Cheating and Infidelity – How a Career-Shaping Scandal Unfolded
• How Woods’ Action Cost Him and His Sponsors Millions
• Tiger’s Return – How he Rebuilt his Career and Won the 2019 Masters
• The Last Word – What is Tiger Woods Legacy as His Career Draws to a Close?

Before Tiger Woods Affairs – An Incredible Golfing Career

Before instances of infidelity and Tiger Woods cheating, the Californian-born athlete was simply considered one of the best golfers at all-time. He first gained attention during an incredible (albeit brief) college and amateur career, which ultimately saw him turn professional in August 1996 at the tender age of just 20.

Incredibly, Woods immediately signed lucrative sponsorship agreements with Nike, Inc. and Titleist, which were among the most valuable deals in golf history at the time. He was also crowned Sports Illustrated’s Sports person of the Year in 1996, before being awarded Rookie of the Year on the PGA Tour during the same year. Incredibly he’d already racked up three PGA Tour wins by the beginning of April 1997.

He subsequently made his debut at the US Masters in Augusta, winning the tournament by shooting a record score of 270 and finishing –18 under par. Although both records were superseded by Dustin Johnson in 2020, Woods remains the youngster player to win at The Masters (aged 21) and was the first non-white player to do so.

Woods subsequently enjoyed two periods of dominanceas a PGA Tour player: winning eight majors through June 2002 and a further six between July 2005 and June 2008. He was also the world’s top-ranked golfer between August 1999 and September 2004 and June 2005 to October 2010, spending a total of 545 weeks at number one in the process. During these spells, he also competed in 15 majors and managed to win five of these.

The year 2000 was perhaps the best for Woods. During a breathtaking 12 month spell, he won three of the four available majors and six successive PGA Tour tournaments ( this was the longest winning sequence since Ben Hogan in 1948). This sequence included an historic performance at the U.S. Open, where he triumphed by a 15-stroke margin in challenging conditions and limited visibility. Once the dust had settled on the calendar year, Woods has won nine out of the 20 tour events he had entered and posted the lowest shot-scoring average of all-time.

Tiger Woods Cheating and Infidelity – How a Career-Shaping Scandal Unfolded

After winning his 14th major at the 108th US Open in June 2008, Woods appeared to be at the peak of his powers. This was a particularly impressive victory too, with Woods having entered the tournament in in San Diego short of match practice and struggling with an injured left knee. However, he managed to beat the field on virtually one leg, before undergoing surgery and missing the rest of the campaign.

Incredibly, this was to be Woods’ last major win for more than a decade. After initially enjoying a stellar comeback in 2009 (including a noteworthy performance in the coveted Presidents Cup), Woods was besieged by inconsistent form, and subsequently failed to claim a major title for the first time since 2004. The reasons for this soon became apparent, as the Tiger Woods scandal broke in November 2009 and news of various infidelities came to light.

The National Enquirer was the first to publish details of Tiger Woods cheating, claiming that he had an affair with an NYC nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel. Woods was then involved in a car crash near his residence barely 48 hours later, after which he received treatment for cuts, bruises and minor facial lacerations. This lead to a media frenzy, as outlets continued to speculate about the precise cause of the collision and the golfer’s mental state.

After further investigation by US Weekly (which uncovered another potential mistress and voicemails that had been left by Woods on her phone), the golfer went public and admitted several transgressions. Despite apologising and requesting privacy for him and his family, further Tiger Woods affairs came to light as in excess of 12 women came forward to share their stories.

Woods immediately announced that he was taking an indefinite break from golf, as he sought to concentrate on his marriage and seek out counselling. In fact, he undertook a 45-day counselling initiative towards the end of December 2009, later claiming that he had developed an entitled mindset and that his success encouraged him to believe he could “get away with anything he wanted to”.

How Woods’ Action Cost Him and His Sponsors Millions

As the Tiger Woods scandal unfolded and more women published their own stories, a number of brands began to reconsider their relationships with Woods. Within weeks, Accenture, Gatorade, General Motors and AT&T and had severed all commercial ties with Woods, while shaving brand Gillette pulled a high-profile advert featuring the golfer.

TAG Heuer, who was one of Woods’ biggest sponsors, removed him from all of their advertising campaigns in the December of 2009, and failed to renew their agreement when it expired in the summer of 2011. Even Golf Digest took a stand, with the publication suspending Woods’ monthly column indefinitely from February 2010 onwards.

Coupled with the player’s decision to take a hiatus from golf, the cessation of several sponsorship agreements and endorsements cost Woods a significant amount of money. Cumulatively, it was estimated that Tiger Woods affairs had also cost various shareholders as much as $12 billion across all sponsors, including the small number of brands that stuck by him.

These included Nike and Electronic Arts (EA), the latter of which was in the midst of developing the console game ‘Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online’ when the news broke. Nike also boasted a highly lucrative and layered commercial arrangement with Woods, which may have simply been too costly and complex to end prematurely. Nike ultimately sponsored Woods for 27 years before the two ended their lucrative partnership in 2024.

Tiger’s Return – How he Rebuilt his Career and Won the 2019 Masters

The truth about Tiger Woods is that he returned to competitive action on March 16th, 2010, as he finished in a tie for fourth during the US Masters. However, he struggled for form and fluency upon his return, while an inconsistent and injury-hit 2011 saw his ranking begin to tumble despite another strong showing at Augusta.

This pattern continued over the next few years, as Woods punctuated poor performances and recurring injuries with occasional flashes of brilliance. 2013 saw him dominate the early rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open and ultimately prevail by four strokes, as he recorded his 75th career win on the PGA Tour. He followed this up with victory in the WGC-Cadillac Championship two months later.

Having suffered with leg and knee injuries earlier in his career, Woods began to suffer with painful and debilitating back complaints from 2014 onwards. Since the beginning of this particular year, he has only won seven PGA Tour titles, while also undergoing a number of surgeries and enduring several extended absences from the tour.

In April 2017, Woods underwent his fourth back surgery in just three years, and missed the rest of the campaign. While many believed his playing career to be over at the highest level, he returned competitively at the Hero World Challenge at the beginning of 2018, finishing ninth as his world ranking soared from 1,199th to 668th.

In March, he finished in the top five of the Valspar Championship in Florida, achieving his highest finish on the tour since 2013 in the process. He then tied for sixth at the Open Championship in 2018, before finishing second in that year’s PGA Championship. He was only two shots behind winner Brooks Koepka too, as his ranked soared to an impressive 26th.

After sealing his 80th win on the PGA Tour at the end of the year, he stunned the world once again by winning the US Masters in April 2019. This was his first major title triumph in 11 years and 15th overall, as he became the second-oldest golfer to win the tournament at the age of 43.

The Last Word – What is Tiger Woods Legacy as His Career Draws to a Close?

Wood’s 2019 Masters win bought his professional career full circle, having won his maiden major title in Augusta 22 years previously. This was also his fifth Masters title, with only Jack Nicklaus (six) winning more. He also claimed four PGA Championships, three U.S. Opens and three Open Championships during a stellar career.

Woods has also held or shared several records during his career on the PGA Tour. In addition to setting a new benchmark for the number of successive weeks ranked as world number one, Woods also lifted the PGA’s ‘Player of the Year’ award on 11 occasions. He also led the money list in 10 different seasons.

Tiger is also one of just five players to achieve the coveted career Grand Slam, while he was the youngest player to do this at just 24 years old in 2000. Along with Nicklaus, Woods is also one of only two golfers to claim a career Grand Slam three times, a feat he accomplished in the summer of 2008.

These records highlight Woods’ unique brilliance as a player, while his ability to both dominate major titles and win against the odds is unparalleled. His seismic impact on the sport was enormous too, especially commercially and as inspiration to younger players. His powerful driving game changed the nature of golf at the time too, while promoting a culture of improved physical prowess and fitness.

While many people ask the question “Tiger Woods what happened?”, his personal issues and instances of infidelity should not distract from his career achievements and the impact that he had on the sport of golf. Hopefully, they won’t damage his legacy too much either, as he deserves to be ranked as one of the very best and most influential golfers of all-time.