At the golf course, it was Earl Woods who kept Tiger Woods busy with his strict antics. But at home, mama Kultida Woods was no less. She knew how to keep him humble and never let the victories get the better of him. This was how Woods was brought up, as his father was a retired military personnel. His upbringing was different than others and this, he followed it throughout his life. This story takes place in 1989, when Woods was only 12 years old but had made a name for himself as a talented junior golfer, who had won more than 100 times by then. The then IMG agent, Hughes Norton, was caught up by all the fuss about the junior Woods. He ventured through the phonebook (because there was no internet) for Earl Woods’s number, cut out the articles about Woods from the Golf World and the LA Times, and booked a meeting with Woods’s parent.

After concluding his work, Norton was dropped off at Cypress, California, near the 15-time major champion’s home. He knocked on the door. Earl Woods welcomed him in, but the junior golfer for whom Norton had traveled wasn’t there. Woods’s parents told him he would be there after 45 minutes and surely he was. At The Golfer’s Journal podcast, Norton recounted watching a 12-year-old Tiger Woods riding his bike, coming up the driveway, and a 5’5, 110-pound kid with coke bottle glasses entering the house. They shook hands and the 82-time PGA Tour winner took him to his room. The former IMG agent recalled, “He had posters on the wall. He, [Jack] Nicklaus, was a big hero of his. There were no there were no quarterbacks, there were no beautiful movie stars, you know, girl posters that it was all golf.”

However, one important thing was missing. Where were all the trophies he had won as a junior? Norton asked him the same question. Tiger Woods nonchalantly replied as Norton remembered, “He said no, they’re gone. Mom made me get rid of them.” Norton was stunned and wanted to know if Woods was affected by it. But no, the then-12-year-old golfer was not hurt. He calmly said, “It’s fine. I don’t care. I’ll just win some more.” Well, that’s the attitude of a golfer who was well aware of his capabilities and probably how much he could win in the future.

Norton was impressed by Woods so he took his parents’ information and began to leave. And just as he headed out of the door, the youngster almost smirked and said to him, “See you,” and dashed down the street on his bike again. Although Norton’s colleague laughed at him for trying to scout a 12-year-old golfer, his intuition pushed him to be with him until he turned pro in 1996 and signed Hughes Norton as his first agent. Norton helped Woods in many ways during their time together. He brought him contracts from Nike and Titleist in 1996, worth $60 million. Yet their partnership didn’t stand the test of time. Why?

Hughes Norton reveals why Tiger Woods fired him

While promoting his book ‘Rainmaker’ during an interview with Daily Mail, Hughes Norton recounted when he was suddenly fired by Tiger Woods. He said, “It was betrayal with a capital B.” To this day, Norton could not figure out why he was out of the Woods’s team nor could anyone else.

This also hinted towards other broken relationships of the 15-time major winner, whether it was with his long-term caddies like Steve Williams, and Mike Cowan or his girlfriends rumors. Talking about his attitude, Norton noted that Woods was a zombie off and on the course. He said, “The solace I can take, which doesn’t provide much, is this: He was an equal opportunity zombie with relationships, his swing coaches, his lawyer, the guy negotiated the IMG representation deal with caddies. When it’s over, it’s over.”

So, just like that, Tiger Woods and Hughes Norton stopped working together. He talked about it in his book too, but there were never any statements from Woods’s side. Perhaps one day we’ll know the answer. Perhaps!