Tiger Woods, who spent two years at Stanford University before turning pro in 1996, said Friday he may return to earn his college degree.
"I would like to finish off my degree -- I might just do it one of these days," Woods stated on his website as the PGA Tour kicked off its 2012 season in Hawaii. "I would be proud, too, because earning a Stanford degree is pretty special."
Woods, who celebrated his 36th birthday by stalking the sidelines last week as an honorary captain for the Stanford football team that lost to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl was officially winless in 2011 and ineligible for this week’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions. But not playing in an event has never stopped the former ace from making headlines off the course.
In this case, the world’s 23rd-ranked golfer wrote about what a "great experience" it was to meet with the players and coaching staff, ride the team bus to the stadium, and take part in the pre-game coin toss.
Perhaps rubbing elbows with the Indianapolis Colts’ next QB, Andrew Luck, and the rest of the boys -- whose sizes made the buff golfer look like an ordinary mortal ("I still can't get over how big some of the players are," Woods said) -- had the former economics major missing his college days.
Heavily recruited by several schools, Woods entered Stanford on a golf scholarship in the fall of 1994 and won his first collegiate event in September. Maybe Woods was nostalgic for the honors he achieved as a collegiate. As a two-time first-team All-American, Woods won 10 intercollegiate events including the 1996 Pac-10 Conference and NCAA Championships. In 1996, he posted the lowest round in school history -- 61 -- at the Pac-10 Championships, as he noted on his website after his election to the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Woods professed to love his days as a member of the golf squad. "I had such a great time playing golf at Stanford. Just all the practicing, playing and qualifying," he said on a Stanford site honoring its 2007 NCAA National Champion team. "It was always fun being around each other."
Like Michelle Wie, who has endlessly defended her decision to stay at Stanford and receive her degree, Woods has boasted about the superior education that the Palo Alto institution provides.
"What sets Stanford apart is the combination of quality athletics with an unmatched educational experience. Our Provost was [Condoleezza] Rice. My economics teacher was one of President Clinton's advisors," he said on the golf team’s page. "You don't see that at most schools."
Woods also credited his alma mater with readying him for later life. "Playing golf at Stanford prepared me in understanding time management skills," he said. "To make it through there, you have to manage your time. It's one of the great things I learned."
With all that, Woods left college in 1996 and turned professional, but he looked back fondly on his college days.
"It was," Woods recalled, "one of the best times in my life."
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