Tiger: A Biography of Tiger Woods - Hardcover

Strege, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0553062190 ISBN 13: 9780553062199

Publisher: Broadway, 1997

Synopsis

From a writer with unparalleled access to Tiger Woods and his family, the only book that provides the "story behind the story" of Tiger's life and world.

How does a kid from Orange County, California, grow up to be the "Michael Jordan of golf"?  Was it sitting in his highchair as a baby, watching his father hit shot after shot with a 5-iron, mesmerized by the motion of the swing?  Or was it the hours and hours Tiger would spend on the driving range, incredibly focused on hitting the ball just the right distance, even as a small child?

Record-breaking 21-year-old prodigy Tiger Woods has moved beyond the fairway to take the world by storm.  In Tiger, John Strege, golf writer and friend of Tiger Woods and his parents, takes us behind the scenes of this incredible life--from the time Tiger picked up a golf club at age nine months, to his
first hole-in-one at age six, to his unprecedented domination of junior, amateur, and now high-stakes professional golf.

Packed with personal anecdotes from the Woods family as well as stories of what it's like to play a course with Tiger from golf greats such as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Tiger provides a riveting, shot-by-shot account of Tiger's life up through his remarkable first three victories as a new professional athlete.  It details his unshakable relationship with his parents that has been the foundation of his career, the racial issues that have flanked his ascent through the ranks of amateur golf, and the string of almost mythical successes that have carried him all the way to Niketown.

But Tiger also discloses the more human side of Woods, who, despite his masterful game and famous swing, partied with his classmates at Stanford fraternities, stayed up late studying for his economics exams, and would be content to eat every meal at McDonald's.

A role model for young and old alike, Tiger Woods and his story will capture the minds of devoted golf fans and sports enthusiasts everywhere, as well as the hearts of those who can't tell a birdie from an eagle.  Strege's book, complete with photos of the prodigy in action, provides a truly inspirational look inside the mind of one of America's greatest sports heroes.

About this title

Review

Appearing within months of golfing sensation Tiger Woods's record-shattering win at the Masters, this appreciative portrait benefits from the author's friendship with the Woods family. (California-based sports journalist John Strege has been covering the 21-year-old golfer since he was 14.) Tiger comes across as genuinely nice and capable of being just one of the guys, despite the astonishing abilities already evident when he first swung a cut-down golf club as a 9-month-old toddler. Strege's snappy prose captures the excitement Woods has brought to a sport most Americans used to consider dull.

From the Publisher

What the world is saying about Tiger Woods:

"Certain players, you look at them once and you see something. The first time I saw Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer or Ben Hogan or Sam Snead I saw something special. As soon as I saw Tiger Woods swing, I thought, man, this young guy has got it. 'It' is something indescribable." --Gary Player

"His blissfully sweet swing, mature countenance, and sheer, outrageous ability confirm the arrival, finally, of golf's first black superstar."
--Newsweek

"It is conceivable that in terms of overall impact on the sport--when you figure in media, the dollars on the table for him, his ability to be a role model--that if he succeeds he might be the most important player ever."
--PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem

About this edition

• Publisher: Broadway
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0553062190
• ISBN 13: 9780553062199
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256