First published 2018
Tiger Woods dominated golf and global celebrity by 2009, appearing to live an ideal existence of fame and success. Then a Thanksgiving night car accident shattered his carefully constructed image, revealing years of secret infidelity and destroying both his marriage and career momentum. Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian conducted over four hundred interviews to uncover the real story behind the headlines. They trace Woods's development from childhood, shaped by an ambitious father and demanding mother who molded him into golf's chosen champion. The authors examine how this intense programming created a mixed-race athlete destined to transform his sport and transcend traditional boundaries. Yet this same pressure may have contributed to the personal contradictions that led to his spectacular downfall. Benedict and Keteyian reveal the psychological complexity of a man caught between public excellence and private struggles, offering readers an unflinching look at the price of manufactured greatness.
Genres: biography, american, sports, non-fiction
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fall-from-grace, public-figure
Period: 2009
512 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster