Tiger Woods

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. Woods is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time and is one of the most famous athletes in modern history. He is an inductee of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Following an outstanding junior, college, and amateur golf career, Woods turned professional in 1996 at the age of 20. By the end of April 1997, he had won three PGA Tour events in addition to his first major, the 1997 Masters, which he won by 12 strokes in a record-breaking performance. He reached number one in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in June 1997, less than a year after turning pro. Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, Woods was the dominant force in golf. He was the top-ranked golfer in the world from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 consecutive weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 consecutive weeks). During this time, he won 13 of golf's major championships.

The next decade of Woods's career was marked by comebacks from personal problems and injuries. He took a self-imposed hiatus from professional golf from December 2009 to early April 2010 in an attempt to resolve marital issues with his wife at the time, Elin. Woods admitted to multiple marital infidelities, and the couple eventually divorced. He fell to number 58 in the world rankings in November 2011 before ascending again to the number-one ranking between March 2013 and May 2014. However, injuries led him to undergo four back surgeries between 2014 and 2017. Woods competed in only one tournament between August 2015 and January 2018, and he dropped off the list of the world's top 1,000 golfers. On his return to regular competition, Woods made steady progress to the top of the game, winning his first tournament in five years at the Tour Championship in September 2018 and his first major in 11 years at the 2019 Masters.

Woods has held numerous golf records. He has been the number one player in the world for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks of any golfer in history. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times and has won the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times. Woods has the record of leading the money list in ten different seasons. He has won 15 professional major golf championships (trailing only Jack Nicklaus, who leads with 18) and 82 PGA Tour events (tied for first all time with Sam Snead). Woods leads all active golfers in career major wins and career PGA Tour wins. Woods is the fifth (after Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus) player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest to do so. He is also the second golfer out of two (after Nicklaus) to achieve a career Grand Slam three times.

Woods has won 18 World Golf Championships. He was also part of the American winning team for the 1999 Ryder Cup. In May 2019, Woods was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Trump, the fourth golfer to receive the honor.

On February 23, 2021, Woods was hospitalized in serious but stable condition after a single-car collision and underwent emergency surgery to repair compound fractures sustained in his right leg in addition to a shattered ankle. In an interview with Golf Digest in November 2021, Woods indicated that his full-time career as a professional golfer was over, although he would continue to play "a few events per year". For the first time since the car crash, he returned to the PGA Tour at the 2022 Masters.

## Background and family

Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, to Earl and Kultida "Tida" Woods. He is their only child, though he has two half-brothers and a half-sister from his father's first marriage. Earl was a retired U.S. Army officer and Vietnam War veteran; he was born to African-American parents and was also said to have had European, Native American, and possibly Chinese ancestry. Kultida (née Punsawad) is originally from Thailand, where Earl met her when he was on a tour of duty there in 1968. She is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. In 2002, ESPN claimed: "For the record, he is one-quarter Thai, one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter Caucasian, one-eighth African American and one-eighth Native American." Tiger has described his ethnic make-up as "Cablinasian (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).

Woods's first name, Eldrick, was chosen by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend, South Vietnamese Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger. Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods, who played for the Wake Forest University golf team and turned professional in 2012 when she made her pro debut in the LPGA Championship.

## Early life and amateur golf career

Woods grew up in Orange County, California. He was a child prodigy who was introduced to golf before the age of two by his athletic father Earl Woods. Earl was a single-digit handicap amateur golfer who also was one of the earliest African-American college baseball players at Kansas State University. Woods told reporters he had wanted to be a baseball player like his father but abandoned that goal after tearing his rotator cuff. His father was a member of the military and had playing privileges at the Navy golf course beside the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, which allowed Tiger to play there. Tiger also played at the par 3 Heartwell golf course in Long Beach, as well as some of the municipals in Long Beach.

In 1978, Woods putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. At age three, he shot a 48 over nine holes at the Navy course. At age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC's That's Incredible! Before turning seven, Woods won the Under Age 10 section of the Drive, Pitch, and Putt competition, held at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress. In 1984 at the age of eight, he won the 9–10 boys' event, the youngest age group available, at the Junior World Golf Championships. He first broke 80 at age eight. He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991. Woods's father Earl wrote that Tiger first defeated him at the age of 11 years, with Earl trying his best. He lost to Woods every time from then on. Woods first broke 70 on a regulation golf course at age 12.

When Woods was 13 years old, he played in the 1989 Big I, which was his first major national junior tournament. In the final round, he was paired with pro John Daly, who was then relatively unknown. The event's format placed a professional with each group of juniors who had qualified. Daly birdied three of the last four holes to beat him by only one stroke. As a young teenager, Woods first met Jack Nicklaus in Los Angeles at the Bel-Air Country Club, when Nicklaus was performing a clinic for the club's members. Woods was part of the show, and he impressed Nicklaus and the crowd with his skills and potential. Earl Woods had researched in detail the career accomplishments of Nicklaus and had set his young son the goals of breaking those records.

Woods was 15 years old and a student at Western High School in Anaheim when he became the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur champion; this was a record that stood until it was broken by Jim Liu in 2010. He was named 1991's Southern California Amateur Player of the Year (for the second consecutive year) and Golf Digest Junior Amateur Player of the Year. In 1992, he defended his title at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, becoming the tournament's first two-time winner. He also competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Nissan Los Angeles Open (he missed the 36-hole cut), and was named Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year, Golf World Player of the Year, and Golfweek National Amateur of the Year.

The following year, Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur; he remains the event's only three-time winner. In 1994, at the TPC at Sawgrass in Florida, he became the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur, a record he held until 2008 when it was broken by Danny Lee. He was a member of the American team at the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships (winning), and the 1995 Walker Cup (losing).

Woods graduated from Western High School at age 18 in 1994 and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" among the graduating class. He starred for the high school's golf team under coach Don Crosby. Woods learned to manage his stuttering as a boy. This was not widely known until he wrote a letter to a boy who contemplated suicide. Woods wrote, "I know what it's like to be different and to sometimes not fit in. I also stuttered as a child and I would talk to my dog and he would sit there and listen until he fell asleep. I also took a class for two years to help me, and I finally learned to stop."

## College golf career

Woods was heavily recruited by college golf powers. He chose Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA champions. He enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship and won his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, that September. He selected a major in economics and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammate Notah Begay III. In 1995, he successfully defended his U.S. Amateur title at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island and was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year (an award that encompasses all sports).

At age 19, Woods participated in his first PGA Tour major, the 1995 Masters, and tied for 41st as the only amateur to make the cut; two years later, he won the tournament by 12 strokes. At age 20 in 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA individual golf championship. In winning the silver medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship, he tied the record for an amateur aggregate score of 281. He left college after two years in order to turn professional in the golf industry. In 1996, Woods moved out of California, stating in 2013 that it was due to the state's high tax rate.

## Professional career

Woods turned professional at age 20 in August 1996 and immediately signed advertising deals with Nike, Inc. and Titleist that ranked as the most lucrative endorsement contracts in golf history at that time. Woods was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. On April 13, 1997, he won his first major, the Masters, in record-breaking fashion and became the tournament's youngest winner at age 21. Two months later, he set the record for the fastest ascent to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. After a lackluster 1998, Woods finished the 1999 season with eight wins, including the PGA Championship, a feat not achieved since Johnny Miller did it in 1974.

Woods was severely myopic; his eyesight had a rating of 11 diopters. In order to correct this problem, he underwent successful laser eye surgery in 1999, and he immediately resumed winning tour events. In 2007, his vision again began to deteriorate, and he underwent laser eye surgery a second time. In 2000, Woods won six consecutive events on the PGA Tour, which was the longest winning streak since Ben Hogan did it in 1948. One of these was the U.S. Open, where he broke or tied nine tournament records in what Sports Illustrated called "the greatest performance in golf history", in which Woods won the tournament by a record 15-stroke margin and earned a check for \$800,000. At age 24, he became the youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam. At the end of 2000, Woods had won nine of the twenty PGA Tour events he entered and had broken the record for lowest scoring average in tour history. He was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, the only athlete to be honored twice, and was ranked by Golf Digest magazine as the twelfth-best golfer of all time.

When Woods won the 2001 Masters, he became the only player to win four consecutive major professional golf titles, although not in the same calendar year. This achievement came to be known as the "Tiger Slam". Following a stellar 2001 and 2002 in which he continued to dominate the tour, Woods's career hit a slump. He did not win a major in 2003 or 2004. In September 2004, Vijay Singh overtook Woods in the Official World Golf Rankings, ending Woods's record streak of 264 weeks at No. 1.

Woods rebounded in 2005, winning six PGA Tour events and reclaiming the top spot in July after swapping it back and forth with Singh over the first half of the year.

Woods began dominantly in 2006, winning his first two PGA tournaments but failing to capture his fifth Masters championship in April. Following the death of his father in May, Woods took some time off from the tour and appeared rusty upon his return at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club, where he missed the cut. However, he quickly returned to form and ended the year by winning six consecutive tour events. At the season's close, Woods had 54 total wins that included 12 majors; he broke the tour records for both total wins and total majors wins over eleven seasons.

Woods continued to excel in 2007 and the first part of 2008. In April 2008, he underwent knee surgery and missed the next two months on the tour. Woods returned for the 2008 U.S. Open, where he struggled the first day but ultimately claimed a dramatic sudden death victory over Rocco Mediate that followed an 18-hole playoff, after which Mediate said, "This guy does things that are just not normal by any stretch of the imagination," and Kenny Perry added, "He beat everybody on one leg." Two days later, Woods announced that he would miss the remainder of the season due to additional knee surgery, and that his knee was more severely damaged than previously revealed, prompting even greater praise for his U.S. Open performance. Woods called it "my greatest ever championship." In Woods's absence, television ratings for the remainder of the season suffered a huge decline from 2007.

Woods had a much anticipated return to golf in 2009, when he performed well. His comeback included a spectacular performance at the 2009 Presidents Cup, but he failed to win a major, the first year since 2004 that he did not do so. After his marital infidelities came to light and received massive media coverage at the end of 2009 (see further details below), Woods announced in December that he would be taking an indefinite break from competitive golf. In February 2010, he delivered a televised apology for his behavior, saying "I was wrong and I was foolish." During this period, several companies ended their endorsement deals with Woods.

Woods returned to competition in April at the 2010 Masters, where he finished tied for fourth place. He followed the Masters with poor showings at the Quail Hollow Championship and the Players Championship, where he withdrew in the fourth round, citing injury. Shortly afterward, Hank Haney, Woods's coach since 2003, resigned the position. In August, Woods hired Sean Foley as Haney's replacement. The rest of the season went badly for Woods, who failed to win a single event for the first time since turning professional, while nevertheless finishing the season ranked No. 2 in the world.

In 2011, Woods's performance continued to suffer; this took its toll on his ranking. After falling to No. 7 in March, he rebounded to No. 5 with a strong showing at the 2011 Masters, where he tied for fourth place. Due to leg injuries incurred at the Masters, he missed several summer stops on the PGA Tour. In July, he fired his longtime caddie Steve Williams (who was shocked by the dismissal), and replaced him on an interim basis with friend Bryon Bell until he hired Joe LaCava. After returning to tournament play in August, Woods continued to falter, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of \#58. He rose to No. 50 in mid-November after a third-place finish at the Emirates Australian Open, and broke his winless streak with a victory at December's Chevron World Challenge.

Woods began his 2012 season with two tournaments (the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am) where he started off well but struggled on the final rounds. Following the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he was knocked out in the second round by missing a 5-foot putt, Woods revised his putting technique and tied for second at The Honda Classic, with the lowest final-round score in his PGA Tour career. After a short time off due to another leg injury, Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his first win on the PGA Tour since the BMW Championship in September 2009. Following several dismal performances, Woods notched his 73rd PGA Tour win at the Memorial Tournament in June, tying Jack Nicklaus in second place for most PGA Tour victories; a month later, Woods surpassed Nicklaus with a win at the AT&T National, to trail only Sam Snead, who accumulated 82 PGA tour wins.

The year 2013 brought a return of Woods's dominating play. In January, he won the Farmers Insurance Open by four shots for his 75th PGA Tour win. It was the seventh time he won the event. In March, he won the WGC-Cadillac Championship, also for the seventh time, giving him his 17th WGC title and first since 2009. Two weeks later, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, winning the event for a record-tying 8th time. The win moved him back to the top of the world rankings. To commemorate that achievement, Nike was quick to launch an ad with the tagline "winning takes care of everything".

During the 2013 Masters, Woods faced disqualification after unwittingly admitting in a post-round interview with ESPN that he took an illegal drop on the par-5 15th hole when his third shot bounced off the pin and into the water. After further review of television footage, Woods was assessed a two-stroke penalty for the drop but was not disqualified. He finished tied for fourth in the event. Woods won The Players Championship in May 2013, his second career win at the event, notching his fourth win of the 2013 season. It was the quickest he got to four wins in any season of his professional career.

Woods had a poor showing at the 2013 U.S. Open as a result of an elbow injury that he sustained at The Players Championship. In finishing at 13-over-par, he recorded his worst score as a professional and finished 12 strokes behind winner Justin Rose. After a prolonged break because of the injury, during which he missed the Greenbrier Classic and his own AT&T National, he returned at the Open Championship at Muirfield. Despite being in contention all week and beginning the final round only two strokes behind Lee Westwood, he struggled with the speed of the greens and could only manage a 3-over-par 74 that left him tied for 6th place, five strokes behind eventual winner Phil Mickelson. Two weeks later, Woods returned to form at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, recording his 5th win of the season and 8th win at the event in its 15-year history. His second-round 61 matched his record score on the PGA Tour and could easily have been a 59 were it not for some short missed birdie putts on the closing holes. This gave him a seven-stroke lead that he held onto for the rest of the tournament. But at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, Woods never was in contention, making 2013 his fifth full season where he did not win a major; he was in contention in only two of the four majors in 2013.

After a slow start to 2014, Woods sustained an injury during the final round of The Honda Classic and was unable to finish the tournament. He withdrew after the 13th hole, citing back pain. He subsequently competed in the WGC-Cadillac Championship but was visibly in pain during much of the last round. He was forced to skip the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the end of March 2014, and after undergoing back surgery, he announced on April 1 that he would miss the Masters for the first time since 1994. Woods returned at the Quicken Loans National in June, however he said that his expectations for the week were low. He struggled with nearly every aspect of his game and missed the cut. He next played at The Open Championship, contested at Hoylake, where Woods had won eight years prior. Woods fired a brilliant 69 in the first round to put himself in contention, but shot 77 on Friday and eventually finished 69th. Despite his back pain, he played at the 2014 PGA Championship where he failed to make the cut. On August 25, 2014, Woods and his swing coach Sean Foley parted ways. In the four years under Foley, he won eight times but no majors. He had previously won eight majors with Harmon and six with Haney. Woods said there was currently no timetable to find a replacement swing coach.

On February 5, 2015, Woods withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open after another back injury. Woods stated on his website that it was unrelated to his previous surgery and he would take a break from golf until his back healed. He returned for the Masters, finishing in a tie for 17th. In the final round, Woods injured his wrist after his club hit a tree root. He later stated that a bone popped out of his wrist, but he adjusted it back into place and finished the round. Woods then missed the cut at the 2015 U.S. Open and Open Championship, the first time Woods missed the cut at consecutive majors, finishing near the bottom of the leaderboard both times. He finished tied for 18th at the Quicken Loans National on August 2. In late August 2015, Woods played quite well at the Wyndham Championship finishing the tournament at 13-under, only four strokes behind the winner, and tied for 10th place. Woods offered only a brief comment on the speculation that he was still recovering from back surgery, saying it was "just my hip" but offering no specifics.

Woods had back surgery on September 16, 2015. In late March 2016, he announced that he would miss the Masters while he recovered from the surgery; he had also missed the 2014 Masters due to a back problem. "I'm absolutely making progress, and I'm really happy with how far I've come," he explained in a statement. "But I still have no timetable to return to competitive golf." However, he did attend the Masters Champions Dinner on April 5, 2016. For the first time in his career, he missed all four majors in one year due to problems with his back. In October 2016, he told Charlie Rose on PBS that he still wanted to break Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major titles. Woods underwent back surgery in December 2016 and spent the next 15 months off the Tour. He made his return to competitive golf in the Hero World Challenge.

Woods's back problems continued to hinder him in 2017. He missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and pulled out of a European Tour event in Dubai on February 3. On March 31, Woods announced on his website that he would not be playing in the 2017 Masters Tournament despite being cleared to play by his doctors. Woods said that although he was happy with his rehabilitation, he did not feel "tournament ready." Woods subsequently told friends, "I'm done". On April 20, Woods announced that he had undergone his fourth back surgery since 2014 to alleviate back and leg pain. Recovery time required up to six months, meaning that Woods would spend the rest of the year without playing any professional golf. Woods returned to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. He shot rounds of 69–68–75–68 and finished tied for 9th place. His world ranking went from 1,199th to 668th, which was the biggest jump in the world rankings in his career.

On March 11, 2018, he finished one-shot back and tied for second at the Valspar Championship in Florida, his first top-five finish on the PGA Tour since 2013. He then tied for sixth with a score of five under par at the 2018 Open Championship. At the last major of the year, the 2018 PGA Championship, Woods finished second, two shots behind the winner Brooks Koepka. It was his best result in a major since 2009 (second at the 2009 PGA Championship) and moved him up to 26th in the world rankings. His final round of 64 was his best-ever final round in a major.

Woods returned to the winner's circle for the 80th time in his PGA Tour career on September 23, 2018, when he won the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club for the second time and that tournament for the third time. He shot rounds of 65–68–65–71 to win by two strokes over Billy Horschel.

On April 14, 2019, Woods won the Masters, which was his first major championship win in eleven years and his 15th major overall. He finished 13 under par to win by one stroke over Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka. At age 43, he became the second oldest golfer ever to win the Masters, after Jack Nicklaus who was 46 when he triumphed in 1986. In August 2019, Woods announced via social media that he underwent knee surgery to repair minor cartilage damage and that he had an arthroscopic procedure during the Tour Championship. In his statement, Woods also confirmed that he was walking and intends on traveling and playing in Japan in October.

Woods played in his first 2020 PGA Tour event at the Zozo Championship in October 2019, which was the first-ever PGA Tour event played in Japan. Woods, who played a highly publicized skins game earlier in the week at the same course as the Championship, held at least a share of the lead after every round of the rain-delayed tournament, giving him a three stroke victory over Hideki Matsuyama. The win was Woods's 82nd on Tour, tying him with Sam Snead for the most victories all time on the PGA Tour.

On December 23, 2020, Woods had microdiscectomy surgery on his back for the fifth time. The operation was to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching his nerve and causing him pain during the PNC Championship.

Woods returned to play in his first professional tournament since his 2021 motor vehicle crash at the 2022 Masters Tournament. He made the cut and finished in 47th place at 13-over par, 23 shots behind the winner Scottie Scheffler.

### Honors

On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver announced that Woods would be inducted into the California Hall of Fame. He was inducted December 5, 2007 at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento. In May 2019, following his 2019 Masters Tournament win, Woods was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump.

In 2000 and 2001, Woods was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, becoming the inaugural recipient of the award. In 2000 he received the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, an award given to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport. Domestically, Woods has also been recognized by U.S. publications. He was named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year a record-tying four times, was named "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press in 2009, and is one of only two people to be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year more than once.

Since his record-breaking win at the 1997 Masters, Woods has been the biggest name in golf and his presence in tournaments has drawn a huge fan following. Some sources have credited him for dramatically increasing prize money in golf, generating interest in new PGA tournament audiences, and for drawing the largest TV ratings in golf history. His recognition as one of the most famous athletes in modern history includes being depicted in a wax sculpture at Madame Tussauds.

### Endorsements

During the first decade of his professional career, Woods was the world's most marketable athlete. Shortly after his 21st birthday in 1996, he signed endorsement deals with numerous companies, including General Motors, Titleist, General Mills, American Express, Accenture, and Nike. In 2000, he signed a 5-year, \$105 million contract extension with Nike, which was the largest endorsement package signed by a professional athlete at that time. Woods's endorsement has been credited with playing a significant role in taking the Nike Golf brand from a "start-up" golf company earlier in the previous decade to becoming the leading golf apparel company in the world and a major player in the equipment and golf ball market. Nike Golf is one of the fastest growing brands in the sport, with an estimated \$600 million in sales. Woods has been described as the "ultimate endorser" for Nike Golf, frequently seen wearing Nike gear during tournaments, and even in advertisements for other products. Woods receives a percentage from the sales of Nike Golf apparel, footwear, golf equipment, golf balls, and has a building named after him at Nike's headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon.

In 2002, Woods was involved in every aspect of the launch of Buick's Rendezvous SUV. A company spokesman stated that Buick was happy with the value of Woods's endorsement, pointing out that more than 130,000 Rendezvous vehicles were sold in 2002 and 2003. "That exceeded our forecasts," he was quoted as saying, "It has to be in recognition of Tiger." In February 2004, Buick renewed Woods's endorsement contract for another five years, in a deal reportedly worth \$40 million.

Woods collaborated closely with TAG Heuer to develop the world's first professional golf watch, which was released in April 2005. The lightweight, titanium-construction watch, designed to be worn while playing the game, incorporates numerous innovative design features to accommodate golf play. It is capable of absorbing up to 5,000 Gs of shock, far in excess of the forces generated by a normal golf swing. In 2006, the TAG Heuer Professional Golf Watch won the prestigious iF product design award in the Leisure/Lifestyle category.

Woods also endorsed the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of video games; he has done so since 1999. In 2006, he signed a six-year contract with Electronic Arts, the series' publisher.

In February 2007, Woods, Roger Federer, and Thierry Henry became ambassadors for the "Gillette Champions" marketing campaign. Gillette did not disclose financial terms, though an expert estimated the deal could total between \$10 million and \$20 million.

In October 2007, Gatorade announced that Woods would have his own brand of sports drink starting in March 2008. "Gatorade Tiger" was his first U.S. deal with a beverage company and his first licensing agreement. Although no figures were officially disclosed, Golfweek magazine reported that it was for five years and could pay him as much as \$100 million. The company decided in early fall 2009 to discontinue the drink due to weak sales.

In October 2012, it was announced that Woods signed an exclusive endorsement deal with Fuse Science, Inc, a sports nutrition firm.

In 1997, Woods and fellow golfer Arnold Palmer initiated a civil case against Bruce Matthews (the owner of Gotta Have It Golf, Inc.) and others in the effort to stop the unauthorized sale of their images and alleged signatures in the memorabilia market. Matthews and associated parties counterclaimed that Woods and his company, ETW Corporation, committed several acts including breach of contract, breach of implied duty of good faith, and violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Palmer also was named in the counter-suit, accused of violating the same licensing agreement in conjunction with his company Arnold Palmer Enterprises.

On March 12, 2014, a Florida jury found in favor of Gotta Have It on its breach of contract and other related claims, rejected ETW's counterclaims, and awarded Gotta Have It \$668,346 in damages. The award may end up exceeding \$1 million once interest has been factored in, though the ruling may be appealed.

In August 2016, Woods announced that he would be seeking a new golf equipment partner after the news of Nike's exit from the equipment industry. It was announced on January 25, 2017 that he would be signing a new club deal with TaylorMade. He added the 2016 M2 driver along with the 2017 M1 fairway woods, with irons to be custom made at a later date. He also added his Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS, a club he used to win 13 of his 15 majors. Also, in late 2016, he would add Monster Energy as his primary bag sponsor, replacing MusclePharm.

### Accumulated wealth

Woods has appeared on Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes. According to Golf Digest, Woods earned \$769,440,709 from 1996 to 2007, and the magazine predicted that Woods would pass a billion dollars in earnings by 2010. In 2009, Forbes confirmed that Woods was indeed the world's first professional athlete to earn over a billion dollars in his career, after accounting for the \$10 million bonus Woods received for the FedEx Cup title. The same year, Forbes estimated his net worth to be \$600 million, making him the second richest person of color in the United States, behind only Oprah Winfrey. In 2015, Woods ranked ninth in Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes, being the top among Asian Americans or the fourth among African Americans. As of 2017, Woods was considered to be the highest-paid golfer in the world. In 2022, Woods was the first golfer to have a net worth over one billion dollars.

### Tiger-proofing

Early in Woods's career, a small number of golf industry analysts expressed concern about his impact on the competitiveness of the game and the public appeal of professional golf. Sportswriter Bill Lyon of Knight Ridder asked in a column, "Isn't Tiger Woods actually bad for golf?" (though Lyon ultimately concluded that he was not). At first, some pundits feared that Woods would drive the spirit of competition out of the game of golf by making existing courses obsolete and relegating opponents to simply competing for second place each week.

A related effect was measured by University of California economist Jennifer Brown, who found that other golfers scored worse when competing against Woods than when he was not in the tournament. The scores of highly skilled golfers are nearly one stroke higher when playing against Woods. This effect was larger when he was on winning streaks and disappeared during his well-publicized slump in 2003–04. Brown explains the results by noting that competitors of similar skill can hope to win by increasing their level of effort, but that, when facing a "superstar" competitor, extra exertion does not significantly raise one's level of winning while increasing risk of injury or exhaustion, leading to reduced effort. Many courses in the PGA Tour rotation (including major championship sites like Augusta National) have added yardage to their tees in an effort to reduce the advantage of long hitters like Woods, in a strategy that became known as "Tiger-proofing". Woods said he welcomed the change, in that adding yardage to courses did not affect his ability to win.

## Career achievements

Woods has won 82 official PGA Tour events, including 15 majors. He is 14–1 when going into the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead. Multiple golf experts have heralded Woods as "the greatest closer in history". He has the lowest career scoring average and the largest career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history.

Woods's victory at the 2013 Players Championship also marked a win in his 300th PGA Tour start. He also won golf tournaments in his 100th (in 2000) and 200th (in 2006) tour starts.

Woods has spent the most consecutive and cumulative weeks atop the world rankings. He is one of five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus) to have won all four major championships in his career, known as the Career Grand Slam, and was the youngest to do so. Woods is the only player to have consecutively won all four major championships open to professionals, accomplishing the feat in the 2000–2001 seasons.

- PGA Tour wins (82)
- European Tour wins (41)
- Japan Golf Tour wins (3)
- Asian Tour wins (2)
- PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)
- Other wins (17)
- Amateur wins (21)

### Major championships

#### Wins (15)

<sup>1</sup>Defeated May in three-hole playoff by 1 stroke: Woods (3–4–5=12), May (4–4–5=13)
<sup>2</sup>Defeated DiMarco in a sudden-death playoff: Woods (3), DiMarco (4).
<sup>3</sup>Defeated Mediate with a par on 1st sudden death hole after 18-hole playoff was tied at even par. This was the final time an 18-hole playoff was used in competition.

#### Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

#### Summary

- Most consecutive cuts made – 39 (1996 U.S. Open – 2006 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 8 (1999 U.S. Open – 2001 Masters)

### The Players Championship

#### Wins (2)

#### Results timeline

WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

### World Golf Championships

#### Wins (18)

#### Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

<sup>1</sup>Cancelled due to 9/11

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
WD = withdrew
NT = No tournament
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

### PGA Tour career summary

\*As of July 18, 2022

## Playing style

When Woods first joined the PGA Tour in 1996, his long drives had a large impact on the world of golf, but he did not upgrade his equipment in the following years. He insisted upon the use of True Temper Dynamic Gold steel-shafted clubs and smaller steel clubheads that promoted accuracy over distance. Many opponents caught up to him, and Phil Mickelson even made a joke in 2003 about Woods using "inferior equipment", which did not sit well with Nike, Titleist, or Woods. During 2004, Woods finally upgraded his driver technology to a larger clubhead and graphite shaft, which, coupled with his clubhead speed, again made him one of the tour's longest players off the tee.

Despite his power advantage, Woods has always focused on developing an excellent all-around game. Although in recent years he has typically been near the bottom of the Tour rankings in driving accuracy, his iron play is generally accurate, his recovery and bunker play is very strong, and his putting (especially under pressure) is possibly his greatest asset. He is largely responsible for a shift to higher standards of athleticism amongst professional golfers, and is known for utilizing more hours of practice than most.

From mid-1993 (while he was still an amateur) until 2004, Woods worked almost exclusively with leading swing coach Butch Harmon. From mid-1997, Harmon and Woods fashioned a major redevelopment of Woods's full swing, achieving greater consistency, better distance control, and better kinesiology. The changes began to pay off in 1999. Woods and Harmon eventually parted ways. From March 2004 to 2010, Woods was coached by Hank Haney, who worked on flattening his swing plane. Woods continued to win tournaments with Haney, but his driving accuracy dropped significantly. Haney resigned under questionable circumstances in May 2010 and was replaced by Sean Foley.

Fluff Cowan served as Woods's caddie from the start of his professional career until Woods dismissed him in March 1999. He was replaced by Steve Williams, who became a close friend of Woods and is often credited with helping him with key shots and putts. In June 2011, Woods dismissed Williams after he caddied for Adam Scott in the U.S. Open and replaced him with friend Bryon Bell on an interim basis. Joe LaCava, a former caddie of both Fred Couples and Dustin Johnson, was hired by Woods shortly after and has remained Woods's caddie since then.

## Other ventures

### TGR Foundation

The TGR Foundation was established in 1996 by Woods and his father Earl as the Tiger Woods Foundation with the primary goal of promoting golf among inner-city children. The foundation has conducted junior golf clinics across the country, and sponsors the Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team in the Junior World Golf Championships. As of December 2010, TWF employed approximately 55 people.

The foundation operates the Tiger Woods Learning Center, a \$50-million, 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m<sup>2</sup>) facility in Anaheim, California, providing college-access programs for underserved youth. The TWLC opened in 2006 and features seven classrooms, extensive multi-media facilities and an outdoor golf teaching area. The center has since expanded to four additional campuses: two in Washington, D.C.; one in Philadelphia; and one in Stuart, Florida.

The foundation benefits from the annual Chevron World Challenge and AT&T National golf tournaments hosted by Woods. In October 2011, the foundation hosted the first Tiger Woods Invitational at Pebble Beach. Other annual fundraisers have included the concert events Block Party, last held in 2009 in Anaheim, and Tiger Jam, last held in 2011 in Las Vegas after a one-year hiatus.

### Tiger Woods Design

In November 2006, Woods announced his intention to begin designing golf courses around the world through a new company, Tiger Woods Design. A month later, he announced that the company's first course would be in Dubai as part of a 25.3-million-square-foot development, The Tiger Woods Dubai. The Al Ruwaya Golf Course was initially expected to finish construction in 2009. As of February 2010, only seven holes had been completed; in April 2011, The New York Times reported that the project had been shelved permanently. In 2013, the partnership between Tiger Woods Design and Dubai Holding was dissolved.

Tiger Woods Design has taken on two other courses, neither of which has materialized. In August 2007, Woods announced The Cliffs at High Carolina, a private course in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. After a groundbreaking in November 2008, the project suffered cash flow problems and suspended construction. A third course, in Punta Brava, Mexico, was announced in October 2008, but incurred delays due to issues with permits and an environmental impact study. Construction on the Punta Brava course has not yet begun.

These projects have encountered problems that have been attributed to factors that include overly optimistic estimates of their value, declines throughout the global economy (particularly the U.S. crash in home prices), and the decreased appeal and marketability of Woods following his 2009 infidelity scandal.

### Writings

Woods wrote a golf instruction column for Golf Digest magazine from 1997 to February 2011. In 2001, he wrote a best-selling golf instruction book, How I Play Golf, which had the largest print run of any golf book for its first edition, 1.5 million copies. In March 2017, he published a memoir, The 1997 Masters: My Story, co-authored by Lorne Rubenstein, which focuses on his first Masters win. In October 2019, Woods announced he would be writing a memoir book titled Back.

### NFT

Tiger Woods' "Iconic Fist Pumps Collection" is his first digital Non-fungible token (NFT) collection that launched on the DraftKings Marketplace in collaboration with Autograph.io on September 28, 2021. Autograph is an NFT platform that was co-founded by Tom Brady that helped launch NFT projects with some of the biggest names in sports, including Usain Bolt, Rafael Nadal, Wayne Gretzky, and Tony Hawk. Woods' first collection offered 10,000 digital pictures of Tiger Woods' iconic moments ranging from \$12 to \$1,500, and 300 of those NFTs were also accompanied by his official digital signature. The NFTs launched on the Autograph platform grants fans unique access to exclusive content, first dibs on digital collectibles, custom-made merchandise, and access to private in-person events depending on the varying utility of each NFT.

## Personal life

### Relationships and children

In November 2003, Woods became engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish former model and daughter of former minister of migration Barbro Holmberg and radio journalist Thomas Nordegren. They were introduced during The Open Championship in 2001 by Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik, who had employed her as an au pair. They married on October 5, 2004, at the Sandy Lane resort in Barbados, and lived at Isleworth, a community in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando, Florida. In 2006, they purchased a \$39-million estate in Jupiter Island, Florida, and began constructing a 10,000-square-foot home; Woods moved there in 2010 following the couple's divorce.

Woods and Nordegren's first child was a daughter born in 2007, whom they named Sam Alexis Woods. Woods chose the name because his own father had always called him Sam. Their son, Charlie Axel Woods, was born in 2009.

### Infidelity scandal and fallout

In November 2009, the National Enquirer published a story claiming that Woods had an extramarital affair with New York City nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel, who denied the claim. Two days later, around 2:30 a.m. on November 27, Woods was driving from his Florida mansion in his Cadillac Escalade SUV when he collided with a fire hydrant, a tree, and several hedges near his home. He was treated for minor facial lacerations and received a ticket for careless driving. Following intense media speculation about the cause of the crash, Woods released a statement on his website and took sole responsibility for the crash, calling it a "private matter" and crediting his wife for helping him from the car. On November 30, Woods announced that he would not be appearing at his own charity golf tournament (the Chevron World Challenge) or any other tournaments in 2009 because of his injuries.

On December 2, following Us Weekly magazine's previous day reporting of a purported mistress and subsequent release of a voicemail message allegedly left by Woods for the woman, Woods released a further statement. He admitted transgressions and apologized to "all of those who have supported [him] over the years", while reiterating his and his family's right to privacy. Over the next few days, more than a dozen women claimed in various media outlets to have had affairs with Woods. On December 11, he released a third statement admitting to infidelity and he apologized again. He also announced that he would be taking "an indefinite break from professional golf."

In the days and months following Woods's admission of multiple infidelities, several companies re-evaluated their relationships with him. Accenture, AT&T, Gatorade, and General Motors completely ended their sponsorship deals, while Gillette suspended advertising featuring Woods. TAG Heuer dropped Woods from advertising in December 2009 and officially ended their deal when his contract expired in August 2011. Golf Digest magazine suspended Woods's monthly column beginning with the February 2010 issue. In contrast, Nike continued to support Woods, as did Electronic Arts, which was working with Woods on the game Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online. A December 2009 study estimated the shareholder loss caused by Woods's affairs to be between \$5 billion and \$12 billion.

On February 19, 2010, Woods gave a televised statement in which he said he went through a 45-day therapy program that began at the end of December. He again apologized for his actions. "I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to," he said. "I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them. I was wrong. I was foolish." He said he did not know yet when he would be returning to golf. On March 16, he announced that he would play in the 2010 Masters.

After six years of marriage, Woods and Nordegren divorced on August 23, 2010.

### New relationships

On March 18, 2013, Woods announced that he and Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn were dating. They split up in May 2015. From November 2016 to August 2017, Woods was rumored to be in a relationship with stylist Kristin Smith. Between late 2017 and late 2022, Woods was in a relationship with restaurant manager Erica Herman. However, in early 2023, Herman filed suit against Woods in relation to a non-disclosure agreement, alleging that it violates the Speak Out Act. Herman claimed that she was owed \$30 million after an oral agreement was breached when Woods' trust's employees "locked her out of the Residence, removed her personal belongings, and informed her she could not return."

### 2017 arrest

On May 29, 2017, Woods was arrested near his home in Jupiter Island, Florida, by the Jupiter Police Department at about 3:00 am. EDT for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was asleep in his car, which was stationary in a traffic lane with its engine running. He later stated that he took prescription drugs and did not realize how they might interact together. On July 3, 2017, Woods tweeted that he completed an out-of-state intensive program to tackle an unspecified issue. At his arraignment on August 9, 2017, Woods had his attorney Douglas Duncan submit a not guilty plea for him and agreed to take part in a first-time driving under the influence offender program and attend another arraignment on October 25.

At a hearing on October 27, 2017, Woods pleaded guilty to reckless driving. He received a year of probation, was fined \$250, and ordered to undergo 50 hours of community service along with regular drug tests. He was not allowed to drink alcohol during the probation, and if he violated the probation he would be sentenced to 90 days in jail with an additional \$500 fine.

### 2021 car crash

On February 23, 2021, Woods survived a serious rollover car crash in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The wreck was a single-vehicle collision and Woods was the sole occupant of the vehicle, which was traveling north along Hawthorne Boulevard.

He was taken to the Harbor–UCLA Medical Center by ambulance. The incident was under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which said the car "sustained major damage," and that Woods was driving over 80 mph, nearly twice the speed limit, before he crashed. No charges were filed. Woods's agent later said that he sustained multiple leg injuries and had surgery for non-life-threatening injuries.

### Other pursuits

Woods was raised as a Buddhist. He actively practiced his faith from childhood until well into his adult professional golf career. In a 2000 article, Woods was quoted as saying that he "believes in Buddhism ... not every aspect, but most of it." He has attributed his deviations and infidelity to his losing track of Buddhism. He said, "Buddhism teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously I lost track of what I was taught."

Woods is registered as an independent voter. In January 2009, Woods delivered a speech commemorating the military at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. In April 2009, Woods visited the White House while promoting the golf tournament he hosts, the AT&T National. In December 2016 and again in November 2017, Woods played golf with President Donald Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

## See also

- Career Grand Slam Champions
- List of golfers with most European Tour wins
- List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
- List of golfers with most wins in one PGA Tour event
- List of longest PGA Tour win streaks
- List of men's major championships winning golfers
- List of world number one male golfers
- Most PGA Tour wins in a year

American professional golfer (born 1975)

American people of Dutch-Indonesian descent

American sportspeople of Chinese descent

BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners

Men's Career Grand Slam champion golfers

Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients

Ryder Cup competitors for the United States

Sportspeople from Martin County, Florida

Sportspeople from Orange County, California

Sportspeople from Orange County, Florida

Winners of men's major golf championships


Alan Deere

Air Commodore Alan Christopher Deere, DSO, OBE, DFC & Bar (12 December 1917 – 21 September 1995) was a New Zealand fighter ace with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was also known for several near-death experiences over the course of the war. This led to his published autobiography being titled Nine Lives.

Born in Westport, New Zealand, in 1917, Deere was commissioned in the RAF in January 1938. Posted to No. 54 Squadron, he flew Supermarine Spitfires during the Battle of France and became a fighter ace by the end of May 1940. For his exploits he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) the following month. He participated in the subsequent Battle of Britain, during which he shot down several more enemy aircraft, and had his Spitfire destroyed from under him more than once. His continued accomplishments earned him a bar to his DFC in September 1940. He was soon promoted to squadron leader, and commanded No. 403 Squadron RCAF for several months in 1942. He led a fighter wing from Biggin Hill for six months in 1943, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his achievements. By the end of the war, he was credited with the destruction of 22 enemy aircraft, ranking him the second-highest scoring New Zealand fighter ace. Later research has seen this total revised to 17 victories.

Deere remained in the RAF after the war, commanding several stations and training establishments. He also wrote his autobiography, which was published in 1959. He left military service in 1967, having risen to the rank of air commodore, and continued to live in the United Kingdom. In civilian life, he worked with the RAF as its sporting director until his retirement in 1972. As a well-known fighter ace of the Second World War, he was sought after by media and historians for commentary and interviews on air warfare. He died of cancer in 1995.

## Early life

Alan Christopher Deere was born in Westport, New Zealand, on 12 December 1917, the third of six children of Terrence Deere, a New Zealand Railways worker, and his wife, Teresa née Curtain. Descended from Irish immigrants, the family lived in Westport, on the coast of the South Island, until 1930, when they moved to Wanganui. Deere attended Marist Brothers' School and then Wanganui Technical College, becoming an accomplished athlete in rugby, cricket and boxing; he represented Wanganui at the New Zealand Boxing Championship. He was also successful academically.

When Sir Charles Kingsford Smith visited Wanganui in his 1933 tour with the Southern Cross, he offered paid flights in his aircraft; Deere was one who took up the offer and, from then on, became interested in learning how to fly. After finishing his schooling, Deere worked on a sheep farm before taking up employment as a law clerk. In 1936, through his family doctor, he discovered that the Royal Air Force (RAF) was open to applications from men from the Dominions, reinvigorating his desire to fly. As his father did not approve of his intention to join the RAF, Deere persuaded his mother to sign the necessary application form. He passed the selection board, presided over by Wing Commander Ralph Cochrane, in April 1937 and sailed for England on the Rangitane in September.

## Military career

Arriving in London in October 1937, Deere began his flight training with No. 13 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School at White Waltham. He had failed a medical check owing to high blood pressure, and had to undertake further tests that he passed, the previously high readings being put down to excitement at the prospect of flying.

Deere's flight training went well and he soloed in a de Havilland Tiger Moth in November 1937. On 9 January 1938 he was granted a short service commission as an acting pilot officer on probation. He then commenced initial officer training at RAF Uxbridge for two weeks before, on 21 January, proceeding to No. 6 Flying Training School at Netheravon in Wiltshire. His prowess at boxing saw Deere selected for the RAF boxing team to tour South Africa but he chose to remain in England to focus on flight training. The aircraft on which the boxing team travelled crashed at Bulawayo, in Rhodesia, killing several of the RAF personnel on board.

In May 1938, Deere was awarded his wings. Selected for Fighter Command, he progressed to flying the Hawker Fury, a biplane fighter, before being posted to No. 54 Squadron three months later. His new squadron, which was based at Hornchurch in Essex, flew Gloster Gladiators. As the entire squadron was on leave at the time of his arrival, for two weeks he was temporarily attached to No. 74 Squadron, which also flew out of Hornchurch. He was assigned to the section commanded by Flight Lieutenant Adolph 'Sailor' Malan, who arranged for him to have some flying time on a Gloster Gauntlet. When Deere began service with No. 54 Squadron he initially performed administrative duties and it was some time before he was given the opportunity to fly his own Gladiator. Much of the squadron's training in peacetime involved formation flying and fighter tactics, but Deere also played rugby for Rosslyn Park, a South London club. Opponents included London Welsh and Old Blues RFC. His rank as a pilot officer was made substantive on 28 October 1938.

No. 54 Squadron began converting to Supermarine Spitfires in early 1939, Deere flying his for the first time on 6 March. Although he enjoyed flying Gladiators, he found the Spitfire to be "marvellous". At one point, as he familiarised himself with the aeroplane, he blacked out as he was climbing at 27,000 feet (8,200 m). When he recovered the Spitfire was diving towards the sea. Pulling out of the dive, he returned to Hornchurch and sought medical attention. It was found that one of Deere's eardrums had burst as a consequence of neglecting to increase his flow of oxygen as he increased his altitude. He was unable to fly until he recovered.

## Second World War

On the outbreak of the Second World War, No. 54 Squadron began flying convoy escort patrols and missions aimed at intercepting German reconnaissance aircraft. Within a matter of days, it was involved in the Battle of Barking Creek, when it was one of several squadrons scrambled in pursuit of aircraft detected by radar and two Hurricanes were shot down in a friendly fire incident. At the time, Deere noted the need for improvement in how ground controllers directed the intercepting fighters as he found the volume of directions issued difficult to follow. The squadron also occasionally flew night patrols, which were not popular with pilots as the Spitfire was ill-equipped for this role. On one such patrol Deere, directed by a controller, very nearly flew into a set of barrage balloons over Harwich and then ran into a perimeter fence when landing at a foggy Hornchurch.

### Battle of France

The Battle of France had commenced on 10 May 1940 and saw the gradual retreat of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to the French coast at Dunkirk and Calais. With the British squadrons already operating in France struggling to cope, from 16 May, No. 54 Squadron began to provide extra air cover over the Allied positions there. Deere was involved with the first, uneventful, patrol, and over the coming days flew several more such patrols, often two or three a day, across the English Channel to Dunkirk.

On 23 May Deere and another pilot were detailed to escort Flight Lieutenant James Leathart, flying a Miles Master, a two-seat trainer, over to Calais to rescue No. 74 Squadron's commanding officer, Squadron Leader Laurie White, who had made a forced landing at an airfield there. During this mission, and in sight of Leathart, Deere claimed his first combat victories, shooting down two of several Messerschmitt Bf 109s fighters that had approached while the Magister was still on the airfield. He damaged a third Bf 109 but ran out of ammunition and had to return to England. The mission was a success, for Leathart was able to collect White and fly back to Hornchurch. The action gave Deere an insight into the qualities of the Bf 109, which he considered "in the hands of a good pilot was a tough nut to crack. Initially, it was faster in the dive, but slower in the climb; the Spitfire could out-turn but it was at a disadvantage in manoeuvres that entailed negative G forces [sic]. Overall, there was little to choose between the two fighters."

The following day, while the squadron was flying near Saint-Omer in the Calais region, a formation of Heinkel He 111s bombers accompanied by Bf 109s and Messerschmitt Me 110 heavy fighters was spotted. An attempt to attack the bombers was interrupted by the Bf 109s and during the resulting melee, Deere shot down one of the fighters. On 26 May, with the squadron at 17,000 feet (5,200 m) over Gravelines covering a convoy of ammunition ships, he shot down two Me 110s. These had disrupted his attempt to intercept some German bombers that were attacking a British destroyer off Calais. His aircraft was badly damaged during this action, part of a wing being shot away.

Operation Dynamo, the British effort to evacuate the BEF from Dunkirk, commenced on 26 May. The RAF now began to tightly cover Dunkirk and the English Channel, protecting the ships of the evacuation fleet as much as possible. Accordingly, No. 54 Squadron would fly several times a day to Dunkirk during the evacuation. On an afternoon patrol on 27 May, Deere destroyed a Junkers Ju 88 dive bomber attacking a hospital ship, and shared in the destruction of another. The next day, Deere led the squadron, now down to eight serviceable aircraft, on its final dawn patrol before it was withdrawn for a rest. Coming across a Dornier Do 17 light bomber, he led a section of his flight in pursuit while the rest the squadron continued with its patrol. In making an attack on the Do 17, his own Spitfire was damaged by machine-gun fire from its rear gunner. This forced him to make an emergency landing on a Belgian beach, during which he was knocked unconscious. After coming to, he made his way on foot to a nearby town where his head injuries were dressed. He hitched a ride on a British Army lorry to Dunkirk, and boarded a boat to Dover, then travelled via London to Hornchurch, where he had taken off some 19 hours earlier. During his boat ride to Dover, he was subject to scathing comments from soldiers about the effectiveness of the RAF's fighter cover.

For its rest, No. 54 Squadron had moved to RAF Catterick in Yorkshire. After ten days of non-stop flying over Dunkirk, it had been depleted in both pilots and aircraft. It returned to Hornchurch on 4 June 1940, with new Spitfires and replacement pilots, and began flying reconnaissance missions to northern France and Belgium. On one such mission in the Abbeville area, Deere and Leathart between them badly damaged a Ju 88, counting it as a probable. Later in the month Deere's award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) was announced, and was presented to him by King George VI at a ceremony at Hornchurch on 27 June. His citation for the DFC read:

> During May 1940, this officer has, in company with his squadron, taken part in numerous offensive patrols over Northern France, and has been engaged in seven combats often against superior numbers of the enemy. In the course of these engagements he has personally shot down five enemy aircraft and assisted in the destruction of others. On one occasion, in company with a second aircraft, he escorted a trainer aircraft to Calais Marck aerodrome, for the purpose of rescuing a squadron commander who had been shot down there. The trainer aircraft was attacked by twelve Messerschmitt 109s whilst taking off at Calais, but Pilot Officer Deere, with the other pilot, immediately attacked, with the result that three enemy aircraft were shot down, and a further three severely damaged. Throughout these engagements this officer has displayed courage and determination in his attacks on the enemy.

By July 1940, No. 54 Squadron was back to flying convoy and coastal patrols. On the afternoon of 9 July, while leading a patrol between Deal and Dover, a Heinkel He 59 seaplane was sighted along with an escort of several Bf 109s. Ordering one section to pursue the seaplane, Deere took another section to deal with the escort. He shot down one Bf 109 but collided with a second, flown by Oberfeldwebel Johann Illner of Jagdgeschwader 51. As a result of the glancing blow with the Bf 109, the propeller blades of Deere's Spitfire were bent backwards, his cockpit hood partially stove in, the engine disabled, and much of the fin and rudder lost. Already heading inland prior to the collision, he glided to a forced landing in a paddock near Manston, in Kent. The hood, damaged in the collision, proved difficult to open but he was able to escape before his burning aircraft was destroyed by flames. He spent the night at the nearby RAF airbase before returning to Hornchurch the next day. In the meantime, Illner was able to return to France in his own badly damaged aircraft while the He 59 was forced down at Goodwin Sands and its crew taken prisoner.

### Battle of Britain

The first phase of the Battle of Britain commenced on 10 July 1940, when Luftwaffe attacks on targets along the coast of England and on shipping were stepped up in the Kanalkampf (Channel war). These were designed to draw out and destroy RAF Fighter Command, necessary for the proposed invasion of Britain. As part of No. 11 Group, tasked with the defence of southeast England, Deere's squadron was heavily involved.

Poor weather conditions meant that No. 54 Squadron saw little action until 24 July, when the Luftwaffe mounted several large bombing raids against convoys in the Thames Estuary. Deere and his flight disrupted one raid in the morning. During a second raid at midday that included at least 20 bombers and 30 fighters, he destroyed a Bf 109. This was his first victory of the Battle of Britain; by the end of the action, the squadron had accounted for 16 Bf 109s for the loss of two pilots. A few days later, Deere was promoted to the rank of flying officer and the squadron, having flown more sorties than any other during July, was sent back to Catterick for a rest.

No. 54 Squadron returned to Hornchurch on 8 August 1940 and flew an uneventful patrol later that day. On 12 August, Deere, while leading the squadron, pursued and shot down a Bf 109 that broke up his section's attack on a group of bombers off the Kent coast, near North Foreland. While returning to Hornchurch, he encountered a group of Me 110s, one of which he shot down. On 15 August, during an attempt by the squadron to intercept a bombing raid they encountered 40 Bf 109s. Deere destroyed one and damaged another. On another interception mission that evening, the squadron engaged a group of Bf 109s escorting Do 17 bombers flying towards London. He pursued one Bf 109 and shot it down over the English Channel. A second was also destroyed, Deere having pursued it inland of the French coast. Heading back to England, he encountered five Bf 109s which attempted to block his flight path. Despite repeated attacks by the Bf 109s, he was able to make the English coast although his Spitfire was badly damaged with its engine on fire. He bailed out at low altitude and, as he exited the cockpit, struck the tailplane and injured his wrist. Initially taken to RAF Kenley, at which time he discovered his watch had been damaged by a German bullet, he was admitted to Victoria Hospital for treatment. He discharged himself the following day and was back on operations on 17 August. A few days later Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, paid tribute to the fighter pilots of the RAF in the House of Commons, making his famous "The Few" speech; to a fellow pilot, Deere wryly noted "...he can say that again. There aren't many of us left".

Deere was shot down again on 28 August, this time by a Spitfire in an incidence of friendly fire, but parachuted to safety. He had earlier scored hits on a pair of Bf 109s but, not being able to see either one crash, only claimed one probable. He later conceded that the "strain had almost reached breaking point". His abandoned Spitfire crashed at Boreham, in Essex; its engine and other remnants were recovered in 1973. On 30 August, a quieter day for the squadron with only two patrols, he engaged a Do 17 but was not able to confirm its destruction, and claimed it as a probable.

On 31 August the Luftwaffe raided Hornchurch, which had been caught unawares. No. 54 Squadron was scrambled, Deere leading a section of three Spitfires as they taxied down the runway. The German bombers in the meantime released their ordnance onto the runway. All three aeroplanes of Deere's section were destroyed and his Spitfire was blown on its back, trapping him. With injuries to his scalp, he was extracted by another pilot of his section. Deere was instructed to rest for three days, but disregarded this and started flying again on 2 September. He only had two more days of operations before the squadron moved back to Catterick for yet another period of rest and recovery. Its withdrawal was well overdue as Deere believed it should have happened the previous month. It would play no further role in the Battle of Britain. Since the beginning of 1940, its pilots had accounted for the destruction of at least 92 enemy aircraft.

Shortly after the squadron's return to Yorkshire, Deere's award of a bar to his DFC was announced. The published citation read:

> Since the outbreak of war this officer has personally destroyed eleven, and probably one other, enemy aircraft, and assisted in the destruction of two more. In addition to the skill and gallantry he has shown in leading his flight, and in many instances his squadron, Flight Lieutenant Deere has displayed conspicuous bravery and determination in pressing home his attacks against superior numbers of enemy aircraft, often pursuing them across the Channel in order to shoot them down. As a leader he shows outstanding dash and determination.

No. 54 Squadron remained in Yorkshire for the remainder of 1940, classified as a training unit. Deere was an instructor, involved in practice flights with new pilots and bringing them up to speed with combat tactics. On one such flight in December 1940, he collided with a trainee's aircraft, his Spitfire losing most of its tail and going into a spin. Bailing out with some difficulty due to the centrifugal forces of the spinning aircraft, he became trapped against the remnants of the tailplane. He was finally able to break free as the Spitfire approached the ground but his parachute, which had been damaged, failed to fully open. Deere landed in a pool of farm sewerage that broke much of his fall. As a result of this incident he was rested from active flying.

### Squadron leader

In January 1941 Deere was promoted to acting squadron leader and tasked as an operations room controller at Catterick. Due to weather conditions, flying was limited and No. 54 Squadron shifted back to Hornchurch in February. The squadron's role was now to conduct offensive sweeps, codenamed Rhubarbs, over France. Deere soon tired of his controller duties and sought a return to flying operations. In May 1941, he was posted to No. 602 Squadron, which operated Spitfires from Ayr, in Scotland, as one of its flight commanders. This move saw him return to the rank of flight lieutenant.

When Deere arrived at No. 602 Squadron, he was already well known as a fighter ace and for his narrow escapes. On an early practice flight over the North Sea with the squadron, his Spitfire developed engine trouble. He only just made the Scottish coast and crash landed in a potato field, flipping his aircraft onto its back, temporarily trapping him. He was able to wriggle free and make his way back to Ayr. In May 1941, the squadron provided air cover for the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, which was returning to Scotland after its involvement in the Battle of the Denmark Strait.

In July, No. 602 Squadron was transferred to Kenley, operating with No. 452 and 485 Squadrons as part of the fighter wing flying from Kenley. The Kenley wing, as it was known, was to conduct operations over northern France, escorting bombers and carrying out fighter sweeps. Later that month, his rank of flight lieutenant was made substantive, and at the beginning of August, Deere took over the squadron while its regular commander was in hospital. The same day, he claimed an Bf 109 shot down. Although officially credited with this kill, his biographer, Richard Smith, considers it a possibility that this was in fact a friendly fire incident, and the aircraft destroyed may have been a Hawker Hurricane of No. 242 Squadron.

On a sweep over Béthune, on 9 August 1941, Deere, unable to see them go down, claimed three Bf 109s as damaged. A fellow pilot noted Deere had a high level of integrity when it came to claiming enemy aircraft shot down. A few days later, while escorting Handley Page Hampden bombers near Lille, his Spitfire was damaged by a Bf 109 that had surprised him. Enemy cannon tore a large hole in his wing and there were over 30 bullet holes through the fuselage. Despite leaking glycol, he was able to cross the English Channel and land at Manston airfield. Deere claimed two more Bf 109s as damaged between September and November 1941, and his rank of flight lieutenant was made permanent. By this time, high losses among fighter pilots and bomber crews saw the RAF reduce its offensive operations to Belgium and France over the winter months.

In January 1942, No. 602 Squadron was taken over by Squadron Leader Brendan Finucane and Deere was sent on a lecturing and public relations trip to America. Arriving in early March, he taught American pilots fighter tactics learnt in the Battle of Britain and the later fighting over France. He was also able to fly American aircraft. After six weeks in the United States, he returned to England. He found that he had been assigned to a staff post in the Far East but preferred to remain in Europe. He arranged a meeting with the commander of No. 11 Group, Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, who gave him command of No. 403 Squadron, of the Royal Canadian Air Force, instead. He took up his command, based at North Weald in Essex, on 30 April.

The morale of No. 403 Squadron was low to due to losses earlier in the month, including its former commander, and it had been taken off operations. Deere quickly brought the squadron back to operational status, commencing with an uneventful sweep over the Belgian coastline on 5 May 1942. After further such operations during the rest of the month, the intensity increased in June; on a mission on 2 June, when flying as cover for the North Weald wing, the squadron encountered around 40 to 50 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters and half of its 12 aircraft were lost. Deere used up all his ammunition but the hectic nature of the engagement meant that he was unable to observe whether any of his strikes were successful. Due its losses, the squadron moved to Martlesham Heath to carry out convoy patrols and was scheduled for a rest period later in the month. Deere felt this move unnecessary as morale among the remaining pilots remaining high despite the losses of 2 June, and he met with Leigh-Mallory in an attempt to have the squadron remain on operations. To his dismay, he found that Leigh-Mallory held him partially responsible for the losses due to his aggressive leadership and did not rescind his orders for the squadron to have a rest.

From 18 June, No. 403 Squadron was based at Catterick; it was still there in August, performing local patrols and working on practicing formation flying, when Deere was posted to the headquarters of No. 13 Group on staff duties. He was only briefly in this role before he was sent to the RAF Staff College for a three-month course. In late January 1943 he returned to No. 13 Group. Wanting to get back to flying duties, he soon engineered a return to operations for two weeks as a supernumerary with No. 611 Squadron at Biggin Hill. While serving with the squadron, he shot down an Fw 190, on 16 February. When he went back to No. 13 Group, he was surprised with news that he was to be wing leader of the Kenley wing. This posting was changed at the last minute and instead he given command of the fighter wing at Biggin Hill, whose previous commander had just been shot down over the English Channel. He was also promoted to wing commander.

### Wing leader

At Biggin Hill, Deere became reacquainted with Sailor Malan, who was the station's commander and had been helpful when Deere was first posted to No. 54 Squadron in 1938. By this stage of the war, Fighter Command's daytime operations were increasingly focused on escorting bombers on raids into France, often operating as two-squadron wings. This meant the fighter pilots needed to learn new operational techniques, which Deere had to impart in his role as wing leader. Malan supported Deere as he introduced new tactics for escorting bombers; in particular, he emphasized the need for independence for squadrons and sections when flying as a wing and to not be tied too closely to the speed of the bombers. The latter had been an issue during the Battle of Britain, for the Luftwaffe's tactics of providing a close escort to bombers meant that fighters lost their advantage of speed. His first operation as wing leader was on 4 April 1943, escorting bombers to Abbeville, but he had to return prematurely when his Spitfire developed engine trouble. Similar missions followed in April and May, during which time the Biggin Hill wing claimed its 1000th victory, on 15 May. On 4 June, Deere's award of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) was announced, the published citation reading:

> This officer has displayed exceptional qualities of skill which have played a large part in the successes of formations he has led. His fearlessness, tenacity and unswerving devotion to duty have inspired all with whom he has flown. Wing Commander Deere has destroyed 18 enemy aircraft.

Later in June, Deere claimed a damaged Fw 190 during a melee with 50 German fighters as his wing escorted a bombing raid to France. On 23 June he claimed a Fw 190 as destroyed when he forced it into an unrecoverable spin over the Pas de Calais. At the start of July, No. 485 Squadron, which had mainly New Zealand flying personnel, joined the Biggin Hill wing. It was commanded by Squadron Leader Johnny Checketts, who Deere had recommended for the post. Checketts had to twice take over command of the wing as Deere encountered further reliability issues with his aircraft, having to turn back early on two occasions in early July. On 14 July, Deere shot down a Fw 190, claiming it as a probable.

By late September 1943, Deere had become fatigued, not helped by a bout of dysentery. He had lost close friends in recent months; René Mouchotte, the commander of the Free French No. 341 Squadron, which was part of the Biggin Hill wing, had been killed in late August and Checketts was shot down over France in early September although he was to make it back to England seven weeks later with the assistance of the French resistance. Deere had also crashed his Spitfire during a takeoff. After recovering from his illness, Malan took him off flying duties and placed him on leave. During his term as commander of the Biggin Hill wing, Deere had flown on 42 operations and the wing had accounted for sixty enemy aircraft destroyed.

### Later war experiences

While on leave, and in recognition of his leadership of the Biggin Hill wing when it escorted bombers of the Eighth Air Force, Deere was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by the United States. On 21 October 1943 he was sent to RAF Sutton Bridge, where he was to be the chief instructor at the Fighter Wing of the Central Gunnery School. In November, he went to Buckingham Palace to be invested with the DSO that he had been awarded earlier in the year.

Deere was given a staff role at the headquarters of No. 11 Group in March 1944. Shortly afterwards, he received the Croix de Guerre from the Free French forces, in recognition of his role in leading the French squadrons that were part of the Biggin Hill wing. On 1 May, at the request of the Chief of Staff of the Free French Air Force, Général de division (General) Martial Valin, Deere took command of No. 145 Wing, which comprised two French squadrons operating Spitfires. Part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, the wing provided air cover over the beaches on D-Day. Deere went with the wing to France when it began operating from continental Europe but in late July he was posted to the headquarters of No. 84 Group. He acted in a co-ordination role, moving with ground forces and calling in air strikes on ground targets. When the war in Europe ended in May 1945, he was at Celle, in Germany, with a joint planning team.

Deere was one of New Zealand's best-known fighter pilots of the war. He was credited with 22 victories, one of which was shared, 10 probables and 18 damaged. Of the several New Zealanders who became aces, he was second only to Colin Gray. Later research by aviation historians Christopher Shores and Clive Williams suggests that he actually destroyed 17 enemy aircraft, with a share in the destruction of one more, plus four probables and a share in another, and seven damaged with one shared.

## Post-war career

In July 1945, Deere took over leadership of the Polish P-51 Mustang wing based at Andrew's Field in Essex. This command lasted until October, when the wing was disbanded, and he was appointed commanding officer of RAF Duxford. He also received a permanent commission, as a squadron leader, in the RAF on 1 September 1945, although he continued to retain his acting wartime rank of wing commander. At the end of the year, he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his military service.

In August 1946 Deere commenced a nine-month course on air strategy at the Air University in Alabama. On returning to the United Kingdom in June 1947, he was posted to the staff of Air Headquarters in Malta, commencing in July. He remained in the role for two years, which included a period of leave in New Zealand. Once back in the United Kingdom, he joined the staff of No. 61 Group, based at Kenley. His acting rank of wing commander was made permanent on 1 July 1951, and at the end of the year he took up a post at Fighter Command's No. 11 Group, at the headquarters of its northern sector at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, in North Yorkshire.

Deere returned to his former wartime base at RAF North Weald in May 1952, becoming the station's commander. Part of his work at the station involved organising and supervising the construction of a new control tower. He kept his hand in on flight duties, flying Gloster Meteors, including one on a demonstration flight to Hornchurch in 1953 for celebrations of the anniversary of the Battle of Britain. In June 1954 he was posted to Germany, where he acted as an administrator at the headquarters of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, based at Wildenrath. From March 1957 he began instructing at the RAF Staff College in Bracknell and later that year was promoted to group captain. In between his instructing duties at Bracknell, Deere worked on his autobiography. He had been inspired to do so by his return to Hornchurch a few years previously, which had prompted memories of his wartime service there. This was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1959 as Nine Lives, a reference to his many close calls, to largely favourable reviews.

Deere's teaching duties at Bracknell ended in late 1959 and, after a short period at Transport Command in a liaison capacity, Deere was assigned to the Air Ministry as Director of Postings. In March 1961, he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Queen, a role he fulfilled until June 1964. By then he was leading Fighter Command's East Anglia sector, having spent the previous year as Assistant Commandant at the RAF College, Cranwell. Promoted to air commodore in July 1964, on 30 January 1965, he was given the honour of leading fellow Battle of Britain fighter pilots in the main funeral cortège for Winston Churchill at St. Paul's Cathedral. When the Fighter Command sectors were disestablished in August 1965, he appointed commandant at the RAF's No. 1 School of Technical Training at RAF Halton. This was his last posting; he retired from the RAF on 12 December 1967.

## Later life

Upon his retirement, Deere immediately took up a civilian position as the RAF's Director of Sport, a role he would hold until December 1972. He also became the chairman of the RAF Rugby Committee, helping to select playing teams. In March 1972, he participated in a This Is Your Life television program in honour of Douglas Bader, the famous British fighter pilot who flew with false legs; Deere recounted the story of how he flew as an escort to the aircraft delivering a replacement leg for Bader, who had been shot down and was a prisoner of war. In 1990, he was again involved with This Is Your Life, this time a New Zealand version, for his compatriot Checketts, who had flown with him during his days as commander of the Biggin Hill wing. It was to be Deere's last visit to New Zealand.

As a well-known Spitfire pilot, Deere was often called upon by authors of military history and publishers for his reminiscences of the Second World War, particularly in relation to the Battle of Britain and Spitfires. His Nine Lives autobiography was republished in 1991 and he was interviewed for a documentary series on New Zealand in the Second World War. In his later years, he suffered from cancer of the colon, which led to his death, aged 77, on 21 September 1995. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered over the River Thames from a Spitfire. He was survived by his wife Joan née Fenton, who he had married on 18 September 1945, and their two children.

## Legacy

Deere's medals were acquired by the RAF Museum at Hendon, along with his original manuscript for Nine Lives. Other memorabilia associated with him is displayed in the Hornchurch Wing Collection at the Heritage and Military Centre in Purfleet, Essex. The engine of the Spitfire shot from under him on 28 August 1940 is displayed at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum. In New Zealand, the Air Force Museum of New Zealand holds one of his boxing trophies, donated by his wife. A nephew, Brendon Deere, from 2001 to 2009 restored a Spitfire Mk IX back to flying status. This aircraft is presented in the markings of Deere's aircraft as it would have appeared when he was a wing commander at Biggin Hill in June 1943.

New Zealand flying ace

Companions of the Distinguished Service Order

Officers of the Order of the British Empire

People educated at Whanganui City College

Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)

Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)