Tiger Woods, the 15-time major winner who inspired a generation of players with his otherworldly talent, charisma and staggering success, took his place among the golf greats on Wednesday March 9, 2022 as he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame by his 14-year-old daughter, Sam Woods. World Golf Hall of Fame, a ceremony that was put on hold for two years due to Covid-19 pandemic, attracted the crème del crème and dinner tickets were sold for $5,000 a plate while offers in the secondary market peaked at five figures.

Sam Woods presented her dad as a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame at the PGA Tour’s sparkling new headquarters.

She said “Dad, I inducted you into the Dad Hall of Fame a long time ago, but today, I am so proud to present my dad, Tiger Woods, into the World Golf Hall of Fame.”

Sam went on to tell an amazing story about the day she was born, the same day of the final round of the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont, where Angel Cabrera won.

“In 2007, my dad got himself in position to make an 18-foot putt to force a U.S. Open playoff, which he missed by a foot. He then had to rush to the airport, flew from Pittsburgh to Orlando and drove to the Winnie Palmer Hospital. Within five minutes of walking into the hospital room, still wearing his red golf shirt, on June 18th, I was born. He may have lost that day, but he won the greatest gift of all.”

Tiger Woods, who used to sear burn marks into his competitors en route to his record 82 career wins, including 15 major championships, became weak-kneed at the sight of his daughter authoring that marvelously poignant moment.

Woods, 46, got emotional as he recounted the time his parents took out a second mortgage on their house – one that he would later pay off – so that he, at the age of 14, could compete on the American Junior Golf Association circuit.

Tears came when Tiger Woods he talked about his parents taking out a second mortgage to fund his golf when he was 14 and the fact he was able to pay that off when he signed his first sponsorship deals and won his first prize money.

He said he would not have become the player he did “without the sacrifices of mom and dad, who instilled in me this work ethic to fight for what I believe in, to chase after my dreams”.

“I didn’t get here alone. I had unbelievable parents, mentors and friends who supported me in the darkest of times and celebrated the highest of times. It’s actually a team award. All of you allowed me to get here and I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, “said emotional 46-year-old Tiger Woods.

His own golfing career started in humble fashion. He recounted tales of searching for golf balls to be able to practice, and of putting for quarters and dollars, which he said, with a smile, that his late father Earl frowned upon.

Woods encountered racism when going to junior tournaments

After a successful junior, college and amateur golf career, Woods turned professional in 1996 and won in only his fifth PGA Tour start, redefining a game that had never been dominated by a Black golfer, and raised the bar on golfers’ athleticism.

“Playing at some of these golf courses, I was not allowed in the clubhouses where all the other juniors were. The color of my skin dictated that and as I got older that drove me even more,” said Woods.

“What drove me was the passion to play the game of golf. I was never going to be denied to play. I love it,” he added.

Tiger Woods has won 93 worldwide events, including a record-tying 82 on the PGA Tour, and his 15 major championships trails only the 18 won by Jack Nicklaus. He is the only modern pro to win all four major golf titles in succession, taking the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship in 2000 and the Masters in 2001, a feat that became known as the Tiger Slam.

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom following his 2019 Masters victory which came after years of surgeries and personal problems that convinced many the best golfer of his generation was finished.

It is unclear whether Woods will return to the game. He moved slowly on the stage, suddenly looking all of his years and clearly still feeling the effects of the crash in February 2021, but his importance to the game is still huge.

Tiger Woods recently won the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Programme, and with it $8m (£6m), for generating more media interest than any other golfer in 2021 – even though he played just one exhibition tournament in 2021. His last official PGA Tour event was the 2020 Masters but last November a social media post of him hitting golf balls under the title “making progress” attracted 7.8 million views on Twitter.

In a glittering career Woods has won 15 majors – second only to Jack Nicklaus’ 18 – and a joint record 82 times on the PGA Tour with Sam Snead.

And in a recorded video message, Nicklaus paid tribute by saying “I first saw him when was about 13. I watched this skinny kid hit a few balls and I was told he would be good. I said we would see about that. We have now seen.”

His list of playing achievements is lengthy, including spending a record 683 weeks as world number one, but he is also recognized for his work with his TGR Foundation, set up in 1996 to improve the health, education and welfare of children.

In 1997 he became the first black player to win a major with his 12-shot victory at the Masters and between 1999-2002 he won a remarkable seven out of 11, including a run of four across two years, dubbed the ‘Tiger Slam’.

His “darkest times” included the breakdown of his marriage to ElinNordegren after he admitted in December 2009 to having had numerous affairs. He also had several operations on knee and back injuries, returning to end a five-year drought by winning the 2018 Tour Championship.

Sensationally, he then won his first major in 11 years, collecting his fifth Green Jacket at the 2019 Masters. He hugged Sam and his son Charlie after that victory at Augusta National, just as he had done with his parents 22 years earlier.

“This is why you deserve this, because you’re a fighter,” Sam had said in her earlier speech. She called his car crash one of his “ultimate lows” and one of the scariest moments of their family’s life.

More reporting on www.washingtonpost.com, www.bleacherreport.com, www.reuters.com and www.pga.com.PhotoCredit: GettyImages