But being Tiger Woods is not always easy. After not only winning but also scoring a record 18 under par at the Masters in Augusta, he attracted extensive media coverage. After all, no one expected Woods, who was 21 years old and the youngest player to win the most prestigious golf tournament of the PGA, to achieve what he did in such a short period of time. Before the historic win, Woods finished 25th on the prize money list for 1996. And he only played golf for half of the year.
Most golfers work their entire careers never winning any tournaments.
And after obtaining the coveted green jacket at the Masters in 1997, the pressures of enormous expectations mounted on the young athlete. Everyone expected him to easily win tournaments. But in 1998, Tiger only finished eighth at the Masters and dropped ten more places to 18th in 1999. Tiger's roar became a mere purr. Although he has won tournaments in the last two years, he wasn't viewed as the ferocious Tiger the golf world came to fear.