You must be some character or golfer to have a huge influence on Tiger Woods even getting into the sport of golf.
As we’ve seen and heard over the years, no influence was bigger on Tiger’s career than his mother and father, with Earl Woods in particular credited with a lot of Woods’ success in the early days.
However, for a player like Woods to succeed, golf needed to have those who came before him.
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Over time, we’ve seen countless golfers and sports-people pave the way and lay foundations for others to go forward and succeed.
And when it came to Tiger Woods, few had more of an influence than the now legendary, Lee Elder.
How Lee Elder influenced Tiger Woods’ career
It goes without saying that Lee Elder is an iconic figure in the world of golf.
Back in April 2021, Elder was honoured with taking part in hitting the opening tee shots at The Masters, such was his influence on the game. He would later die that year.
However, looking back at Elder and just what he meant to the game and Woods in particular, it’s worth referencing just what Woods said about him previously.
Lee was a pioneer,” Woods has said before. “He was the one that broke the colour barrier here and paved the way for players of colour like myself to be able to play this event. It’s ironic that he did it in ‘75, I was born in ‘75, and when I won in ‘97, he was on the back of the green.
“To be able to see him and have him as our honorary starter, it’s awfully special and important in the history of the event but also for me personally, it’s probably even more special.”
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Lee Elder’s PGA Tour career
The only thing really missing from Elder’s career is a major championship win. Unfortunately for him, his best ever finish came with a T11 at both US Open and PGA Championship.
However, in terms of success, he achieved so much.
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Elder won four times on the PGA Tour, alongside winning 12 more events in his career.
He turned pro as early as 1959, and was still winning events on the senior tour as late as 1988.
Elder was then awarded the Bob Jones Award in 2019, capping a truly remarkable and influential career that was not lost on Woods and others.
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