Congratulations to Tiger Woods who today (December 30th) celebrates his 39th birthday.
The 14-time Major winning Woods, who was born in 1975, is expected to spend the day with his two children at his palatial Jupiter Island residence to the north of West Palm Beach.
Others celebrating their birthday on December 30th include Lebron James, NBL star with the Cleveland Cavaliers who turns 30 while comedian Tracey Ullman is 55 and former ‘Monkees’ singer Mike Nesmith will turn the ripe old age of 72.
Speaking of rock singers Jeff Lynne was also born on 30th December and the with the former ‘Electric Light Orchestra’ and ‘Traveling Wilbury’s’ band member turning 67 while Patti Smith,with the hit song’ Because the night’, celebrates her 68th birthday.
Congratulations to Tiger Woods who turns 39. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
As well, the 79-time PGA Tour winning Woods shares a 30th December birthday with one of history’s greatest poets in Rudyard Kipling, and if he was alive today would be toasting a 149th birthday.
However Woods turning 39 means he’s just a year away from a 40th birthday and given Woods knowledge of the game he will be aware that less than 10 per cent, or just 20 of 216 players, of all Majors have been won by players aged 40 years or over.
In fact, since 2000 only one player has won a Major aged over 40 and that was then 41-year old Fiji’s Vijay Singh, who captured the 2000 Masters.
And in the past 54 years, Jack Nicklaus in capturing the 1986 Masters and Julius Boros in winning the 1968 Mastes, were 46 older.
The subject of Woods continuing to challenge in the game was brought up on the eve of this month’s Hero World Challenge when it was brought to his notice that since winning his last Major at the 2008 US Open he has got older, endured continuing injury, become a father and gone through a messy divorce and if these factors would impact on his on-course efforts.
Woods responded: “Well, probably the first point. I’m older (laughter). Father Time is undefeated. We all eventually are losing some of the things we are able to do when we were younger.
“As an athlete, yeah, you do notice these things. We all have to make adaptations as athletes, and we have to make adjustments. And I’m no different.
“As I’ve explained to you guys many times, like MJ created a fadeaway. He couldn’t jump over everybody anymore, and he created a new way to score and get points.
“I’m the same way. I can’t blow it out there with some of the longer guys anymore. Back when I was younger, a long ball was 290 in the air. That was a big ball. Now it’s 320,325. That’s the new standard out here. Some of the longer guys, Bubba, Woody, Dustin, they carry 325. That’s the number they carry over bunkers. I don’t quite have that.
A two-year old Tiger Woods blows out the candles on his birthday cake as a proud father looks on. (Photo – Tiger Woods Foundation).
“But there’s other ways to go around a golf course, and I think that’s when it’s really neat to be part of a sport in which you can play for such a long period of time, and you can win at a very late age because you don’t have to physically dominate anybody. You don’t have to physically beat anybody. You just have to beat the golf course.
“And one of the reasons why you saw Sam Snead win at age 54; looked like Tom was going to win the British Open at 59; Greg was part of the lead in the British Open when he was 54, you can do these type of things in golf.
“I’m not quite 40 yet, not till next year (laughter) so I’ve still got some time.”
…………anyway enjoy your 39th birthday.
