Sam Alexis Woods has chosen to avoid heading into the world of golf (Image: Getty Images)
Tiger Woods’ daughter, Sam Alexis Woods, has chosen to avoid heading into the world of golf.
While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, following in his father’s prestigious golfing footsteps, it turns out that his daughter Sam Alexis Woods has taken a different sporting path. Choosing to sidestep the sport that made her father a global icon, Sam has instead shown remarkable promise in football.
She recently helped lead her school team, Benjamin High School, to the Florida Class 2A state championship game with a 2-1 victory over Lake Christian. Proud dad Tiger supported from the stands, continuing to be a fixture at his children’s sports games despite his busy schedule.
Though Tiger remains the leader in major career wins (15) among active players, golf put a strain on his family time during his heyday, which caused Sam to have a “negative connotation” towards the sport.
Tiger disclosed during a March 2024 interview on ‘The Today Show’ that Sam’s aversion to golf was due to the sport taking him away from home for extended periods during her childhood. He explained: “She has, I think, a negative connotation to the game because at that time… when she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her.
“I had to pack, and I had to leave and I was gone for weeks and there was a negative connotation to it. So we developed our own relationship, our own rapport that’s outside of golf that we do things that don’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, we do everything golf-related. It’s very different.”
The golf legend is frequently spotted cheering on Charlie Woods on the course, with the 16-year-old already being hailed as a future star in the sport. Sam Woods, on the other hand, has shown her support by caddying for both Tiger and Charlie during the PNC Championship’s Pro-Am at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando.
Sam’s sporting interests have taken her down a different path, as she currently plays as a central defender for her high school football team. Despite this divergence, Woods appreciates that his children share other interests and enjoy being involved in a new sport.
Speaking to Golf.com in 2018, Woods expressed his delight in their enthusiasm for football, saying: “They’re keen into soccer,” he said. “If they want to play golf, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s fine, too. As long as they have a good time playing sports.
“I find that a lot of fun now, to be able to physically get out and pass the ball around with them. I get such a big kick out of watching them compete and play. It’s so much fun to see how happy and passionate they are about soccer.”
Despite having previously expressed ambivalent feelings towards golf, Sam Woods couldn’t help but beam with pride over her father’s heroic feats.
It was a year on from a car crash that left him with serious leg injuries when Tiger Woods was being ushered into the World Golf Hall of Fame, and during the event his daughter made an impassioned speech: “We didn’t know if you’d come home with two legs or not,” she emotionally declared.
“Now, you’re not only about to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but you’re standing here on your own two feet. This is why you deserve this. You’re a fighter, you’ve defied the odds every time.”
