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Miami, Thursday

American top legendary Golfer of all times Tiger Woods tearfully recalled fighting racism as a youth and the support of his parents in an emotional induction ceremony to the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Woods was hailed for a unrivaled career that has seen him capture 15 major titles, second to Jack Nicklaus with 18 and won 82 US PGA Tour titles same as Sam Snead for the all-time record.

He thanked instructors, caddies, friends and family, many of them who were in attendance, for the support that helped him turn childhood dreams into a historic sport career.

“I didn’t get here alone,” Woods said. “I had unbelievable parents, mentors and friends who supported me in my darkest times and celebrated the highest of times with me.”

“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,” an emotional Woods noted. The 46-year-old legend was among four enshrined in a ceremony at US PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, joined by former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, the late pioneer golf course developer Marion Hollins and four-time women’s major winner Susie Maxwell Berning.

Woods was emotional before he began reflecting on his life, opening his remarks by saying that he had just lost a bet to PGA veteran Steve Stricker which made him feel like to cry.

Lost golf balls

He recalled having to search for lost golf balls to practice with when he was a child and how his late father Earl inspired him by telling him to stop putting for quarters so he came home a week later with a pocket full of dollars.

“One of the things that drove me was his passion to play the game of golf,” he said of his dad.

Woods was stung by racism when he was denied access to clubhouses and he had to changed shoes in the parking lot.

“I was not allowed into the clubhouses.The color of my skin dictated that. As I got older, that drove me even more,” he noted

The top rated golfer added that he had to be twice as good to get half a chance. He would practice so hard and it would hurt him much, but because he wanted to make sure he was ready to come at game time, he persevered. While his father taught golf, his Thai mother Kultida infused him with toughness that would serve him well in the decades of competition to come.

Woods said that he would not have become a legend without the sacrifices of his mom and dad, who instilled in him this work ethic to fight for what he believe in and to chase after his dreams.

“Nothing is ever going to be given to you. Everything is going to be earned. If you don’t go out and put in the work, the effort, one, you are not going to get the results and two, and more important, you don’t deserve it. You didn’t earn it,” Woods said.

He broke down recalling his parents taking out a second mortgage on their home so that he could play junior events, crying as he recalled getting sponsor deals and prize money and thats how he was able to pay off the mortgage.

Woods was a three-time US Amateur champion who turned professional in 1996 at age 20. In 1997, he won the Masters by 12 strokes in an epic performance to become the first Black golfer to win a major title. Two months later, he became world number one for the first time.

Woods dominated golf for the next decade, including a run of four consecutive major titles starting at the 2000 US Open and concluding with the 2001 Masters.

In total, Woods has won the Masters five times, the PGA Championship four times and the US Open and British Open three times each.

                          -AFP