Woods’ life in recent years has been like a roller coaster: a high-profile divorce, spinal surgery, depression and winning the majors. And now, a scary car accident.

The first billionaire athlete was involved in a serious car accident in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Rescuers had to pull Tiger out with hydraulic shears. He was alone in the vehicle.

Woods was hospitalized after the accident. According to the athlete’s agent, Mark Steinberg, he was diagnosed with serious leg injuries. Woods, 45, will undergo emergency surgery.

Pill mix.

This isn’t the first traffic accident involving a great golfer. In 2017, the star’s scratched-up car was pulled over by police officers. When Woods was asked to step out of the car, he was found to be in an unstable state. Tests revealed a mix of pills in the player’s system, most of which were antidepressants. Immediately after the public accusations and bail, Tiger went to rehab.

It’s worth noting that during those years (2014-2017), Woods experienced serious health problems. He underwent four major spinal surgeries. To survive the pain, he constantly took strong painkillers and antidepressants. In the end this resulted in severe depression, which ended in a traffic accident near Miami.

Cheating and a $100 million divorce

By then, Woods had fallen out of the world’s top 1,000. At the same time, his lawyers were dealing with his divorce proceedings with Hélène Nordegren, with whom Woods had two children. The ex-wife revealed that the golfer regularly cheated on her with mistresses around the world. Woods admitted the allegations, paid Hélène $100 million, and lost custody of the children.

Against this backdrop, it seemed that the king of golf, whose name was known around the world, would never return to the big game. But Tiger did the nearly impossible. After a year of forced rehab, he managed to restart his career. In August, he was second at the Majors, and in September 2018, he won a major on the PGA Tour in Atlanta.

It was the American’s first success in more than five years. Gradually, Tiger reclaimed his position in the rankings and won one of the four majors of the season in Augusta in April 2019. Before that, he won the most prestigious tournaments in his sport back in 2005 (he has a total of 15 slams, more than only Jack Nicklaus – 18). Tiger was back in the top 15, and sponsors wanted to work with Woods again. Life seemed to be getting better.

HBO will explain why Woods needed 121 mistresses

This year, HBO launched a two-part documentary about Woods, which many sports fans enjoyed even more than “The Last Dance” (the Michael Jordan mini-series). The picture is aimed at a wide audience, tells about the difficult path of a golfer to the top, his difficult relationship with his father, sex addiction, the test of big money, numerous groupies.

In all, the creators took 250 exclusive interviews, but Woods himself and his ex-wife Helen refused to participate in the project. The film criticized and agent player Mark Steinberg, calling the HBO movie an attempt to desecrate the name of one of the greatest athletes in the world. Woods himself refrained from commenting.

On Tuesday, Tiger was involved in a serious car accident. We want to believe that the legend will get out of this story and still please his fans with a bright game.

It is worth noting that besides Woods, only three athletes have made $1 billion during their careers. According to Forbes, they are Michael Jordan, Floyd Mayweather and Cristiano Ronaldo. Roger Federer is very close to that figure.

The post The great golfer was in a terrible accident appeared first on Dyke.

In the ‘noughties, every housewife knew Woods’ name. His successes were known not only to those who can’t tell a birdie from a par and a bunker from a green, but even to those who have little idea what golf clubs look like, how many there are, and how they differ.

These are all details for professionals, or at least amateurs of the sport’s most aristocratic (according to adherents). But Woods was so much in everyday life that it was hard not to notice him. He looked at us from the covers of magazines, glossy and not so glossy, smiled from the TV screen during commercials, his victories were covered in sports news where golf was not too welcome, he produced his own clothes and a named video game. And he also regularly topped the list of richest athletes – his earnings passed a billion dollars. Ten years later, Woods has been forgotten for a while.

SLEEPING BEAUTY.

Eldrick Tont Wood, the athlete’s full name, came to everyone’s attention in late May. Then the press reported that the 14-time major winner was arrested for drunken driving and spent the night in the police station. The hot facts were immediately scattered over the pages of newspapers and websites, where they were savored by fans of sensationalism.

Like the old anecdote about Rabinovich winning a million dollars at the lottery, not all of the information turned out to be true. Details emerged a little later, and were not as scandalous. As it turned out, about three o’clock in the morning, highway patrol in Palm Beach, Florida, noticed a Mercedes standing with its engine running right on the road. Inside, officers found Woods asleep, whose behavior seemed strange – he was lethargic and unable to speak clearly. Naturally, with such symptoms the athlete was immediately taken to the proper place.

Woods himself denied that he was drunk, and for good reason – there was no alcohol in his blood. But the 41-year-old golfer had to confess to other sins. As it turned out, he took medications, prescribed by a doctor, including painkillers and sleeping pills. And he overdid it and fell asleep at the wheel. After that, he had to start a rehabilitation program. Among other things, the charge of driving under the influence of medication was reduced to just dangerous driving, which implies much less severe sanctions. This story is not over yet.

BEST OF THE BEST

Those who think Woods is solely a media character are wrong. Nor are those who are convinced that Tiger only became popular because of political correctness, a nice story about breaking stereotypes — in short, “because he’s black.” The son of a Vietnam War veteran and a girl from Southeast Asia is indeed a very talented golfer, maybe even a genius. You can’t win 14 majors and a handful of other titles on media appeal alone, Anna Kournikova can attest. Woods, who has been holding the stick since he was two years old, has had an incredible career, starting as a kid, continuing through college and amateur levels.

After turning pro at 18, he was ranked number one in the world in less than a year and set a record for being number one on the planet from August 1999 to September 2004 and from June 2005 to October 2010. Picked Pro Player of the Year 11 times. Became the youngest ever grand slam golfer, second only to Jack Nicklaus in the number of majors won. Even now, with his major successes far behind him, he is among the world’s highest-paid athletes – Woods earned $37 million in 2016.

So why then has the legendary player become a household name in recent years? John McEnroe, known for his sharp tongue, commenting on Novak Djokovic’s recent career slumps, quipped: “The first thing that comes to mind is Tiger Woods.” How so?

The post Is the Woods era over? appeared first on Dyke.

Each summer, one of the finest golf clubs in the United States hosts some of the world’s strongest golf professionals as they compete for the Wanamaker Trophy.

Launched in 1916, the PGA Championship soon became one of the biggest events in the sports world. The tournament has hosted 71 golf courses in 25 American states. Since 1994, the PGA Championship has attracted the largest number of players in the top 100 in the world and has consistently boasted the strongest lineup in the world. The 2002 PGA Championship, for example, held at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota, set the all-time record for the most highly ranked participants with 98 of the Top 100 golfers.

The idea for the PGA Championship was born in the mind of store owner Rodman Wanamaker, who felt that an association of professional golfers could have limitless marketing opportunities. Wanamaker invited several prominent players and other influential members of the golf industry to a luncheon held at the Taplow Club in New York City on January 17, 1916. The meeting of a group of 35, including the legendary Walter Hagen, resulted in the founding of the American Professional Golf Association, The PGA of America.

During the meeting, Wanamaker hinted that the formed organization should have its own traditional professional tournament and offered to invest $2,500 and various trophies and medals into a future prize fund. He felt the tournament should follow the same pattern as the British News of the World Tournament – played in Great Britain from 1903 to 1979 as a match play tournament, while the British Open and U.S. Open (still one of the four most prestigious tournaments) played 72 holes to decide the winner, or Stroke Play as they are today at most professional tournaments.

Wanamaker’s proposal, however, was accepted and seven months later the first ever PGA Championship was held at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York. British-born Jim Barnes and Jock Hutchinson of famed Scottish St. Andrews met in the final round. The former won 1-0.

In 1958, the format of the competition was changed – now golfers determine the strongest in the stroke play, or the game on the score of strokes. The organizers of the PGA Championship were, as it often happens, forced by the interests of television – to attract a larger audience it was advantageous to have more groups of well-known golfers and contenders on the field at the climax of the competition.

Until the 1960s, the tournament was usually held in July, the week after the British Open Championship, making it nearly impossible for athletes to participate in both majors. In 1965, the PGA moved its name to August, and since 1969 it has had its permanent place on the calendar – in the middle of the last summer month, four weeks after the Open Championship. The only exception was 1971 – then it was held in Florida in February and for the first and last time in its history, it was not the final, but the opening major of the season.

The PGA Championship is played mostly in the eastern United States – only ten times in its history has the tournament moved west. The 2011 season welcomes the world’s best golfers to the redesigned Highlands course at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia, 23 miles north of Atlanta.

The post Fourth major of the season appeared first on Dyke.

Fifty years after (no, not Yuri Gagarin went into space) South African Gary Player became the first overseas player to win at Augusta National Golf Club, his 26-year-old compatriot Charles Schwartzer won his first major there. The 26-year-old posted a final score of 14-under par, two strokes ahead of Australia’s Adam Scott and Jason Day.

The South African started the final round as one of the chasers of the tournament’s undisputed leader, Rory McIlroy. He, along with three other golfers, was four strokes behind the Northern Irishman. But Sunday was definitely Schwartzel’s day. He was also getting plenty of help from his competitors.

The South African made a birdie on the first hole and an igloo on the fourth. His bogey on the fifth didn’t faze him… After pausing for a moment, the 26-year-old from Johannesburg kept par for the next ten holes and carded four birdies in a row on the final four. Schwartzel completed his triumphant performance at the Masters with an 18-foot putt.

“By the 15th hole, I was in a pretty tight spot, and I had to do something,” Schwartzel said. “It was a very exciting day. So much noise! The atmosphere is indescribable. Just phenomenal!”

In general, the leader of the competition changed no less than 15 times during the final round. Woods was the first to cause confusion. The most popular golfer of today, who hasn’t had a tournament win in 17 months, started with birdies on the second and third holes, but bogeyed on the short fourth. Birdie putts on the sixth and seventh and a terrific putt on the eighth, made possible by two amazing strokes into the slide and a neat putt from 10 feet. On the ninth hole, Woods, even after hitting a sand bunker, miraculously saved par and gave himself a chance to break the drought. But that didn’t happen. The American made a bogey on the three-par 12th hole, missing by just a couple of centimeters, but couldn’t make it right on the rest of the field. The American could make the much-needed needle on the 15th hole, but he settled for a birdie and parred the rest. He ended up sharing fourth place with Australia’s Geoff Ojilvy and England’s Luke Donald in fourth place.

By the way, Donald, the triumphant winner of the traditional Par 3 Contest showdown on the Wednesday before the main event, was at one point poised to take a big win. But fatal for him was the 12th hole where he, who sent the ball into the water, was recorded a double bogey. Argentinian Angel Cabrera and South Korean Kei Jae Choi, the 2009 Masters champion, also shared an interim lead, and soon all eyes were on Scott, Schwartzel and Day.

Scott took the lead after a birdie on the 14th hole and a superb tee shot on the 16th brought him closer to becoming the first champion from Australia, but while his compatriot and final round partner Day performed a birdie on the final two holes, Scott himself was unable to surpass par there. In the end, one of the Green Continent’s representatives carded a 67 in the final round, the other a 68, and that wasn’t enough to knock off the trailing Schwartzel.

Rory McIlroy is unlikely to want to remember this Sunday. The 21-year-old gripped the lead after the first round and consolidated his lead to four strokes at the end of the third. But the final day of competition was a nightmare for the star from Northern Ireland. Only one birdie to four bogeys plus two double bogeys on the 10th and 12th holes! In the end, it took Rory 80 strokes to make it past the par-72 course, his worst score of the day.

McIlroy finished only 15th in the final scorecard. And The Masters title went not to Northern Ireland, but to South Africa. Now representatives of the African, not a small European country, own half of the majors – the winner of the Open Championship, recall, since the summer of 2010 is Louis Osthuizen. And by the way, taking into account the fact that last year the US Open was won by Northern Irishman Graham McDowell and the US PGA – by German Martin Kaymer, we can state that the Americans now do not own titles of any of the majors. For the first time since 1994.

The post “Master” Schwartzel appeared first on Dyke.

The Masters (or The U.S. Masters, as it is sometimes called outside of the United States) is one of the four largest tournaments in professional golf, collectively known as the majors.

The Masters, which is traditionally held during the first full week of April, is the first of the majors each year. What sets The Masters apart from other tournaments of this kind, which are always in the same place – Augusta National Golf Club in the southern Georgia city of Augusta, a city of almost 200,000 people.

FORMAT

The Masters is also special because it has a very small participation compared to other majors – only 90 people. It’s by invitation only and the process is strictly controlled by the board of Augusta National Golf Club.

In recent years, however, the concept of “invitation” has become very relative. The Masters is automatically open to the top fifty world rankings, all previous years’ tournament winners and the champions of the last three majors (U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship) from the past five seasons. Players who were in the Top-16 at the previous Masters, who were in the Top-8 at last year’s U.S. Open and in the Top-4 of last year’s Open and PGA Championship, as well as the winners of three U.S. amateur tournaments, including the U.S. Amateur, the British and Asian amateur champions and other eligible golfers, are eligible to play at the Masters.

In the first two rounds, held Thursday and Friday, golfers play in groups of three. To advance to the third and fourth rounds, you must qualify for the qualifying rounds, which means you must finish in the top 44 in the first two days of competition or not lose by more than 10 strokes to the leader.

THE POLE

The idea for Augusta National Golf Club came from Bobby Jones, who, after retiring from playing, wanted to build his own golf course. The site he chose was what he called “perfect.” “I think this land has been waiting for years for someone to come and build a golf course here!” – exclaimed Jones, upon his arrival in Augusta.

The course was designed by the founder of Augusta National along with architect Elister Mackenzie. Construction work began in 1931, and the field officially opened in 1933.

Since then it has been rebuilt many times and with the participation of various architects. In particular, the greens were changed and then completely rebuilt, new tee areas were added, several hundred trees were planted, a number of mounds were installed, bunkers were added and water obstacles were made more difficult.

Now Augusta National Golf Club, with its perfect 7,435-yard, par-72 course, is called the spiritual home of American golf.

The names of its 18 holes come from the plants that can be found on them.

The post In the Green Jacket Society appeared first on Dyke.

Alvaro Quiroz hit a home run in the fourth round to win the tournament in Dubai which attracted all the world’s top golfers. The Spaniard was one stroke ahead of Denmark’s Anders Hansen and South Africa’s James Kingston in the final scorecard.

Before the final day of competition, Quiroz shared a provisional fourth place with six other golfers, including Tiger Woods, with a -7. Quiros began his final round with a tee shot on the second hole and two birdies on the third and fifth, but grabbed a triple bogey on the seventh as his ball got stuck in a tree. Could victory be forgotten? No, it wasn’t! The decisive moment for the Spaniard came on the 161-yard 11th hole, which is where he registered the ice – he overcame the par-3 hole with a single stroke. “It was a perfect shot,” the golfer said at the end of the event. – It happens once a year.”

But even after his hole-in-one, Quiros was still losing to Hansen, who entered the final round as one of the leaders. The Spaniard birdied the 16th hole and par-bogeyed the rest two holes to pull ahead of the Norwegian who was struggling to recover from an upset bogey on the 15th hole. To add, both Kingston and Hansen had a chance to advance to the playoffs, but the former missed from 30 feet and the latter erred from 40.

Quiros, 28, won his fifth European Tour title and first of the 2011 season. What’s more, with this victory, the 28-year-old Spaniard topped the Race to Dubai, the official European Tour standings. He moved up in the world rankings from 37th to 21st, the highest ranking of his career.

“I’m very proud of myself,” the 28-year-old golfer said. – I think I was able to handle difficult situations well. I have to admit that the ice on the 11th hole was probably the most exciting moment of my career. It’s like the last piece of birthday cake. It gave me a chance to win the tournament.”

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who had led for the first three days of the tournament, made five bogeys on Sunday with three birdies, posted a +2 and ended up just tenth.

Tiger Woods was just two strokes behind the leader with seven holes to go, but he sent his ball into the lake on the 18th, got a double bogey and ended up being one of those to share 20th place. The great American hasn’t known a tournament win in 15 months.

World ranking leader Lee Westwood could also have hoped for a high score, but after conceding a pair of three strokes on the last two holes (his ball got stuck in a tree on the 17th just like Quiros and went into the lake on the 18th just like Woods), the Englishman slipped to 15th place.

Martin Kaymer performed even worse. The 26-year-old German, who had a chance to top the world rankings if he had placed first or second in Dubai, ended up finishing only 31st.

The post Alvaro Quiroz beat Woods and company in Dubai appeared first on Dyke.