Tiger Woods celebrates his 41st birthday today. A polarizing figure, Woods has unquestionably enjoyed one of the greatest careers in golf history, but the revelation of his infidelity and injury woes have dimmed his star until just recently when he returned this year to much fanfare.
Here’s a look back at Woods’ ups and downs in photos:
(Photo Credit: Mark Humphrey/AP)
An ascendant talent at a young age, Woods only spent two years at Stanford before turning pro.
(Photo Credit: Lennox McLendon/AP)
On Oct. 6, 1996 Woods won his first PGA title in Las Vegas, the first of what would become 79 — second on the all-time list.
(Photo Credit: Dave Martin/AP)
In April 1997 Woods won the Masters at the ripe age of 21, the his first of 14 major championships.
(Photo Credit: Alastair Grant/AP)
At the 2000 British Open, Woods completed the career slam, becoming just the fifth man to accomplish the feat in the Masters era.
(Photo Credit: David J. Phillip/AP)
On May 3, 2006 Earl Woods, Tiger’s father, died at the age of 74 after a long battle with prostate cancer. The greatest singular influence on Tiger’s life, Earl’s death hit the superstar hard and forced him to take a nine-week hiatus.
(Photo Credit: Chris O’Meara/AP)
In 2008, Woods won the U.S. Open. Little did we know that in the aftermath his entire life would turn upside down and he’d go on a Major Championship drought that would stretch on to this very day.
(Photo Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)
Woods looked to be living the perfect family life with his wife Elin Nordegren and his children Sam Alexis and Charlie Axel in early 2009. Then November rolled around…
(Photo Credit: Florida Highway Patrol/AP)
A bizarre car accident in late November of 2009 revealed an ugly infidelity scandal that resulted in Woods getting divorced from his wife and a loss of many sponsors.
(Photo Credit: David J. Phillip/AP)
In the years following the fallout of his extramarital scandal, Woods went through a time of much turbulence that saw him miss struggle to make cuts, miss lots of time with injuries and even find a new girlfriend in skiing star Lindsey Vonn. The relationship between Woods and Vonn has since ended, but it ended on mutual and amicable terms.
(Photo Credit: David J. Phillip/AP)
The year 2016 has been a trying one for Woods as he announced he’d have to miss the Masters and take a hiatus from golf for a while waiting for his back to heal. It ended on a positive note, however, as on Dec. 1 he made his return at the Hero World Challenge. It was a promising sign that the Tiger will once again be on the prowl in earnest in 2017.