- Woods was able to become one of the greatest golfers ever with an intense and competitive drive.
- We collected 23 examples below.
- Read all of Business Insider's Masters coverage here .
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories .
23 examples of Tiger Woods' extraordinary competitiveness
Tiger Woods is back competing at a high level after it looked like he might never compete again.
Recommended articles
Tiger Woods is one of the most fiercely competitive golfers in the world.
From his cold demeanor on the course, relentless work ethic, and desire to do nothing else but win, there are endless stories about Woods' insane competitiveness.
Woods is back competing at a high level and competing for major championships. Relive some of the greatest examples of Woods' competitiveness below:
When Woods was 14 he said he could be the Michael Jordan of golf.
YouTube
Source: Golf.com
He has practiced before and after competitive rounds: He was spotted playing in the dark at the 2011 PGA Championship.
Nike Golf
Source: Nike Golf
He used to have a crazy, non-stop daily routine.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Woods recently revealed what his daily routine was when he was younger:
"I used to get up in the morning, run four miles. Then I'd go to the gym, do my lift. Then I'd hit balls for two to three hours, I'd go play, come back, work on my short game, I'd go run another four more miles, and then if anyone wanted to play basketball or tennis, I would go play basketball or tennis. That was a daily routine. I'm not doing any of that now."
Hes obsessed with working out even in the middle of the night.
Jamie Squire/Getty
Rory McIlroy said he used to receive texts from Tiger at 4 am saying he couldn't sleep, so he would go lift.
His former coach claims that he injured himself doing insane, Olympic-style weightlifting exercises to get stronger.
Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Source: ESPN
He played with a broken leg and torn ACL at the 2008 US Open and won.
Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Source: ESPN
Woods was not known be very friendly on the golf course during his prime, making plenty of rivals throughout his career.
Danny Moloshok/AP
He once fired an iconic death stare at his ex-caddie Steve Williams after their messy breakup.
AP
Phil Mickelson has been one of Tigers top rivals, though it appears the two are now friendlier than ever.
Jamie Squire/Getty
When Woods and Mickelson played a practice round together before the 2018 Masters, it was so surreal that McIlroy actually told Tiger, "I never thought Id see the day: Tiger and Phil playing a practice round at Augusta."
Of course, he still had to have some fun afterward, saying Mickelsons button-down golf shirt was missing a tie.
Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Read more: Phil Mickelson's button-down shirt raised eyebrows during a Masters practice round with Tiger Woods
Though he has rivalries, he also sends tough love toward other golfers. He once gave McIlroy some odd motivation before a tournament.
Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
From McIlroy:
"He told me to get my finger out of my a** and win this week."
Source: Jason Sobel/ESPN
Tiger hates losing in all sports.
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
Tiger's caddie Joe LaCava said he once beat Tiger nine times in a row at HORSE, and Tiger wouldn't talk to him the rest of the day.
Source: Golf.com
He refuses to give an edge any competition, even ping pong.
Danny Moloshok/AP
Jack Nicklaus recently told a story about watching Tiger and Mickelson play ping pong. When Mickelson won a round after switching sides, Tiger refused to keep playing.
"Phil says, 'Hey Tiger, how about a game of ping pong?' 'Sure, lets play.' So Tiger plays, and Tiger wins the first game. They play another one, Tiger wins the second game.
"Phil says 'I've got this buffet behind me let's switch ends. They switch ends, Phil wins.
"Phil says 'OK, come on Tiger, let's play one more.
"Tiger says 'Phil, two to one.' And he never played him again the rest of the week."
Source: For the Win
He doesnt take it easy on anyone, including his ex-girlfriend Lindsey Vonn. She said he won every time they played ping pong or tennis.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Source: USA Today
He felt guilty about using an air tank while spearfishing, so he learned to free dive without one.
AP
Source: OC Register
He loves a good challenge.
Lynne Sladky/AP
Pro golfer Maverick McNealy told a story about Tiger accepting a challenge to hit a building in a canyon with a golf ball. He did it in two tries, then did it again.
"Tiger hits one. And he's like, 'Oh, it's about 10 yards right.' My dad said, 'Yeah, 50 yards short of anything.' And he had a little house, a little roof, way down there [in the canyon]. And Tiger was like, 'Give me another ball.' So he gets another ball, tees it up, hits it and says, 'That's right on it.'
"And it's a dead quiet, dead still evening. And the ball's going, going, going. Then I hear, bam! Right off the roof. And so we all run inside, giggling and laughing. The roof had to have been 400 yards out there and 50 feet, maybe more, dropped down into a canyon valley. And Tiger says, 'Oh, I'm going to do that again.' So he gets out, puts another ball down, rips it. And bam! Rips it off the roof again. We said, 'OK, we're done. We're done.'"
Source: Golf.com
He changed his swing in 2002 after winning eight majors because it wasnt perfect enough.
Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Source: Time
He has since changed his swing several times, leading to some criticism from those in the golf world.
Bret Hartman/AP
He loved the military, so he reportedly tried to join the Navy SEALs.
Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
In his book, "The Big Miss," ex-coach Hank Haney claimed that Tiger was obsessed with the military .
Not only did he go on six excursions at Navy SEAL "kill houses," he seriously considering trying to join the SEALs before his agent talked him out of it.
In 2000 he took a gamble and switched to a solid-core ball that no one else was using. Two years later, the entire tour was using it.
Matt York/AP
In the 12 months after he changed balls , he won nine tournaments and all four majors.
He doesnt joke around on the course.
AP
Once, at the Masters, when Mickelson watched his rival [Tiger] hit a three-wood past his driver, he asked Woods if he always hit fairway woods so far.
"No," said Woods, pulling his tee from the ground before marching down the fairway, "Sometimes further."
Source: Fox Sports
His numerous comebacks from injuries prove how hard-working he is.
Lenny Ignelzi/AP
Upon returning to golf in 2015 after an injury, Woods said :
"Competing is still the same. I'm trying to beat everybody out there. That hasn't changed. I prepare to win and expect to go and do that...The only difference is that I won the Masters when Jordan [Spieth] was still in diapers."
This quote about why he plays golf sums it up.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Source: Golf Channel
Now check out how Tiger lives his life off the course.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Tiger Woods is back heres how he spends his millions and lives his life off the course
See Also: