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 Every December, an elite field has assembled at the picturesque
Sherwood Country Club, nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica
Mountains, to compete in the Woods-hosted event which will relocate
to Florida for next year.
"Fourteen years here and it's been absolutely incredible," world
number one Woods told Reuters as he reflected on the tournament's
run in California after the inaugural edition was staged at Grayhawk
Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1999.
"The members, the board and all the volunteers have come out over
the years through rain and wind, we've even had sleet here before,
as well as perfect sunshine.
"And all the players who have supported it over the years, we
wouldn't have had the opportunity to design and develop our learning
centers without this event. It is going to be an emotional Sunday
for sure."
Asked why the event was shifting next year to Isleworth Country Club
outside Orlando in Florida, Woods replied: "The global golf schedule
has changed so dramatically with the FedExCup, the Race to Dubai and
guys playing pretty late in the year, they are worn out and they
don't want to travel any more.
"A lot of the Aussie players go down to support Oz and it's hard to
get a lot of South Africans to come up and play in this event as
they support their own tour at this time of the year.
"A lot of the guys at this event here are based in Florida, so it
just makes it a little bit easier for us to draw fields like we have
now. With the guys who are based in Florida, you're not asking them
to fly across the country."
Regardless of where the World Challenge is held, Woods is passionate
about the event's role in raising money for Tiger Woods Foundation
projects and the six learning centers he has set up in the United
States.
More than 100,000 scholars have gone through the various learning
centers since the first of them was opened in Anaheim, California in
2006.
"It's so important, what we have been able to do and how we have
been able to transform kids' lives and allow them the opportunity to
go to college and provide them with mentors and internships," Woods
said.
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"A lot of these kids live in tough
neighbourhoods where there are gangs, violence and drugs. A lot
of them grew up in single-parent homes or were raised by
grandparents or were adopted.
"We try to bring in an environment for them that is safe and
stimulating. We're trying to provide them with an eye-opening
experience. We give them hope but more importantly we give them
a skill-set and the support to go ahead."
"BEHIND THE EIGHT-BALL"
Woods, who created the Tiger Woods Foundation with his father
Earl shortly after he turned professional in 1996, has set his
sights on helping disadvantaged scholars who began life "behind
the eight-ball."
His various learning centers provide a state-of-the-art haven
where children can develop life skills and get to grips with
subjects as diverse as forensic science, robotics, business
entrepreneurship and rocket design.
"I don't think that they should be stuck behind the eight-ball,"
said Woods. "We provide them with an opportunity to get out in
front of that."
For all of his remarkable achievements on the golf course,
ranging from his 14 major titles to his 79 career victories on
the PGA Tour, Woods has long hoped that his legacy will focus
instead on his contributions to society.
"Whether I get to 19 (majors) and beyond or 82 (PGA Tour career
wins) and beyond, that's all me, that only impacts me," said
Woods.
"Hitting a high draw and a high fade, making a couple of putts
here and there and winning a few tournaments, that only impacts
me. What we are doing with the Foundation is impacting thousands
of kids' lives.
"That's far more important than what I am doing on the golf
course. We have been able to impact hundreds of thousands of
kids already and in the near future it will be millions. And
eventually it will not only be domestic but international."
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes;
editing by Frank Pingue)
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