Tiger Woods

The publicity which activists are able to attract for their views about an individual are proportionate to the individual's fame, so it could be considered that this negative publicity says little about Woods' personal ethics relative to those of other golfers, or of members of the general public. Its format is unknown, but it is already said it will be far different from the network's previous game show offering, Win Ben Stein's Money. Specific criticisms of things he has done personally have included those of his endorsement of an SUV (the 2002 Buick Rendezvous) deemed second-most-dangerous by the IIHS, and of mutual funds which do not meet certain activists' ethical investment criteria. Comedy Central has announced that they have inked a deal for Ken to host a new game show on their network, likely to begin in the autumn of 2005. Some of these criticisms concern golf in general, and the mention of Woods is a device to attract publicity by utilising the name of a top celebrity. Also starring Dennis Haysbert, the advertisements parody a typical Final Jeopardy! situation, and parody Ken's usual style of guessing at answers by having him answer the question in a humorous, over-the-top inquisitive fashion. Some activists have criticised him on certain social and environmental issues. Ken Jennings also is appearing on commercials for Allstate Insurance.

As mentioned above he has funded university scholarships and is founding a learning centre. The first of these commercials, portraying Jennings as having lots of "friends & family" (coming out of the woodwork, because he is now "stinking rich") started airing in February, 2005. Page wrote, "That works out fine for his bank account, but, for too many others it only reinforces the wrongheaded notion that academics should take a back seat to athletics." Others see the inclusion of Woods in this debate as inappropriate, arguing that his main responsibility was to make the right decision for his own career, that he had the backing of his parents, who are certainly not feckless, and that subsequent events suggest he timed his entry to professional golf appropriately. The SBC Communications and BellSouth joint venture Cingular Wireless LLC has signed Jennings to appear in commercials. Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune decried the "racially charged, money-linked sports obsession" fueled by a "fixation in which the riches and fame of such sports heroes as Michael Jordan have caused a wildly disproportionate number of young black Americans, in particular, to focus on the brass ring of professional sports at the expense of more realistic and productive career paths." Woods dropped out of Stanford after two years to pursue his golf career. Ken himself appeared in the commercial. It should be noted that Woods is only one quarter African American, and has said that he does not regard it as his primary identity. University Games is also producing a Can you Beat Ken? board game to be released in approximately May of 2005.

Woods has also been mentioned in relation to certain wider controversies, including the debate about the role of sport in the aspirations of American youth, especially African American youth, which some consider to be unhealthy. He is also engaged in speaking deals through the Massachusetts-based speakers agency, American Program Bureau (http://www.apbspeakers.com/themes/DefaultView/Site?aspx?PAGE=HOME). The mainstream view is that Woods' success is one of the most positive things that has ever happened to golf. Jennings has also agreed to a deal with Microsoft to promote their Encarta encyclopedia software, and has signed a deal with Bertelsmann AG for a book to be published through one of their book divisions in 2005. As of 2005 it is no longer heard. Jennings accepted the offer, and in another news story (http://www.tvbarn.com/ticker2004/archives/028052.shtml), H&RB officials reported that they had offered similar services to other individuals in the past. However, Woods was unable to keep up the winning streak, and the increases in television ratings and prize money which have occurred since Woods arrived on the golf scene have discredited the negative view of his impact on the game. According to H&RB statements, Jennings could pay over $1.045 million alone in taxes, more than any quiz show contestant.

At first, some feared that Woods could drive all spirit of competition out of the game of golf, by obsoleting existing courses, and having no competitors. H&R Block, the firm named in the answer he 'missed', announced in a press release (http://www.hrblock.com/presscenter/pressreleases/pressRelease.jsp?PRESS_RELEASE_ID=1245) that they were offering him a deal for free tax preparation and financial services for the rest of his life. This issue was most prominent in around 2001-02 when he was at his most dominant game level. "The question has been asked, seriously, and more than once: Isn't Tiger Woods actually bad for golf?" - commented Bill Lyon of Knight-Ridder, before going on to argue that he wasn't. Jennings’ success has resulted in him being a popular individual amongst corporations looking for public endorsers. Early in Woods' career a small number of golf experts expressed concern about his impact on the competitiveness and thus the public appeal of professional golf.
. Tiger Woods has established several charitable and youth projects. By finishing second ahead of Vered, Jennings not only tied Lygo's 150 opponents defeated record, but joined Rutter as the only two American game show contestants to top $3 million (US) in total winnings.

He is also notable for playing in more international tourmanents than most top American golfers, although it should be pointed out that this only means two or three a year, besides The Open Championship, and he is said to receive seven figure appearance fees for most of them. The winner of the tournament and $2 million prize was Brad Rutter, with a total of $62,000 earned over the three days. He plays fewer tournaments than most professionals (twenty or twenty one a year compared to the typical twenty five to thirty), and focuses his efforts on preparing for and competing in the majors and most prestigious of the other tournaments. Jerome Vered finished with a total of $20,600 for third place. He aims for consistency: although he is better than any other golfer when he is in form, his dominance comes not from having best rounds that are better then the other leading professionals' bests, but from having fewer bad rounds. In the final, Jennings faced off against Jerome Vered and Brad Rutter in a three day tournament for $2 million ($500,000 for 2nd place and $250,000 for third place). After the three days, Ken Jennings finished in 2nd place with a tally of $34,599. Although he is considered charismatic, Woods' approach is essentially cautious. If Jennings won the three-day final, he would have broken Lygo's record.

He was involved in a media spat with Harmon, who also works as a golf broadcaster, when Harmon suggested that he was in "denial" about the problems in his game, but they publicly patched up their differences. During his original run, Jennings defeated 149 opponents. Early in his professional career Woods's worked with the leading swing coach Butch Harmon, but since he has been coached by the less-heralded Hank Haney. In the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, Jennings had a chance to break Lygo's record of defeating 150 opponents. He is largely responsible for a shift to higher standards of athleticism amongst professional golfers, and is known for putting in more hours of practice than most. After Jennings' 75th show, he tied Lygo's record of 75 consecutive appearances and, with 74 wins, he almost reached Lygo's record of 75 consecutive game show wins. His driving is generally accurate, his approach play accurate, his recovery and bunker play sometimes brilliant, and his putting is usually reliable. Ian Lygo appeared on the British game show 100% 75 consecutive times and won every game until he was forced to retire by the show's producers.

He has instead focused on developing an excellent all-around game. Jennings broke almost every game show record in his run. However, while he remains a long driver, he is by no means the longest, and does not attempt to be. Oddly, however, during the 74th game, which aired on Monday, November 29, Gilbert resumed announcing the number of games. When Woods burst onto the golf scene one the things which made the biggest impact on fans was his long driving. To make it more difficult for viewers to keep track of Ken's progress towards his final episode, in early September 2004 the show's announcer, Johnny Gilbert, ceased mentioning the number of games that Jennings had won, as had been the show's custom. However, some people in the studio audience reported that he was still announcing them, possibly meaning those parts had been edited out of the airing. Major championships are shown in bold. The reasoning behind the early airing was reportedly due to a technician running the wrong tape.

In 2004 Forbes Magazine estimated that the two men both had an annual income of $80 million. In an interesting turn of events, the 75th episode was aired early in the Macon, Georgia area (on WMAZ-TV, see here (http://www.freep.com/entertainment/tvandradio/tv1e_20041201.htm)) on Friday, November 26, 2004. He is one of the two highest earning sports people in the world, alongside Formula One driver Michael Schumacher. Later on, it was determined that Ken Jennings did indeed lose as initially reported with the failing episode shown in most cities across North America on Tuesday, November 30, 2004. Woods makes most of his income from endorsement contracts. Despite this, Jeopardy! refused to comment. In addition to his PGA Tour wins, he has won a number of events on professional tours outside North America, and several professional events which were not part of an official tour schedule. A few days later, another rumor spread giving out an incorrect first name of the contestant that had beat him.

Woods was only a professional for around one third of the 1996 season. (Jeopardy! tapes five shows per day.) This incident was reported by TV Week and the Associated Press, appearing in hundreds of newspapers across the United States. * Updated 14th June 2005. In a rumor (http://www.kottke.org/04/09/some-ken-jennings-news) disclosed on Wednesday, September 8, 2004, two sources who were at the taping on September 7, 2004 reported that Jennings had lost on his 75th episode, taped the day before, with total winnings at around $2.5 million. DNP = did not play
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place. Jennings' adjusted total of $37,500 puts him ahead of that mark. The above performances have also given him the record victory margin in two majors:. Four contestants finished with scores of $30,000 or higher in the pre-doubling era, led by Jerome Vered's score of $34,000.

The "to par" and "low 72-holes" records are not always the same because while most championship golf course have a par of 72, or 288 for four rounds, some have a par of 71 or 70:. Jennings's top score of $75,000 is the highest ever, even if it is adjusted for the seasons before the clue values were doubled. Woods holds at least a share of the record for lowest 72-hole score in relation to par in all four majors, and at least a share of the low-72 holes record in two of them. Jennings has reached the $50,000 mark eleven times, with wins of $75,000, $55,099, $52,000 (three times), and $50,000 (six times). The achievement has been nicknamed "The Tiger Slam". Myron Meyer won $50,000 on September 5, 2002, and Brian Weikle won $52,000 on April 14, 2003. With his victory in The Masters in 2001, he became the only man to have held all four professional majors at once, although this did not occur in a calendar year, and is therefore not recognized by some as a true Grand Slam. Prior to Jennings's run, the $50,000 mark had only been reached twice before.

Woods' major championship victories are as follows:. Jennings now also holds most of the top spots in the list of highest single day winnings on Jeopardy!. He is the only two-time winner as an individual of Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award (1996, 2000). If winnings are further adjusted to make them comparable to the seasons before the clue values were doubled, Jennings's adjusted total of $78,000 would place him 11th in the Trebek era of Jeopardy!, behind Frank Spangenberg ($102,597) and nine others. Woods won the "World Sportsman of the Year" award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000 and 2001. No other Jeopardy! contestant has won more than $150,000 in non-tournament play in the first five days. Many commentators consider this one of the most remarkable golf accomplishments of all time, given the margin by which he broke the old record (and against much stronger fields than those in Nelson's day) and given that during the streak, the next longest streak by another player was usually only in the 10s or 20s. The previous record holder, Tom Walsh, won $184,900 in seven days, but only $118,100 of that came in the first five days.

At the 2003 TOUR Championship, he set an all-time record for most consecutive cuts made with 114 (passing Byron Nelson's previous record of 113), and extended this mark to 142 before it ended on 13 May 2005 at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Sean Ryan was the first to break the record, winning six games in October 2003. He is one of only five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player) in the history of golf to have won all four professional major championships in his career. Jennings won US$156,000 in his first five days on Jeopardy!, so if the five-day rule had not been eliminated, he would still be the all-time non-tournament winner in Jeopardy! history. To date, Woods has won 43 official money events on the PGA Tour and 15 other professional titles. Comprehensive game summaries for each day of Ken Jennings' streak have been compiled here. Singh and Woods have continued to swap the number 1 position several more times during the 2005 season, with neither able to establish a lasting advantage. With three consecutive losses in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions in addition to the loss in his previous Jeopardy appearance, Jennings has now lost four episodes in a row.

On 10 April, Woods broke his "drought" in the majors by winning the 2005 Masters in a tie-breaking playoff, which also assured him of returning to Number 1 in the World Rankings once again. Jennings also holds the record for the number of consecutive losses on Jeopardy. On 6 March he won the Ford Championship at Doral and returned to Number 1 in the World Rankings, but just two weeks later, Singh displaced him once again. Jennings' current total of US$3,022,700 could be increased to US$3,272,700 if he wins the next Tournament of Champions for the season in which his streak ended, thus retaking the title of highest total winnings on Jeopardy or any other game show. At the start of the 2005 PGA Tour season, Woods returned to his winning ways.
The following records, having been set by Ken Jennings, have now been broken by others:. At around this time Woods let it be known that he was once again working on changes to his swing, and hoped that once the adjustments were complete he would get back to his best. Jennings bested 149 opponents during his tenure.

In September 2004, Woods' record streak as the world's top-ranked golfer - 264 consecutive weeks - came to an end at the Deutsche Bank Championship when Vijay Singh won the tournament and overtook Woods in the rankings. ** In 100%, Lygo faced two opponents per game. He did not win a major in 2003 or 2004, and fell to second in the PGA Tour money list in 2003 and to fourth on 2004. * Lygo was forced to retire by producer RTL Group. The next phase of Woods career saw him remain among the top competitors on the tour, but lose his dominating edge. Three game show records remained that Jennings did not tie or break:. Open. He also tied the following records:.

Open. During this time, he also broke Old Tom Morris' record for the largest victory margin ever in a major championship, which had stood since 1862, with his 15-shot win in the 2000 U.S. During his streak, Jennings broke the following records:. He won seven out of eleven major championships starting with the 1999 PGA Championship and finishing with the 2002 U.S. During his Jeopardy! appearances, Jennings became known for several quirky behaviors:. He won seventeen PGA Tour events in two calendar years, and 32 in five, both of them achievements that hadn't been rivaled for several decades, and golf in Woods' era is generally seen as having much more strength in depth than in earlier periods. Harry Friedman, Executive Producer of the show, said in the release, "The 2003 rule change, which allows Jeopardy! players to keep playing until they're defeated, raised the question about how other five-time champions might have played under this rule. This tournament is an opportunity to give those past champions another chance to shine." On May 25, Ken Jennings finished second in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, winning half a million dollars but has been replaced as the number one overall winner of money on a gameshow by Brad Rutter, the two million dollar winner of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. This was the beginning of a sustained period of dominance of men's golf. The three-day finals concluded the event on May 23, May 24, and May 25.

In June 1999, Woods won the Memorial Tournament. The tournament was taped in early 2005 and the tournament began airing on February 9. Woods was careful to avoid using this as an excuse and instead responded to questions about his wavering form with reminders that he was still very young, and was hoping to do better in the future. Guaranteed prize money will be offered to all contestants. At this time he was working on modifications to his swing to adapt to the maturation of his physique, and to address concerns that the extremely vigourous and elastic swing he had used in his youth might cause him back problems in the long term and truncate his career. The Ultimate Tournament of Champions offered a substantial purse, with a grand prize of $2,000,000 to the winner, $500,000 for second, and $250,000 for third. Despite suggestions that the other players would only be competing for second place from now on, Woods' form began to fade in the second half of 1997, and in 1998 he only won once on the PGA Tour. This equaled a total of 145 players, including Jennings.

The inspiration of working closely with a brilliant young talent was widely regarded as a catalyst for O'Meara's own career year in 1998, when he won the only two majors of his career. It featured Tournament of Champions Champions, College Championship, and Teen Tournament winners from the show's 21-year run, as well as over 100 undefeated five-time champions. O'Meara acted as a mentor to him for a time, and the two men won the World Cup together. On December 28, 2004, Sony sent out press release announcing their 15-week, 75-show, Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions. Woods formed a close friendship with leading PGA Tour professional Mark O'Meara, who was almost twenty years his senior. Work on the series will begin summer 2005 with a launch date set for late 2005 or 1st qtr 2006. In the summer of 1997 Woods went to number one in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. According to Comedy Central execs, Jennings would co-host and participate but would not elaborate any further on the show’s format.

The following April he won The Masters by a record margin of 12 shots, and he has been by far the highest profile golfer in the world since then. According to Variety.com (‘Trivia titan gets series’, 5/23/05) Ken Jennings and Michael Davies (Who Wants to be a Millionaire & Win Ben Stein's Money) are teaming up as executive producers on a new game show format for Comedy Central. He won two events in the three months of the 1996 season that he played as a professional. Combined with a ten percent tithe, this would leave him approximately $1,230,430 to use for other purposes. Woods became a professional golfer in August 1996 playing his first round of professional golf at the Greater Milwaukee Open (GMO). H&R Block senior vice president David Byers estimated that Jennings would owe approximately $1.04 million in taxes on his winnings. Woods decided to leave Stanford after two years because he believed he was ready to succeed as a professional. Taking advantage of its fame over the crucial clue, H&R Block offered Jennings free financial services for the rest of his life.

He attended Stanford University and won one NCAA individual championship. Jeopardy! contestants typically receive their winnings approximately 120 days after their last game airs in the form of a check. With his first US Amateur win in 1994, the year that he graduated high school, he became the youngest man ever to win that event. When asked what he intended to do with his winnings, Jennings said that he intends to tithe ten percent to his church, donate to public television and National Public Radio, go on a trip to Europe, and invest the rest for his family. Amateur titles the next three years. On May 24th, 2005, Comedy Central announced that Jennings would be the host of a new comedic quiz show to replace the cancelled Chappelle's Show". He followed this with three consecutive U.S. A&E aired on December 1, 2004 an episode of the Biography television program on Jennings and other Jeopardy! notables, including Frank Spangenberg and Eddie Timanus.

He remains the youngest ever winner and the only multiple winner. TV Guide featured a segment of "The Top Ten TV Moments of 2004," in which Ken Jennings' loss placed third. Junior Amateur title in 1991, 1992 and 1993. While on his media tour following his final game, Jennings taped a segment for a future episode of Sesame Street. He went on to win the U.S. Barbara Walters selected Jennings as one of the "Ten Most Fascinating People of 2004" for her twelfth annual ABC News special, which aired on December 8, 2004. He was only eight at the time, but 9-10 was the youngest age group in those days. news programming and on Nightline.

In 1984 he won the 9-10 boys' event at the Junior World Golf Championships. Jennings appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to present Letterman's "Top Ten List." He appeared again on the program on the night his final show was televised, in addition to interview segments airing that night on local 11 p.m. Woods was a child prodigy who began to play golf at very young age. While still a small child, he demonstrated his golf skills in a television appearance with Bob Hope. it's not like Millionaire.". They presently make their home in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando, Florida. During that guest appearance, Jennings said that, "Jeopardy! is a man's game .. They married in a sunset ceremony at the Sandy Lane Hotel and Golf Club on Barbados amid armed security before approximately 200 family and friends on October 5, 2004. There Jennings revealed that he had failed to qualify for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, also hosted by Regis Philbin.

They were introduced by Swedish golf star Jesper Parnevik, who had employed her as a nanny. After his 31st win on Jeopardy!, during the summer break between tapings, Jennings made a guest appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly. In 2003, Woods became engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish model. Jennings has received a good deal of American media coverage. By the time he was achieving national prominence in amateur golf, he was always called Tiger Woods. Jeopardy! ratings went up 62 percent during his run on the show (11.1 million viewers was a ten-year high); for three weeks in July 2004 and for most of the latter part of Jennings's run, it surpassed traditional leader Wheel of Fortune to become television's highest-rated syndicated program. He was nicknamed Tiger at birth after a Vietnamese war comrade of his father's and became generally known by that name. Jennings's winning streak on Jeopardy! has made him something of a celebrity.

Woods' actual given name is Eldrick. On December 1, the show broke with tradition by having Jennings make a "guest appearance" at the start of the broadcast, during which host Alex Trebek acknowledged his success and enumerated the various game show records he'd broken. Woods' mother Kultida Woods is of Thai and Chinese ancestry. Along the way, Jennings defeated at least three contestants who are current quiz bowl players; in fact, according to a Washington Post article, at least one fellow NAQT employee was selected to appear on the show during Jennings' run (but, as someone with more than a casual acquaintance with Jennings, could not compete against him because of standards and practices rules). He is now the chairman of his son's charitable Tiger Woods Foundation. Zerg was defeated the following day, finishing in third place with $2, while Jennings' running time period totaled 182 calendar days, including his first and last appearances. Army lieutenant colonel, of mixed African American, European, and Native American ancestry. Most who saw the show would say this assessment was in keeping with his genial personality, since Zerg never appeared to be a serious contender until Jennings stumbled in the second half.

His father, Earl Woods, is a Vietnam War veteran and a retired U.S. Jennings reported in an interview that the loss was "no fluke" and that Zerg was a formidable opponent. Woods is from a comfortable social background. Immediately after she won, Alex Trebek dubbed her a "giant-killer" for her accomplishment of finally beating the long-standing champ. Woods, who is of mixed race, is credited with prompting a major surge of interest in the game of golf, especially among racial minorities and younger people in the United States. Zerg answered correctly, and she and Jennings shook hands and hugged as the audience gave the two of them a standing ovation. He also holds the PGA Tour record for most consecutive tournament cuts made with 142. Jennings's final total, along with his second-place money, was $2,522,700.

In 2005, at the age of 29, he reached the milestone of nine major golf championships at a younger age than any other player. The Final Jeopardy category was "Business and Industry"; the clue was: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year." The correct response was: "What is H&R Block?"; Jennings responded with "what is FedEx?". Eldrick "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975, Cypress, California), is considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. But Jennings proved to be his own worst enemy by 'missing' both Double Jeopardy! Daily Double questions (on which he had placed his usual high wagers) and the Final Jeopardy! question. Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team: An eighteen member team which competes in the annual Junior World Golf Championships. The third contestant, David Hankins, completed the Double Jeopardy round with a negative amount and was not allowed to participate in Final Jeopardy. The event also carries generous prize money, but Woods donates his winnings to his foundation. On November 30, 2004, Jennings' long reign as Jeopardy! champion finally came to an end when he lost his 75th game to challenger Nancy Zerg, who initially did not appear to be a threat to the champion.

Target World Challenge: An annual off-season charity golf tournament. In theory, if Jennings had remained undefeated though the 2005-2006 season, there wouldn’t be a tournament of Champions for that season, because Jennings would be the sole champion. 2005's Tiger Jam VIII will be headlined by Stevie Wonder and Counting Crows. Since he did not lose before the 2004 Tournament was taped (which then aired from September 20 through October 1), he will have to wait until the 2005-06 season to compete in the Tournament of Champions. Tiger Jam: An annual fundraising concert. Jennings's run began with the episode aired on Monday, June 2, 2004, and spanned two seasons. The center's website states, "Our mission is to provide an interactive enrichment program that will improve individual aptitude in reading, math, science and technology". The centre will feature extensive multi-media facilities and an outdoor golf teaching area. After this rule change, and until Jennings' run, the record winning streak was set by Tom Walsh, who won $186,900 ($184,900 in his winning episodes) in eight games in January 2004.

There will also be summer programs, weekend and community outreach programs and online learning programs. At the beginning of the show's 20th season (in 2003), the rules were changed to allow contestants to remain on the show as long as they continued to win. It is expected to be used by several thousand students each year, with a day program for grades 4 to 6 and an after school program for grades 7 to 12. Prior to 2003, Jeopardy! contestants were limited to five consecutive games. Tiger Woods Learning Center: This is a 35,000 square foot (3,000 mē) educational facility due to open in Anaheim, California in 2005. He and his wife Mindy have a son named Dylan. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee; the Start Something character development program, which had had over one million participants by 2003; and the Tiger Woods Learning Center. He was a software engineer for CHG, a healthcare-placement firm.

Further activities added since then include participation include university scholarships, an association with Target House at St. He also writes questions and edits the literature and mythology categories for the National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT), a quiz bowl organization. Initially these comprised golf clinics (aimed especially at disadvantaged children), and a grant program. Now residing in Murray, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City), Jennings identifies himself as an avid comic book and movie buff with a website listing his top 2000 favorite movies. It focuses on projects for children. He served a two-year mission in Madrid, Spain from 1993 to 1995. The Tiger Woods Foundation: The Tiger Woods Foundation was established in 1996 by Tiger Woods and his father Earl. Jennings is a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2004 Dunlop Phoenix (Japan Golf Tour), Target World Challenge (United States - unofficial event). Jennings graduated with a degree in computer science and English at Brigham Young University, where he played on the school's quiz bowl team for three years. He completed an International Baccalaureate diploma at Seoul Foreign School, and achieved honors at both Brigham Young and the University of Washington. 2002 Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe (PGA European Tour), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event). He watched Jeopardy! on the American Forces Network television while growing up. 2001 Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe (PGA European Tour), Williams World Challenge (United States - unofficial event), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event). Born in Edmonds, Washington, Jennings grew up in Seoul, South Korea (1981–1992) and Singapore (1992–1996), where his father worked for an international law firm and then as Asia Pacific Division Counsel of Oracle Corporation. 2000 Johnnie Walker Classic (co-sanctioned by Asian Tour and PGA European Tour), World Cup of Golf: team (unofficial event - with David Duval), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event). Jennings held the record for most winnings on any game show ever played until the end of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions on May 25, 2005, when he was displaced by Brad Rutter.

1999 Deutsche Bank Open-TPC of Europe (PGA European Tour), World Cup of Golf: individual (unofficial event), World Cup of Golf: team (unofficial event - with Mark O'Meara), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event). His total winnings on Jeopardy! are $3,022,700 ($2,520,700 during his original run, and $500,000 in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions). 1998 Johnnie Walker Classic (co-sanctioned by Asian Tour and PGA European Tour), PGA Grand Slam of Golf (United States - unofficial event). 74 games before he was defeated by Nancy Zerg on his 75th appearance. 1997 Asian Honda Classic (Asian Tour). He will often say "What's...?" instead of "What is...?". 2005 Buick Invitational, Ford Championship at Doral, The Masters. When guessing, he would phrase his responses in such a way as to make it clear he was in doubt of the answer himself, and openly expressed surprise when he gave the correct response.

2004 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He often shook his head in disbelief when his total cash winnings were announced at the start of each episode/game. 2003 Buick Invitational, WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Bay Hill Invitational presented by Cooper Tires, 100th Western Open presented by Golf Digest, WGC-American Express Championship. Jennings has only made three other attempts to break Weikle's $52,000 record (in his 30th, 39th, and 65th games), but incorrect Final Jeopardy! responses prevented him from succeeding. Open, Buick Open, WGC-American Express Championship. On his 71st game, he broke the record a second time with a win of $55,099. 2002 Bay Hill Invitational presented by Cooper Tires, The Masters, U.S. However, in his 38th game, Jennings entered Final Jeopardy with a total only $600 shy of the record (and, in fact, had exceeded the record in the Double Jeopardy round before missing a question at the end), and beat it with a final total of $75,000.

2001 Bay Hill Invitational, The Players Championship, The Masters, Memorial Tournament, WGC-NEC Invitational. Prior to his 30th game, Jennings did not want to beat the $52,000 single-day record of former five-day champion Brian Weikle just "for the sake of beating it" (from the Jeopardy! forums). He intentionally tied his record three times. Open, The Open Championship, PGA Championship, WGC-NEC Invitational, Bell Canadian Open. Host Alex Trebek commented on this several times, and he even occasionally guessed what wager Jennings would make. 2000 Mercedes Championships, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Bay Hill Invitational, Memorial Tournament, U.S. On Final Jeopardy and the Daily Doubles he almost always wagered an amount that could bring his total to a multiple of $5,000 or $1,000. 1999 Buick Invitational, Memorial Tournament, Motorola Western Open, PGA Championship, WGC-NEC Invitational, National Car Rental Golf Classic/Disney, The Tour Championship, WGC-American Express Championship. He often pronounced foreign words, phrases, or locations with an accent.