November 27 marked ten years since Tiger Woods fell into a series of mental and career crises.

An article appeared on November 25, 2009, exploring Tiger Woods’ love life. About 48 hours later, he got behind the wheel and caused a car accident without any casualties. These two incidents were like a fire being ignited, burning down the reputation and family happiness of the world golf idol.

Woods was driving a Cadillac Escalade, lost control, and crashed into a fire hydrant. His car only stopped after hitting a tree. The scene is right outside his home in Isleworth Windermere, Florida. Just two days earlier, the National Enquirer revealed that Tiger Woods had an affair with waitress Rachel Uchitel of a nightclub in New York.

Scandal broke out in late November 2009 after a self-inflicted car crash caused Tiger Woods to lose his family, his supermodel wife Elin Nordegren, countless sponsorship contracts and many years of hardship in his career. Photo: AP.

On November 29, the media flocked to the gates of Isleworth golf course. They waited for information about Woods claiming responsibility for the accident. He also denounced rumors and false news reports. “Super Tiger” described those who reported distorting information about himself and his family as irresponsible.

The next day, Woods announced his absence from the Chevron World Challenge, which he initiated and chaired. Currently, this event is still part of the PGA Tour called Hero World Challenge. This year’s tournament kicks off on December 4.

Woods’ bad days in 2009 are not over. On December 2 of that year, Woods was convicted of careless driving and had to pay a $164 fine. US Weekly at the same time found out that a woman named Jamiee Grubbs had an affair with Woods, along with the content of his text messages and voicemails.

A few hours after the article appeared, the world golf superstar confessed everything. “I broke up my family. From the bottom of my heart, I truly regret those mistakes,” Woods said. “I don’t have enough mental clarity to realize the level of karma from the scrutiny of the newspapers.”

Tiger Woods’ private life is constantly exposed in American newspapers.

Grubbs is not the only pink shadow to come to light. Over the next week, one person after another told stories about what happened to Woods. This was the time when the madness about Woods broke out in the press. “Super Tiger” appeared on the cover of the New York Post for 20 consecutive days. This frequency is even more frequent than the terrorist disaster of September 11, 2001.

On December 11, 2009, Woods announced that he would leave golf indefinitely to save his marriage. He confided: “I need to focus on doing better as a husband, father and myself.” Two days later, Accenture was the first business to cut its partnership with Woods.

On February 19, 2010, about a month after entering a behavioral rehabilitation center in Mississippi, Woods appeared on national television to apologize in the presence of family and friends. This program was recorded at the PGA Tour headquarters in Florida. “I am dishonest, a womanizer, a liar. My actions are unacceptable. My mistakes are my responsibility alone,” he said.

By mid-March 2010, Woods announced his return to play in major The Masters. This was his first match since the “global golf blockbuster” scandal broke out four months earlier.

At the press conference at Augusta National during The Masters on April 5, 2010, Woods received questions from the media. For the first time, Woods interacted with the press since the car crash. President Billy Payne of the famous golf course said: “Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the example we want our children to follow.”

Woods bowed his head and apologized to the public for the noise in his private life during a press conference at Augusta National in April 2010. Photo: AP.

Phil Mickelson was crowned The Masters 2010 while Woods finished in T4 position, five strokes away from the champion. Nine years later, Woods won his fifth trophy in this tournament, as well as his 15th major in a career of 82 victories on the PGA Tour.