Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Tiger Woods said he wasn’t allowed into some of the club houses.
The legend of Tiger Woods seems destined to end in triumph, when he one day overcomes Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Major victories. But when the glorious history is finally written of how the son of Earl and Tida Woods conquered the golfing world, it will take a detour along a suburban street in Cypress, a suburb of Los Angeles in southern California. It will tell the story of how racism and bigotry cast a shadow on the life of the teenager who was destined to become the greatest player the game has ever seen.
“If you don’t go out there and put in the work, if you don’t go out there and put in the effort, one – you’re not going to get the results, and two, you don’t deserve them.
“That defined my upbringing, that defined my career.”
As Tiger Woods is inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, we look back at how racism and bigotry cast a shadow over the teenage life of the world’s most famous golfer.
This story is taken from the October 2007 issue of Golf World magazine but, after Tiger Woods’ speech as he entered the World Golf Hall of Fame, we believe this story is more relevant now than ever.
Tiger Woods, pictured with his family, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Woods recalled the thrill he felt the first time he began playing on the soft greens of a country club and how it was spoilt by the fact that he was denied access to the clubhouse because of the colour of his skin.
Woods subsequently became the first player of black and Asian heritage to win a major at the 1997 Masters when he was 21.
As Woods spoke of the sacrifices his mother and father made when he was 14 so he could join the AJ Tour, he became choked up.
“They instilled in me this work ethic to fight for what I believe in, to chase after my dreams, (to understand that) nothing is going to be given to you (and that) everything has to be earned,” he said.
