Every sport has its collection of most influential performers of all time. Football has Tom Brady, soccer has Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo, and golf has Tiger Woods. 

For starters, Woods was the first African-American player to win golf’s premier championship, The Masters Tournament at Augusta National. Augusta National Golf Club is an organization and tournament with an infamous exclusionist history, only allowing its first African-American member in 1990. With Woods’ win in 1997, the club’s doors were forced open to golfers of every race in a never-before seen fashion. The same year, Woods’ electric performance encouraged new viewers to the game, and the Sunday broadcast of The Masters broke viewing records in golf, with over 40 million people tuning into CBS to view the spectacle. 

In addition to the most dominant run in golf, Woods also has inspired young generations of golfers to ensure the longevity of their bodies in order to play the game for as long as possible. Woods has suffered many injuries throughout his career, but he once again emerged triumphant in his win in the 2019 Masters. Woods also revolutionized the game of golf by introducing a level of physical fitness into the game that the players traditionally never considered. John Daly, although a terrific player in his own right, is not what most people think of when they think of a world class athlete. On the other hand, Bryson DeChambeau is a certified beefcake who has credited Woods on more than one occasion for his dedication to working on his physique for the betterment of his performance.

Andrew Buckley CCPA 3335 Blog #2