Tiger Woods always in spotlight

Tiger Woods makes big news when he speaks, and when he doesn't (and when people speak about him)

1978

Woods' first exposure to the media came as a 2-year-old prodigy with a television appearance on "The Mike Douglas Show," where he putted against comedian Bob Hope.

1995At Shinnecock HillsAfter a practice round for the U.S. Open, Woods, then an amateur, read a statement about his heritage. In it he said: "The various media have portrayed me as an African-American, sometimes Asian. In fact I am both. On my father's side, I am African-American. On my mother's side, I am Thai. Truthfully, I feel very fortunate and equally proud to be both African-American and Asian."

1997In GQ magazineWoods makes off-color jokes that are considered sexist and racist. He tells writer Charles P. Pierce "you can't write this" but Pierce replies, "Too late." The piece runs. Woods-watchers believe he became extremely cautious in all future interviews as a result.

2002

At the British Open in Muirfield, Scotland:Asked about the club's men-only policy, similar to the one at Augusta National, Woods said: "They're entitled to set up their own rules the way they want them. It would be nice to see everyone have an equal chance to participate if they wanted to, but there is nothing you can do about it. If you have a group, an organization, that's the way they set it up, it's their prerogative." He is criticized by Martha Burk, activist for admitting women to Augusta, and women's groups.2006

Before the start of the Ryder Cup in Ireland: Woods opens his news conference with a harsh denunciation of an Irish magazine that published a pornographic photo, claiming it was his wife, Elin Nordegren. Woods said, "To link her to porn Web sites and such is unacceptable, and I do not accept that at all. Neither does our team. My wife . . . we're in it together. We're a team, and we do things as a team. And I care about her with all my heart." The magazine later apologized, acknowledging it was not Nordegren in the photo.

2008

After Kelly Tilghman of Golf Channel is suspended for a remark she made about how young Tour players could stop Woods from winning all the time, "Lynch him in a back alley." Woods is credited by many for saving Tilghman's job after his agent, Mark Steinberg, said, "Tiger and Kelly are friends, and Tiger has a great deal of respect for Kelly. Regardless of the choice of words used, we know unequivocally that there was no ill intent in her comments."

2009Woods declines to speak to reporters for two days at the Barclays in Jersey City.Speculation is that he was upset that the Bergen Record quoted a Motorola executive, who related a comment Woods made during a pro-am round on the controversial Tom Kite-designed Liberty National layout: "Maybe Tom did this course before his eye operation."