Tiger Woods was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on March 9 at the PGA Tour headquarters in Florida.
The oldest of Tiger Woods’ two children, Sam, introduced her father.
“About a year ago, you were stuck in a hospital bed at one of your ultimate lows and one of the scariest moments of your life and ours,” the 14-year-old said, referring to Woods’ single-car accident in February 2021 that nearly took his life.
Tiger Woods has not played in a PGA tournament since the accident.
“We didn’t know if you’d come home with two legs or not,” Sam continued. “Now, not only are you about to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but you’re standing here on your own two feet. This is why you deserve this. Because you’re a fighter.”
After the introduction, Woods, 46, began a 17-minute speech and was immediately emotional.
“Thank you. Crap, I just lost a bet to [golfer Steve] Stricker that I wouldn’t cry. Thank you, Sam,” Woods said.
Tiger Woods then spoke about the sacrifices his parents made, who had to take out a second mortgage so that Woods could pursue his dream.
“Without the sacrifices of mom who took me to all those junior golf tournaments, and dad, who’s not here, but who instilled in me this work ethic to fight for what I believe in, chase after my dreams, nothing’s ever going to be given to you; everything’s going to be earned,” he said. “So that defined my upbringing. That defined my career.”
He touched on the racism he faced as a young golfer.
“One of the things that dad had instilled in me is that he grew up in an era, same era as Charlie Sifford [the first Black golfer to play on the PGA Tour] and why my son is named after Charlie, is that you had to be twice as good to be given half a chance,” he said.
Tiger Woods said he was not allowed in clubhouses where all other juniors were.
“The color of my skin dictated that,” Woods said. “As I got older, that drove me even more.”
“So, as I was denied access into the clubhouses, that’s fine. Put my shoes on here in the parking lot. I asked two questions only, that was it: where was the first tee and what was the course record,” Woods continued.
Video tributes from sporting legends; Serena Williams, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Brady, Michael Phelps, and Jerry Rice, praising Woods for his greatness and influence were played.
Woods broke multiple golfing records during his career, firmly establishing himself as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, golfer of all time.
He won 15 majors, second only to Jack Nicklaus’ 18. He also had a record-tying 82 wins on the PGA Tour. According to the PGA Tour Stats Report, Tiger Woods accomplished this feat in 359 career starts, giving him a record-high win percentage of 22.8%.
Tiger Woods also holds the records for most consecutive cuts made with 142, and for most weeks as the No.1 player in the official golf world rankings at 683 weeks or 13 years. Tiger Woods was also the PGA Tour Player of the Year, a record 11 times.
Woods became one of the most famous athletes in all sports, to the immense benefit of all golfers. Prizes for winning PGA tournaments began to rise, and TV ratings surged as Woods’ golf career peaked.
Also inducted was Tim Finchem, former PGA Tour commissioner, trailblazer Marion Hollins, inducted posthumously, and Susie Maxwell Berning, 3-time U.S. Women’s Open champion.
Maxwell Berning, 80, directly addressed Tiger Woods during her induction speech.
“Tiger, I know it’s hard for you to believe, but as young as I am, I won all my tournaments before you were born,” she said to laughter. “And by the way, Tiger, of my three U.S. Opens, the total winnings (were) $16,000. I was wondering if you’d like to swap checks. Perhaps, if not all, we could do one, right?”