His Father's Son

A revealing and intimate biography of the man who influenced Tiger Woods the most-his father, Earl Woods Tiger Woods has been with us since he appeared on "The Mike Douglas Show" as a two-year-old, hitting golf balls for Bob Hope. In the three decades since, he established himself as the most dominant golfer of all time and became the wealthiest athlete on the planet. And beside him was his father and best friend, Earl Woods. In His Father's Son, bestselling author Tom Callahan recounts the life of Earl Dennison Woods and his son. Callahan recounts Earl's boyhood in Manhattan, Kansas, his days as a star baseball player at Kansas State, and his military career with the special forces. He details Earl's final tour in Vietnam, where he became close friends with a South Vietnamese operative named Tiger Phong. Earl picked up golf after his retirement from the military, and when he became a father for the last time, his son-another Tiger-would watch him hit balls from his high chair. As soon as Tiger could stand, he was swinging a golf club. Under Earl's tutelage, he went on to the most storied amateur career in golf history. He was a millionaire the day he announced he was going pro. Callahan follows Tiger through every one of his major championship wins, discussing his complex and ever-changing relationship with his father. He places Tiger into the context of golf history, detailing his chase of Nicklaus's records and his interactions with fellow pros. He reveals that Tiger stepped away from golf after his father's death, and examines Tiger's recent troubles in light of his father's own womanizing. Written in lyric prose and based on interviews with Earl, Tiger, and dozens of insiders, Callahan reveals in His Father's Son the man who made Tiger who he is.