Before they turned pro: Tiger Woods
4/14/2019 | by Sam Dostaler of AmateurGolf.com
A look back at the amateur career of arguably the greatest player of all-time Tiger Woods
Of course we know all about what Tiger Woods has done as a professional, 81 PGA Tour wins and now 15 Major Championships. It has been well documented and you are reminded about it every time you watch Woods compete. However, what can be lost sometimes is the success Woods had as an amateur.
Most golf nuts know that he won three consecutive U.S. Amateur's from 1994-1996 but the success, as you can imagine with Tiger Woods, goes deeper than that. However, before we move onto those triumphs let's talk briefly about the U.S. Amateur.
The first victory in 1994 came at TPC Sawgrass over Trip Kuehne as Woods overcame a six-hole deficit in the match, his second win was over Buddy Marucci at Newport Country Club and he picked up his third straight title in a 38 hole thriller against Steve Scott at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
In the 1996 title tilt, Woods once again showed his patented flair for the dramatics, coming back from 2 down with three holes to play. His win in 1996 capped his U.S. Amateur career with 18 straight match play victories.
Woods, with his three U.S. Amateur wins is third all-time on the events win list behind the great Bobby Jones (5) and Jerome Travers (4).
Believe it or not, Woods began his success in USGA events (a success that would carry over to his professional career) three years before his first U.S. Amateur title. In 1991, Woods won the U.S. Junior Amateur for the first of his three consecutive championships. As a result, when you combine the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur titles, Woods won USGA events in a remarkable six straights years.
TIGER WOODS' AMATEUR VICTORIES| YEAR | WIN(S) | |
| 1984 | 10-and- under Junior World Golf Championships Boys | |
| 1985 | 10-and- under Junior World Golf Championships Boys | |
| 1988 | Boy's 11-12 Junior World Golf Championships | |
| 1989 | Boy's 13-14 Junior World Golf Championships | |
| 1990 | Boy's 13-14 Junior World Golf Championships, Insurance Youth Golf Classic | |
| 1991 | U.S. Junior Amateur, Boys 15–17 Junior World Golf Championships, Orange Bowl International Junior | |
| 1992 | U.S. Junior Amateur, Insurance Youth Golf Classic | |
| 1993 | U.S. Junior Amateur | |
| 1994 | U.S. Amateur, Western Amateur, Pacific Northwest Amateur | |
| 1995 | U.S. Amateur, College All-America Golf Classic | |
| 1996 | U.S. Amateur | |
| Stanford (1994-1996) | William Tucker Invitational, Jerry Pate Invitational, Stanford Invitational, John Burns Invitational, Southwestern Intercollegiate, Tri-Match, The Brawl, Cougar Classic, PAC-10 Championship, NCAA West Regional, NCAA Championship |
Following his junior career Woods enrolled in Stanford and to nobodies surprise the wins kept piling up. Woods won his first tournament as a freshman in the fall of 1994, the William H. Tucker Invitational. The Stanford prodigy would go onto win a Stanford record eleven-times and his victories included the 1996 NCAA Division I Championship, NCAA West Regional and Pac-10 Championship.
During his time at Stanford, Woods was a two- time All-American, a two-time Pac-10 first teamer and Player of the Year while he was also named the 1996 Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year.
Throughout his amateur years, Woods played in 16 professional events, making the cut seven times. His first appearance was at the 1992 Nissan Los Angeles Open and his final was the 1996 British Open Championship where won the Silver Medal and finished tied for 22nd.
Of the 16 events, six were majors -- the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open twice each-- and Woods made the cut on four occasions.
Tiger Woods made his professional debut on August 29, 2016 at the Greater Milwaukee Open.
About 'Before they turned pro'The goal of the 'When They Were an Amateur' is to take a look at back at the amateur career's of some of the past and present stars of professional golf.
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