Tiger Woods Turns 40, Reflects on Golf and Life; Says He Peaked at 11

Tiger Woods turned 40 on Wednesday. It's almost hard to believe. But then again, it isn't really; he's been around forever. His professional career has spanned roughly two decades. During that time he's experienced loads of success, encountered unforeseen turmoil and endured incomprehensible anguish. All of this was by his own doing. He's perhaps the most accomplished golfer of all time, and almost surely the most talented player we've ever seen. And yet, that all pales in comparison to the year Woods had when he was 11-years-old; at least according to Woods.

In an interview with Lorne Rubenstein for Time, Woods talked all things life and golf. He discussed his latest injury (and recovery from it), his dislike for watching golf on television, the adoration he has for his kids, the media, past relationships and what he expects of the future. But perhaps the most interesting tid bid came after Woods told Rubenstein that his "only peace has been in between the ropes and hitting the shots."

This was the exchange that followed:
Rubenstein: "Did you begin to see this after you turned pro, or earlier?"
Woods: "[When] I first started playing, I was a little kid, say, in the nine and unders, and 11 and under, there was nobody there, but I still want to kick your butt. That never changed. Then people started to take notice of those wins. But I had been doing it since I was very little. By the time I was 11 years old, I had already won 113 tournaments. I peaked at 11, to be honest with you. I went 36 and 0 that year, never lost a tournament, all in California. And I probably had the cutest girlfriend in all of sixth grade. And I had straight A's. No A-minuses. They were all perfect A's. I peaked [then, and] I've been trying to get back to that since."

There you have it, Woods was at his best at 11, before puberty ever happened. Everything that happened after that just wasn't up to par.  What do you think?  Did Woods really peak at 11 or was it an issue of too much ego and stronger competition later?