Once a year, when the U.S. Open is played, the United States Golf Association picks a course and then modifies it wickedly so that even the world’s best golfers often scramble to avoid triple-bogeys.

Now Golf Digest writer John Strege reveals how over the past fifty years the USGA has venomously transformed already difficult courses into "monsters." With relish, he tells what happened to the pros -- Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Woods, Snead, Hogan, among others -- who hooked shots into the rough, missed putts and routinely finished over par in this grueling annual competition.

Record-breaking media sensation Tiger Woods has moved beyond the fairway to take the world by storm. After becoming the first golfer in history to win three straight U.S. Amateur titles, his win at the 1997 Masters Tournament gave him a permanent place in the record book: youngest player to win, lowest score ever, and first African-American player to win. In Tiger, John Strege, golf writer and longtime friend with unparalled access to Woods and his family, takes us behind the scenes of this incredible life--from the time Tiger picked up a golf club at age nine months, to his first hole in one at age six, to his unprecedented domination of junior, amateur, and now high-stakes professional golf.



Packed with personal anecdotes from family, friends, teammates, and coaches, as well as what it's like to play on a course with Tiger from golf greats such as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Tiger provides a riveting shot-by-shot account of Woods's life up through the 1997 season. It details the unshakable relationship with his parents, the racial issues that have surrounded him, and the string of almost mythical successes that have carried him all the way to Niketown.



A role model for young and old alike, Tiger Woods and his story will capture the minds and hearts of sports fans everywhere.