There could not be a more timely celebration of the first decade as a professional golfer for Tiger Woods. Thirty years old, 10 years on tour and, this past week, 50 wins. About the only way to make that neater is if he had played an even 200 tournaments in
that time.
When he turned pro at what seemed an absurdly young age in 1996, his late father Earl famously remarked that Tiger would "transcend golf and change the world". It sounded preposterous but is now coming to pass.
For a start, he is the planet's most successful marketing front man. Whatever he's earned through endorsements in the last decade (Forbes magazine estimates it at more than $US485 million), it's an investment the respective companies have had repaid many times over.
When Buick signed Woods in 2000, the average age of the company's customers was 65. Since then, that average age has dropped to 55 and Buick is a serious player in the baby boomer car market.
Nike 10 years ago was only a sports clothing and shoe company. Now it's the fourth largest golf equipment company in the world with $US600 million in sales in the year to the end of May. According to Bob Wood, the president of the company's golf division, Tiger's runaway win with a Nike ball at the US Open of 2000 "completely and fundamentally" changed Nike's profile as a golf company.
Now, Tiger has started down the philanthropic path paved by Dale Carnegie, Nelson Rockefeller, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, but not often by sportspeople.
The Tiger Woods Learning Centre complements California's public high-school facilities with a variety of advanced learning opportunities and the latest in technology. Tiger donated $6.5m and was the catalyst for 20 other donors of the $27m needed to construct the Centre.
The last decade has been a special time in sport because of Woods. Anybody want to bet against him celebrating 10 years at the top with a win at the PGA this week?
