Tiger Woods Wins U.S. Golf Amateur Championship

On August 27, 1995, the ninety-fifth U.S. Golf Amateur Championship is won by Tiger Woods.

Woods turned professional in 1996, and by April 1997 he had already won his first major, the 1997 Masters in a record-breaking performance.

He first reached the number one position in the world rankings in June 1997. Through the 2000s, Woods was the dominant force in golf, spending 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as world number one. From December 2009 to early April 2010, Woods took leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity.

Several different women, through many worldwide media sources, revealed his multiple infidelities. This was followed by a loss of form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of No. 58 in November 2011.

He snapped a career-long winless streak of 107 weeks when he captured the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011. As of August 26, 2013, Woods, is still ranked the No. 1 golfer in the world.

Woods has broken numerous golf records. He has been world number one for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks of any other golfer. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record ten times, the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in nine different seasons.

He has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any player (Jack Nicklaus leads with 18), and 79 PGA Tour events, second all time behind Sam Snead.

He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour, he currently has 106 wins.

Additionally, Woods is only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 17 World Golf Championships, and won at least one of those events in each of the first 11 years after they began in 1999.

In 1996 Woods was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. 11 times Woods has been named the PGA Player of the Year including five straight selections from 1999-2003. He was the PGA Tour Player of the Year 11 times, including five straight selections from 1999-2003.

Woods has led the PGA Tour in money winning 10 times including four straight years from 1999-2002. He won the Vardon Trophy nine times, including five consecutive years from 1999-2003. He has won the Byron Nelson Award nine times, including five consecutive years from 1999-2003.

Woods has also won the FedEx Cup twice in 2007 and 2009.

Check out the video below that features some highlights of Woods during his 1995 U.S. Amateur Golf Championship win:

Y.E. Yang Beats Tiger Woods For PGA Championship

On August 16, 2009, Y.E. Yang beats Tiger Woods out for the PGA Championship.

In one of the most stunning upsets in all of golf, Y.E. Yang -- the 110th ranked player in the world -- defeats Tiger Woods, ranked No. 1, to win the PGA Championship. The 37 year-old Yang was paired with Woods in the final round and began the day two strokes behind, but he made up ground thanks to several gutsy shots down the stretch. Woods struggled with the putter all day and finished with a three-over 75. The highlight of the final round came on the 14th hole, when Yang chipped in a 15-footer from the fringe that give him a one-stroke lead.

Going into the final hole, Woods was still trailing by a single stroke. Yang left nothing to chance and placed the ball squarely on the green, while Tiger's sailed into the rough. Woods missed his chip shot that could have tied it if Yang missed, but it didn't matter. Yang sunk his birdie shot anyway, giving him an unprecedented victory.

It was the first time that an Asian-born player won a major tournament. Yang had only started playing golf when he was 19 and had to wait to get out of the South Korean military to play it professionally. He had only just begun playing inside the United States and had won just a single event prior to the PGA Championship. Yang, whose initials stood for Yong-eun, received a congratulatory phone call from Lee Myung-bak, the president of South Korea, who was watching it live in the wee hours of the morning.

But the bigger story was with the man Yang defeated. Tiger Woods, who had been leading the tournament since day one, rarely lost on the final day when he was in the mix and had never lost when he was leading a major after three rounds (14 for 14). He had won 47 of 50 tournaments when he had a share of the 54-hole lead, including his last 36. He was Tiger Woods, the undisputed best, clutchest, most dominant golfer in history. And although he was having -- by his standards -- a rough season in his first year back from knee surgery, he had only solidified his status as the best golfer in the world by winning back-to-back golf tournaments two weeks before.

"I made absolutely nothing," said Woods, who spent much of the final round cursing himself under his breath. "I had a terrible day on the greens... I hit the ball great off the tee, hit my irons well. I did everything I needed to do except get the ball in the hole."

Jack Nicklaus Wins British Open

On July 9, 1995, golfer Jack Nicklaus wins Golf's British Open. Nicklaus becomes just the fourth golfer to win all four majors.

Nicklaus nicknamed "The Golden Bear", was an American professional golfer. He is widely regarded as the most accomplished professional golfer of all time, winning a total of 18 career major championships, while producing 19 second place and nine third place finishes in them, over a span of 25 years.

Nicklaus focused on the major championships (Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship), and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events, yet still finished with 73 victories, third on the all-time list.

After winning two U.S. Amateurs in 1959 and 1961, and challenging for the 1960 U.S. Open, Nicklaus turned professional toward the end of 1961. The 1962 U.S. Open was both Nicklaus' first major championship victory and his first professional win. This win over Arnold Palmer in 1962 began the on-course rivalry between the two.

In 1966, Nicklaus won the Masters Tournament for the second year in a row, becoming the first golfer to achieve this, and also won The Open Championship, completing his career slam of major championships.

At age 26, he became the youngest to do so at the time, since over taken by Tiger Woods.

In 1968 and 1969, Nicklaus did not win a major tournament. He then won another Open Championship in 1970.

Between 1971 and 1980, he would win nine major championships, overtaking Bobby Jones' record of 13 majors, and becoming the first player to complete double and triple career slams of golf's four professional major championships.

At the age of 46, Nicklaus claimed his eighteenth and final major championship at the 1986 Masters Tournament, becoming that championship's oldest winner.

Nicklaus joined the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour) in January 1990, when he became eligible, and by April 1996 had won 10 of the tour's tournaments, including eight of that tour's major championships, despite playing a very limited schedule.

He continued to play at least some of the four regular Tour majors until 2005, when he made his final appearances at The Open Championship and the Masters Tournament.

At the time of his retirement Nicklaus had 73 PGA Tour wins, 10 Senior Tour wins with 115 career wins between the PGA and Champions Tour. He had 18 Major Championship Wins including six Masters titles, including back-to-back titles in 1965-1966. He also won four U.S. Open titles, three British Open Titles and five PGA Championships.

Over the course of his career Nicklaus led the PGA Tour in money winning eight times, including three consecutive years from 1971-1973. He was the PGA Player of the Year five times, including back-to-back awards in 1972-1973 and 1975-1976.

In 1974 Nicklaus was named to the World Gold Hall of Fame. In 1975 he was awarded the Bob Jones award, which is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. 

 In 2000 he was awarded the Payne Stewart award by the PGA Tour in honor of World Golf Hall of Famer Payne Stewart. It is given to a player who shows respect for the traditions of the game, commitment to uphold the game's heritage of charitable support and professional and meticulous presentation of himself and the sport through his dress and conduct. 

In 2008 he was awarded the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the PGA Tour over an extended period of time through their actions on and off the golf course. As of 2013 10 members have been given the Lifetime Achievement Award, including former president George H. W. Bush.

Since his retirement Nicklaus has also taken part in various off-course activities, including golf course design, charity work and book writing. Nicklaus helped design courses such as Harbour Town Golf Links, and his golf course design company is one of the largest in the world. 

Nicklaus also runs his own tournament on the PGA Tour, the Memorial Tournament. Nicklaus' books vary from instructional to autobiographical, with his Golf My Way considered one of the best instructional golf books of all time; the video of the same name is the best selling golf instructional to date.

Tiger Woods Wins Western Open

On July 7, 1997, golfer Tiger Woods wins golf's Western Open.

Formerly the World No. 1, he has been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world for several years according to Forbes.

Woods turned professional in 1996, and by April 1997 he had already won his first major, the 1997 Masters in a record-breaking performance.

He first reached the number one position in the world rankings in June 1997. Through the 2000s, Woods was the dominant force in golf, spending 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as world number one. From December 2009 to early April 2010, Woods took leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity.

Several different women, through many worldwide media sources, revealed his multiple infidelities. This was followed by a loss of form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of No. 58 in November 2011.

He snapped a career-long winless streak of 107 weeks when he captured the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011. As of March 25, 2013, he is ranked No. 1, after winning the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Woods has broken numerous golf records. He has been world number one for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks of any other golfer. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record 10 times, the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record nine times. He won the Byron Nelson Award nine times, including five consecutive years from 1999-2003. He also has the record of leading the money list in 10 different seasons. Woods has led the PGA Tour in money winning nine times including four straight years from 1999-2002. He won the Vardon Trophy nine times, including five consecutive years from 1999-2003.

He has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any player (Jack Nicklaus leads with 18), and 79 PGA Tour events, second all time behind Sam Snead.

He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour, he currently has 106 wins.

Additionally, Woods is only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 18 World Golf Championships, and won at least one of those events in each of the first 11 years after they began in 1999.

  

In 1996 Woods was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. 11 times Woods has been named the PGA Player of the Year including five straight selections from 1999-2003. He was the PGA Tour Player of the Year 11 times, including five straight selections from 1999-2003.

Woods has also won the FedEx Cup twice in 2007 and 2009.