Tiger Woods has had arguably the greatest career of all in golf and it seems quite a lifetime ago that we were seeing a young Tiger break away from the amateur game into the pro ranks.
Woods actually made his debut on the PGA Tour as an amateur back in 1992 when he was just 16, but it wasn’t until 1996 at the Greater Milwaukee Open that he made the big leap as a pro.
Prior to that, Woods was very much the talk of the town for the golf world as many expected him to be a huge success as a pro.
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As we now know, Woods proved those theories correct.
82 PGA Tour wins and 15 majors tell their own story, while Woods’ impact on the game as a whole should not be understated.
However, prior to that main debut in Milwaukee, Woods had played his final event as an amateur in the US Amateur in 1996.
And as expected, things went only one way.
How Tiger Woods signed off in style before turning pro on the PGA Tour
Tiger Woods has always been a winner and he became the only player in history to win the US Amateur three times in a row.
Coincidentally, that final US Amateur win in 1996 proved to be Tiger’s last ever event as an amateur.
On the day, he defeated Steven Scott over 36 holes to seal a trifecta of titles in the event before deciding the time had come to make the move into the pro ranks.
Remarkably, Woods was five holes down to Scott at one point with less than 18 holes to play.
However, in typical Tiger fashion, he came from nowhere to reel Scott in, making birdies on both 17 and 18 to take things to a playoff, where he eventually saw Scott off on the second playoff hole.
Scott’s demise and Woods’ surge very much set the tone for his career really as many PGA Tour players suffered the same fate.
How Tiger Woods did on his PGA Tour debut as a professional
Despite not winning the tournament or coming anywhere close by finishing in a tie for 60th, Woods very much showed that he was box office.
During the tournament, the young Woods made a hole in one to send the Milwaukee crowds into a frenzy and very much show what he was all about.
Typically, Woods didn’t need long to register his first win on TOUR anyway as he defeated Davis Love III in a playoff to win the Shriners that same year.
At just 20, Woods was much the new kid on the block and with an ace on his debut and a win just months later, the tone was set for his superb career.
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