Trump to Award Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom After Masters Victory
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – President Donald Trump announced he will give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tiger Woods after the golfer won the Masters Tournament for the fifth time ever and the first since 2005.
Woods will join Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Charles Sifford as the only golfers to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Former President Barack Obama also congratulated the athlete.
Woods started the final round on Sunday down two shots to Francesco Molinari from Italy, and was three behind after 11 holes. However, for the first time in his career, Woods mounted a come-from-behind win in a major tournament, finishing with a one-stroke margin of victory.
Many are calling Woods’ victory a personal and professional comeback. Fourteen years passed since his last Masters win in 2005, the largest gap of time between titles in the tournament’s history. After a very messy and public infidelity scandal in 2009, Woods announced an indefinite break from professional golfing, then returned in 2010 without any major tournament wins. Injuries and surgeries plagued his game from 2013-2017, causing him to miss the four major tournaments –– the Masters, PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship –– in 2016, the first time in his career.
The Masters win on Sunday marked Woods’ 15th major tournament title and put him one behind the all-time Masters leader, Nicklaus, who has six titles.
