“That comes off as a little cocky” – When Curtis Strange hit back at a 21-year-old Tiger Woods for his ‘brash’ ambition

An interview between Curtis Strange and Tiger Woods dated August 18, 1996, highlights the difference in mentality between Woods and other golfers at the time. After Woods suggested that he could win his first-ever professional tournament, the Greater Milwaukee Open, Strange stated that “comes off as a little cocky or brash.”

In the interview, Tiger described what would be a good weekend for him at his first-ever pro tournament:

“If I play four solid rounds today, we’re off to a good start. If I can do that for three more days ... I will be very happy, and a victory will be nice, too.”

Curtis smiled at the above statement and questioned Woods' “brash” ambition. He followed this up when he asked:

“The other guys on tour that have been out here for years and years...what do you say to those guys?”

Tiger's response to this showed his mindset about the game, his self-belief and ambition were what propelled him to be the greatest golfer in recent history.

“Why go to a tournament if you’re not going there to try and win?”

Tiger's attitude -- playing to win -- is the reason he is hailed as the best golfer. His competitiveness helped shape the landscape of competitive golf as we currently know it.

The 1996 interview can be seen in the video below.

Tiger Woods' first professional tournament scores

Tiger Woods tied for 60th place, a surprisngly avergae placement for the phenom at the amateur level. He earned a sum of $2,544, notwithstanding his $40 million dollar Nike deal at the time.

He shot a -7 in the entire tournament with a score of 67-69-73-68. This was a pretty decent score for a rookie; however, Tiger Woods showcased an enormous moment of brilliance and made heads turn with a hole-in-one on the 14th hole on the final day. This started his impressive feat of having 20 hole-in-ones across his golfing career. This is explored further in this article.

Ultimately, Loren Roberts, who shot a -19, eked out a victory over Jerry Kelly, who had more strokes in the first three rounds.

Loren Roberts winning the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1996 (via Getty)