Fansided

Tiger Woods’ 15 essential moments on the PGA Tour

By Luke Norris

AUGUSTA, GA - 1997: Tiger Woods during the final round of the 1997 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 1997 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/PGA TOUR Archive)
AUGUSTA, GA - 1997: Tiger Woods during the final round of the 1997 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 1997 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/PGA TOUR Archive) /
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28 Aug 1996: Tiger Woods speaks with charisma to an attentive audience during the Greater Milwaukee Open at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course in Glendale, Wisconsin. Mandatory Credit: J.D. Cuban /Allsport
28 Aug 1996: Tiger Woods speaks with charisma to an attentive audience during the Greater Milwaukee Open at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course in Glendale, Wisconsin. Mandatory Credit: J.D. Cuban /Allsport /

Hello, world.

“I guess, hello, world.”

These were the words from a 20-year-old Tiger Woods on August 28, 1996, just one day before he made his professional debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open and just three days after winning the prestigious U.S. Amateur title for the third consecutive time, a thrilling comeback victory over Steve Scott that drew the biggest amateur crowds since Bobby Jones. Prior to turning pro that week, Woods had also won the U.S. Junior Amateur three times, something to this day that nobody else has done, taken low amateur honors at The Masters in 1995, won an individual NCAA championship and had won the silver medal as low amateur at the 1996 Open Championship. So “hello, world” was right on the money.

This was the biggest professional debut in the history of the sport. With his flair for the dramatic and insane talent, Tiger Woods was set to take the professional golf world and it all started right here. Nike had signed him to a lucrative contract, somewhere in the neighborhood of $40 million, but one funny story about this week is that he hadn’t received any of that money yet and had to borrow $100 from swing coach Butch Harmon to pay the entry fee.

What’s easy to forget about guys turning pro is that they’re not guaranteed a spot on the PGA Tour. To earn a full-time spot, Tiger had about two months to climb into the top 125 on the money list, a pretty ambitious goal. Working off the seven sponsors’ exemptions he had been given, Woods teed off at Brown Deer Park that Thursday and began his pro career with a 336-yard drive down the right side of the first fairway. He shot 67-69 to make the cut and would end up tied for 60th that week, good enough to earn his first check for $2,544, which is hilarious to think about now.

However, even with a finish that no doubt disappointed him, Tiger made his mark on the golf world that week — not only with his arrival but with a hole-in-one during the final round, a 6-iron on the 202-yard, par-3 14th.

Tiger Woods had arrived and he was only getting started.

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