Tiger Woods honoured with 2019 US Presidential Medal of Freedom

On May 6, US President Donald Trump bestowed Tiger Woods with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. He won his first major in nearly 11 years at last month’s Masters Tournament, a comeback that captivated the sporting world. Woods is only the fourth and the youngest golfer ever to have received the highest American civilian award. The other golfers were Arnold Palmer (74), in 2004; Jack Nicklaus (65), in 2005; and Charlie Sifford, (92), in 2014. Sifford was the first African American to play on the PGA tour. The Medal of Freedom is America’s highest honour for civilian accomplishment. President Truman first established the medal to honour extraordinary civilian accomplishments related to World War II. President Kennedy re-established the medal by executive order in 1963.