Tiger Woods made an indelible impact on today’s players

Tiger Woods, who will be enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame on Wednesday, changed the lives of an entire generation who grew up wanting to be him

For Scottie Scheffler, it was the “in your life” chip shot at the 2005 Masters. Collin Morikawa’s first image came at TPC Sawgrass in 2001, when a putt on the iconic island green was “better than most.” Justin Thomas remembers a famous duel in his native Kentucky in 2000. Rory McIlroy can go back even further, to the U.S. Amateur triumphs.

Regardless of who’s telling the story, they can all recall the first time they saw him. The first time they witnessed the most powerful force the game has ever seen, the most dominant player ever to stride down a fairway, the player who, each in their individual way, changed their lives and made them want to do what the man in red and black was doing on their televisions.

Tiger Woods isn’t at the Players Championship this week, still recovering from the injuries sustained in his car accident more than a year ago. But his impact on the players, some of them barely old enough to remember his first victories, is still permeating around TPC Sawgrass. On Wednesday night, a day before the “fifth major” begins, Woods will take his place in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Woods’ election was first announced in March 2020, the pandemic forcing the postponement of the ceremony by nearly two years. He’ll be introduced by his daughter Sam. Many of his peers will make the short trip from Ponte Vedra Beach to St. Augustine to witness the occasion. Their presence will be a tribute not only to the game’s greatest player but a man who influenced all of them and made their dreams possible. Just listen to how they describe the impact he’s made on them.

“What he’s done for the game…is just monumental. I don’t think I could even come close to putting it into words. He’s been a massive impact and influence on me,” said Thomas.

“He’s an inspiration for all of us just the way he plays golf. It’s pretty ridiculous,” said World No. 5 Scheffler, who was just two months old when Woods turned pro. “I mean, it’s really hard to put into words what he’s done for us out here. He’s totally changed our lives.”

An entire generation has grown up and come onto the tour knowing nothing but a time when Woods dominated. Morikawa was born two months before Woods won the Masters for the first time and, as a kid growing up in Southern California, like Woods, grew up just wanting to meet him. Viktor Hovland, who can become the top-ranked player with a win this week, wasn’t even born yet when Woods first reached No. 1.

“He’s everything, right. I grew up watching him. I wanted to compete against him. You wanted to be No. 1 in the world. I just wanted to meet him,” Morikawa said. “I think that’s every little kid’s [dream], even now kids that grow up playing golf, you just want to meet Tiger Woods.”

Tiger Woods’ influence forever changed the sport

The sport that Woods came into bears little resemblance to the one they are benefitting from. It’s a more prosperous sport: the winner this week at the Players will earn $3.6 million, more than double what the PGA’s leading money winner earned for the entire season in Woods’ first year on tour. It’s a sport where power now reigns. In 1997, just Woods and John Daly averaged more than 290 yards off the tee. This year, 173 players hit their drives at that distance. The emphasis Woods put on lifting weights and getting stronger was a novelty 20 years ago; now it’s the norm.

Woods made them richer, stronger, and more motivated to chase the standard he set, even if they can never reach it. There have been several “next Tiger Woods” phenoms, young players with unrealistic expectations put on them right away. But they can never be Woods.

McIlroy was one of those singled out for stardom and has won 9.7 percent of his career PGA Tour starts. World No. 1 Jon Rahm has won just over five percent. Woods’ win rate is 22 percent, including a stretch lasting more than a decade from 1999 to 2009 when he won more than a third of the tournaments he played in.

Woods went seven straight years and 142 consecutive tournaments without missing a cut. If Thomas, the active leader at 14, plays 20 tournaments a year, he’ll have to make the cut in each of them until the 2028 season to pass him. Woods is tied with Sam Snead at 82 for most PGA Tour victories. McIlroy, soon to be 33 years old and with 20 wins, would need to average more than four wins a season until he’s 48 to catch Woods. Thomas would need around three wins a year for the next 20 years.

He was their idol, their inspiration, the very reason why they first picked up a golf club and started spending countless hours at a practice range just to be like him. He’s also grown into a close friend and mentor to players like Thomas. It was seen in the teary eyes and choked-up throats when they first heard of his accident. How the team, especially Thomas, seemed to have extra motivation when Woods was the Presidents Cup captain; they all wanted to win it for him.

Woods will be enshrined among golf’s legendary names on Wednesday night. But for the players who will be in attendance, witnessing their idol who they first watched on television as kids take his place in the Hall of Fame, he was already immortalized long ago.