How many years did Tiger Woods go to Stanford?
Tiger Woods is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. He is tied for the top spot in the list of most number of PGA Tour wins with Sam Snead at a whopping 82 tournaments. He is ranked second in highest number of Majors wins.
Woods broke onto the international golfing scene at a very young age. He was all of 20 when he turned pro and began his domination of the greens. Already an incredible amateur with immense potential while in high school, he was heavily recruited by colleges.
He chose Stanford, the 1994 NCAA champion. He enrolled there in the Fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship and won the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational in September. It was his first collegiate tournament.
He continued winning accolades and representing Stanford for two more years. In 1996 after two years of enrollment, he left college to turn professional after sophomore year. And well, what happened after is history.
"It was one of the best times in my life," - Tiger Woods on the college experience
Colleges are often the a melting pot of a myriad talents, fields and students coming from across the world. EspeIntigious institution such as Stanford, especially, students pursuing diverse career options get the opportunity to interact with each other.
The college experience is an essential part of personality development. And US golfer Tiger Woods surely agrees. While speaking of his time at Stanford, he said it was the best period of his life.
He was quoted as saying by liveabout.com:
"I really enjoyed being stimulated by the students and professors. Some were geniuses and others were Olympic athletes. It's amazing how well-rounded they are. That's what's so cool about it. You must soak up that experience. It was one of the best times in my life."
Tiger Woods was accompanied on the men's golf team by Joel Kribel, Casey Martin, and Notah Begay III. All three of them went to the PGA Tour level. Begay has even won four PGA events and remains one of Woods' closest friends.
Tiger Woods played 13 tournaments and won 11 of them in his two golf seasons at Stanford. Out of them, Woods bagged three titles in his freshman year and the others in his sophomore year. He still either holds or shares multiple Stanford golf records.
In addition to golf, Woods had taken economics as a major. He was nicknamed 'Urkel' college.
Despite leaving early, he still shares a connect with Stanford. He attends the football matches to support and cheer for the Stanford Cardinals. Woods has even hosted college golf teams in his home.
Now, all eyes are on him to execute his comeback match that all golf fans are desperately waiting for. Since his 2021 car crash, he has mainly prioritized and focussed on his health and recovery.
Although he has competed in a few events after that, the spark he is known for wasn't yet present. So far he has not given any concrete answer about his return but if history is anything to go by, then all must know that Tiger Woods bounces back when nobody expects him to.