Earl Woods, Tiger's Dad, Predicts More Golf Greatness From His Son

Jet, August 14, 2000

You've only seen the tip of the iceberg with Tiger. It's going to get a lot better," predicted Earl Woods, father of golf sensation Tiger Woods, discussing his son's history-making performance at the recent British Open in Scotland (JET, Aug. 7).

Speaking at a golf camp for youngsters at the new Colbert Hills Golf Course in his hometown of Manhattan, KS, the elder Woods added, "The guys on tour say the bar has been raised, and they ask what they can do to catch Tiger. They hit ball after ball.

"Tiger's always out there, too. Tiger's a Stanford man. They're not going to out-think him. What does that leave them? Nothing."

Earl Woods recommended the young golfers "Enjoy what he (Tiger) will do because it's something we've never seen in the history of golf. People are seeing the best golfer in the history of the game," he said.

Woods addressed some 120 youngsters at the camp two days after Tiger completed his career Grand Slam at the unprecedented age of 24.

The camp is sponsored by First Tee, a Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour-supported program offered to youths who might not otherwise get the chance to play golf. The junior learning facility there was named for Earl Woods.

Earl Woods said he passed along a message from his famous son: "Listen well and play hard. He recognized from early on that you get out of golf what you put into golf."

Woods revealed he played baseball at Kansas State from 1951-53, and recalled that was a time when he was forced to eat at restaurants apart from his teammates because of his race. He said a high school gym coach told him to take up golf, but he had no place to play because of his color.

"So that ended me in golfing," he said.