9 Things We Learned About Tiger Woods From Part 1 Of His HBO Documentary

HBO premiered the first portion of a two-part documentary examining the life and career of Tiger Woods Sunday. 

Woods, who once famously described himself as “Cablinasian”, is the first Black athlete to excel in professional golfing. His presence on courses that once would have denied him access because of the color of his skin brought a whole new level of media attention to the sport. 

Tiger presents the journey of Woods from precocious child golfer to international star athlete. It includes previously unreleased footage of the star golfer, including intimate home videos from his college years. It also contains exclusive interviews with many of the present people in Woods’ inner circle as he climbed to the top of the golf game and tumbled from its heights including his educators, friends, colleagues, competitors, and mistresses. 

Part one provides insight into the parts of Wood’s childhood and adolescence that weren’t captured on camera. His former flame Dina Parr exposed Wood’s surprising lack of life experience beyond the putting green and the shocking way he chose to end their three-year courtship. 

His kindergarten teacher, Maureen Decker, who once claimed his accusations of physical and mental abuse by teachers were completely fabricated, shared her takes on his early relationship with his father. 

Pete McDaniel, a close friend of his father Earl Woods, offered information on Earl’s state of mind when championing his son’s abilities, and described the pressure Woods’ was under to be the best. 

Golf legend Sir Nick Faldo and legendary sports journalist Byrant Gumbel revealed how the game of golf was changed forever by Wood’s talents. 

His former caddy Steve Williams shared the obsessive practice habits that made him a champion, and once endangered his safety in a foreign country. He also recounted the moment he knew that Elin Nordegren would become Wood’s wife. 

Check out nine revelations from part one of Tiger, which is now available on HBO Max. Part two premieres on Sunday, January 17.

01

He’s A Chronic Insomniac

Uchitel claimed that Woods was a chronic insomniac who often relied on Ambien, which was reportedly found in his system after he received a DUI. She described sitting with him for hours waiting for him to fall asleep.

02

He Allegedly Had Sex In A Church Parking Lot

Former editor of the National Enquirer Neal Boulton claimed that a reporter from the publication stalked Wood’s and one of his mistresses to the parking lot of a church and observed them having sex. He even alleged that the reporter retrieved the woman’s tampon to prove what he saw.

03

He Had No Game

Las Vegas party hostess Tiffany Masters said Woods was uncomfortable approaching women during his sojourns to high-end nightclubs with friends Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. “Tiger was a bit of a geek,” she said. “It wasn’t like he was like mack daddy like casanova.”

04

He Asked His Mistress To Help Cover Their Relationship

Uchitel said Woods asked her to participate in a 30-minute phone call gaslighting his wife into believing they were just friends when he learned a story about their affair was coming out. She also said his wife eventually learned the truth when she catfished her using Wood’s phone.

05

He Ghosted His Long-Term Caddy

Williams said that after 13 years of friendship, during which Woods served as the best man at his wedding, his friend and employer fired and ghosted him. Williams’ offense was allegedly caddying for someone else during Wood’s hiatus from the game.

06

He Has A Tremendous Pain Threshold

Tiger has the will of a champion in more ways than one. Williams said that he was suffering from two fractures in his knee and a significantly injured ACL while competing in the 2008 USA Open.

07

He Went Through Navy Seal Training…For Fun

After losing his father, Woods reportedly sought to challenge himself and connect with his late dad by spending time with the Navy seals. The superstar golfer supposedly spent time in the Navy Seals kill room, jumped out of a series of airplanes, and engaged in tactical scenario training. His caddy Steve Williams even claimed he told him he was considering quitting golfing and joining the military.

08

He Boarded Up His Windows To Avoid Paparazzi

Woods literally boarded up the windows to his home after his scandal caused photographers to stalk him incessantly.

09

He Has Never Played Any Other Sport

Decker said Woods never played any other sport during his childhood. She claimed he allegedly asked her to ask his father if he would allow him to try something else but when she approached him he refused. Instead the former green beret spent all his time teaching Tiger to learn to play golf backwards from the green on.