Born Eldrick T. Woods on December 30, 1975 in Cypress, California, golf phenom Tiger Woods has had a simply spectacular career. His father, Earl Woods, began teaching his son the game when he was just one year old. In fact, Tiger's skills were so good at such a young age that it landed him an appearance on the Mike Douglas Show in 1978. Woods' appearance at age two pitted him against legendary comedian Bob Hope in a putting competition. At age three, he shot a nine-hole 48 on one of his hometown courses. When Tiger was five years old, he appeared on television's "That's Incredible" and in Golf Digest magazine. After winning six junior championships between the ages of eight and 15, Tiger became the youngest American junior amateur champion in history, a feat he would repeat. the following year, also making him the only player to win more than once. He even won it a third time in a row the following year. At age 16, he competed in the Nissan Los Angeles Open, his first PGA Tour event. At age 18, Woods won the U.S. Amateur Championship, the youngest person to accomplish this feat. Then he enrolled at Stanford University and, at age 19, successfully defended his amateur championship title, the second of three consecutive titles. In August 1996, Tiger turned professional and was immediately approached by Nike and Titleist to sign sponsorship deals worth a total of $60 million. On the golf course, he almost won his first million from his play in just eight events. Subsequently, he was named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine. In 1997, at age 21, Tiger became the youngest winner of the Masters tournament, his first major victory, setting the record for the largest margin of victory ever at the event (an incredible 12 strokes). He also led the tour in revenue with a record $2.06 million; and in his 42nd week as a professional, Woods had claimed the top spot in the world golf rankings. 1998 would prove to be a bit of a crisis for Tiger. While focusing more on improving his swing than winning, due to his changing body he won only one event and dropped to fourth overall. This was actually a good thing, because early in his career there was criticism and speculation about the possibility that Tiger was so good that he would ultimately be bad for the game..