‘I Didn’t Do Anything to Them Personally’: Calling It ‘Unfair,’ Tiger Woods Deplored the ‘Selfishness’ That Hurt His Fame When He Was Just 21

Jul 24, 2023 | 6:30 AM EDT

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Tiger Woods has garnered lasting fame through his achievements and services in golf. However, this reputation hasn’t come without its fair share of scrutiny and demerits. Along similar lines, back in 1997, the golf legend disclosed how disillusioned he became owing to constant scrutiny from the media.

This realization dawned upon the golfer post his 1997 Masters victory. Furthermore, he opened up about how this had been tough for him as a young athlete.

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The young Tiger Woods spilled the beans on his biggest adjustment post-stardom

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The 1997 Masters win was the accelerator for the fame Tiger Woods rode on in golf. However, many believe even before his major triumph the golf world looked at the 15-time major champion as a star. Nonetheless, the Masters stardom paved the way for the golf icon to feature on Oprah Winfrey’s show along with his father —Earl Woods— for a 31-minute interview on April 24, 1997.

Looking back, one of the biggest highlights of the show was the discussion about the success and fame of the 21-year-old Tiger Woods. When the talk show host asked the 82-time PGA Tour winner what has been the most difficult adjustment post becoming famous, the answer came out on its own without any thought.

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Tiger voiced that for him it had been the loss of privacy that had proved to be demanding. That drew out an instinctive “Oh, it’s gone” from Winfrey. She further informed the golfer how he had been on the cover of the National Enquirer which featured him and his high school girlfriend. “Believe me I have been through that,” she added.

Tiger sounded quite distressed while delivering his answer. He continued and revealed that it had been tough for him, given how numerous bad articles had been published against the golfer. Moreover, he shed light on the prejudice that came into being as a result against the golfer.

The 21-year-old Woods clearly upset with people’s ‘selfishness’

When the 11-time PGA Tour Player of the Year winner clinched his first Masters win by 12 shots, there was no going back for him. This massive triumph, according to Golf.com, led to one of the famous Charlie Pierce GQ cover stories. One that the young Woods was clearly upset with.

While not specifically mentioning this article on the Oprah Winfrey Show, young Woods definitely mentioned his demurral for articles that showed him in a bad light. Referring to the same, he expressed, “I didn’t do anything to them personally“. This upset the golf professional to the extent that he called the treatment ‘unfair’.

Furthermore, he commented that it was unfortunate that a lot of people liked to pick up that angle. The reason he stated behind this was “their own selfishness“. What do you think of Tiger Woods’ stance on the ‘unfair’ treatment? Let us know in the comments below!

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