1. Tiger Woods
There have been few off-center hits for Tiger Woods ever since he flushed a
drive as a 2-year-old on the Mike Douglas Show. Woods has been the center of
attention at nearly every event he has played, and he has relished golf’s
biggest stages—the bigger the occasion, the brighter he has shone. Now, nearly
every time he tees it up, it seems he is on the verge of a milestone or record.
Few athletes have been as synonymous with a sport as Woods has been with
golf—Babe Ruth and baseball, Muhammad Ali and boxing, Wayne Gretzky and hockey,
Michael Jordan and basketball. For most around the world, Woods is golf, and
vice versa.
Even if Woods retired tomorrow, he would go down as golf’s
all-time best. In just over a decade, he has taken a sport in which parity had
become the norm and established previously unthinkable standards for greatness.
Along the way, Woods has re-introduced long-dormant terms like Grand Slam and
Byron Nelson’s winning streak into golf’s everyday patois.
And the best
part for those of us lucky enough to be witnesses: He is not finished.
Born: December 30, 1975
Major victories: 13 (through 2007)
PGA Tour
victories: 64 (through 2008 CA Championship)
Other achievements: 3
consecutive U.S. Juniors, 3 consecutive U.S. Amateurs, 10 international
wins, 5 Ryder Cup teams
1. Tiger
Woods
2. Mickey
Wright
3. Billy
Casper
4. Phil
Mickelson
5. Juli
Inkster
6. Johnny
Miller
7. Gene
Littler
8. Amy
Alcott
9. Mark
O'Meara
10. Lawson
Little
