Based on three years of extensive research and reporting, two of today’s most acclaimed investigative journalists, Jeff Benedict of Sports Illustrated and 11-time Emmy Award winner Armen Keteyian, deliver the first major biography of Tiger Woods – sweeping in scope and packed with groundbreaking, behind-the-scenes details of the Shakespearean rise and epic fall of an American icon.
In 2009, Tiger Woods was the most famous athlete on the planet, a transcendent star of almost unfathomable fame and fortune living what appeared to be the perfect life – married to a Swedish beauty and the father of two young children. Winner of 14 major golf championships and 79 PGA Tour events, Woods was the first billion-dollar athlete, earning more than $100 million a year in endorsements from the likes of Nike, Gillette, AT&T, and Gatorade.
But it was all a carefully crafted illusion. As it turned out, Woods had been living a double life for years – one that exploded in the aftermath of a Thanksgiving night crash that exposed his serial infidelity and sent his personal and professional life off a cliff. In Tiger Woods, Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian, the team behind the recent New York Times best seller The System, dig deep behind the headlines to produce a richly reported answer to the question that has mystified millions of sports fans for nearly a decade: Who is Tiger Woods?
Drawing on more than 400 interviews with people from every corner of Woods’ life – friends, family members, teachers, romantic partners, swing coaches, business associates, Tour pros, and members of Woods’ inner circle – Benedict and Keteyian construct a captivating psychological profile of an African American child programmed by an attention-grabbing father and the original Tiger Mom to be the “chosen one”, to change not just the game of golf but the world as well. But at what cost? Benedict and Keteyian provide the starling answers in a biography destined to make headlines and linger in the minds of listeners for years to come.
A balance of psychology, golf and complicated relationships. This book was hard to put down. While a fan of golf and Tiger’s golf game, I’ve never been a Tiger fan. In fact, I didn’t care for him and how he treated people inside and outside the ropes. The authors do a wonderful job of telling the story of how Tiger became the person he is today. It’s a book that makes you think. I don’t think it is a hatchet job at all, but does a nice job of showing how Tiger has developed and been stunted in many facets of his life. From the bedroom to the golf course,…
Perfect as an audio book It’s perfect as an audio book because it’s basically a lot of stories of surprising behavior by Woods, his parents, and those around him, and you can keep up with it while walking, housecleaning, cooking, gardening, and so on. You will learn more about human nature than about golf. I take some of the details with a grain of salt because they include 1:1 conversations that occurred between people who either aren’t cooperating with the authors or are no longer alive. Anyway, my biggest complaint…
King of Golf I am not a fan of golf. But the presence of Tiger Woods in America’s pantheon of legends of the sport made him a household name. The story is the same one told about all extraordinarily gifted people who rise to unimaginable heights only to crash and burn. It is a sad, lonely story built on the dreams and ambition of his parents. Tiger Woods should be easy to dislike but I ended up hoping he can find happiness in his life. The writers were obviously awed by his talent and success. But they…