Tiger Woods remembers past, thanks family in World Golf Hall of Fame induction speech

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — In what seemed like a formality from the first time he played in a PGA Tour event at the Greater Milwaukee Open in August 1996, or perhaps even before then, Tiger Woods was officially inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

Woods, 46, was elected to the Hall of Fame in March 2020 and was to be inducted the next year, but the ceremony was delayed because of COVID-19. The event was held at PGA Tour headquarters; the World Golf Hall of Fame is about 25 miles away in St. Augustine, Florida.

Woods was introduced at the ceremony by his 14-year-old daughter, Sam.

During his induction speech, Woods talked about being denied entrance to all-white country club clubhouses when he was a junior and his parents taking out a second mortgage on their house to pay for his travel expenses.

Woods said his late father, Earl, and mother, Kultida, «instilled in me this work ethic to fight for what I believe in, chase after my dreams, nothing's ever going to be given to you, everything's going to be earned.»

«If you don't go out there and put in the work, you don't go out and put in the effort, one, you're not going to get the results, but two, and more importantly, you don't deserve it,» Woods said. «You need to earn it.»

No one had a more profound impact on the game of golf than Woods, whose daring play and dominance attracted minorities to the sport and made it cool for younger generations to play. His popularity transcended sports and made him one of the richest and most famous people in the world.

Woods claimed his first of 15 major championships in his second year on the PGA Tour, when he won the 1997 Masters by a record-breaking 12 shots and set the scoring record at 18 under. He won the 2000