began 2000 in true form, winning the first two events to increase his consecutive win streak to six, the longest such streak since 1948 when Ben Hogan accomplished the feat. Next, he went on to win the U.S. Open by the largest margin of strokes in a major at 15; and after four years as a pro he became the all-time tour money winner. He finished the year winning three consecutive majors after a fifth-place finish at The Masters, becoming only the second player in history (after Ben Hogan) to win three in a single season.

Tiger began the 2001 season by winning The Masters to become the reigning champ in all four majors concurrently and the first player to win each major consecutively, though not in the same season. In 2002, he won his third Masters and his second U.S. Open, the sixth and seventh of his 11 career majors. But Tiger’s game declined over the next few years, and speculation arose that he was indeed human after all. In 2003 he won five of the 18 tournaments he participated in, but none of those were in any of the majors. In 2004, after a record 264 weeks at the top, Tiger lost the number-one ranking to Fijian Vijay Singh. However, that same year he passed the career earnings mark of $40 million, the first player ever to do so.

Early in 2005, Tiger won the Buick Invitational, putting him on the fast track back to possible golf dominance. Next, he defeated Chris DiMarco on a playoff hole to win The Masters for the fourth time, joining Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the only other golfer to win the event four or more times. Tiger also won his second British Open, which put him in the company of Jack Nicklaus as the only two golfers to win each major twice. In April, he regained his number-one ranking from Singh, and the two flip-flopped first and second for a couple months before Tiger began breaking away.

So far, during two periods of his career he has slumped, citing focus on honing his swing each time, after which he successfully rebounded. But interest in the game has remained, and since Tiger began professional play televised golf ratings have steadily raised and currently top baseball and basketball. However, viewership skyrockets when Tiger is playing well or leading. In turn, despite the negative press at the beginning of his career, Tiger has almost single-handedly revolutionized the game, spawning a huge boom of interest in the sport by casual viewers.

Throughout the course of his illustrious career, Tiger has won 10 Majors, 46 PGA Tournaments, and a combined 36 wins between the Asian Tour, PGA European Tour, World Cup of Golf, and several other unofficial events. He’s established several charity organizations, including the Tiger Woods Foundation, a charity that benefits children, which he created with his father.