Woods was born to Earl and Kultida Woods in Cypress, California.  He grew up in Orange County, California and graduated from Western High School in Anaheim in 1994.  His middle name, Tont, is his nickname, which he got from a Vietnamese soldier friend of his father.  He was generally known by this name until he acquired national prominence in junior and amateur golf.  Then, he was simply known as “Tiger Woods”
Woods was engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish model in November 2003.  They married on October 5, 2004 on the Caribbean island of Barbados. They have two children named Sam and Charlie.
Woods began to play golf at the age of two.  At age three, he shot a 48 over nine holes at the Navy Golf Club in Cypress, California.  At the age of eight, he won the 9-10 boys event. Between 1998 and 1991, he won the junior world championships for six times.  He was named the Golf World Player of the Year in 1992. He enrolled at Stanford University in 1994 and won his first collegiate event. In the same year, he became the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship.  He was a member of the American team in 1994 and 1995.  At the age of 20, in 1996 he became the first golfer to secure three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles.   After 2 years, he left college and became a professional.