From The Archives

From The Archive: Tiger's debut appearance in Golf Digest

February 10, 2012

The world was first introduced to a golfer named Tiger at age 2, as he faced off in a putting contest with comedian Bob Hope in his well-known appearance on the Mike Douglas Show (video below). Three years later, he made his first of many appearances in the pages of Golf Digest.

Some highlights from our article in the November 1981 issue of Golf Digest:

--At six months, Tiger watched his father hit practice balls into a net in the family garage.

--At 18 months, he hit his first full bucket of balls at a driving range.

--At 4 years old, Tiger showed off his skills out of a bunker, beating a 16-year-old by four strokes in a short-game contest.

--Thirteen years after his Golf Digest debut, he appeared on the cover of our November 1994 issue, the first of 33 covers. (He trails only Tom Watson (37) and Jack Nicklaus (52) for the most-ever cover shots.)

Here's a picture of the first issue:**

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Now he's got video games, 14 major championships and one of the most impressive resumes of all-time. You can play with a young Tiger in the latest EA Sports game, and try to replicate some of his young accomplishments in the 2013 Tiger Woods game.

*(Photo: Golf Digest Resource Center)