Tiger Woods has revealed his daughter Sam has no interest in golf because it robbed her of so much time with her father.
The sport has a “negative connotation” for the 16-year-old, Woods said Wednesday, because he spent much of her childhood jet-setting.
The 48-year-old has rarely been out of the headlines in the 30 years since he turned pro in 1996, thanks to his success on the course and his controversial behavior off it.
Today, his son Charlie, 15, is a promising amateur prospect who is regularly seen with his father.
Sam, meanwhile, was Tiger’s caddie at the PNC Championship last year, but the 15-time Major winner said he had to maintain a relationship with her off the course.
Tiger Woods has revealed that his 16-year-old daughter Sam has no interest in golf
“She has, I think, a negative connotation to the game,” the 48-year-old said of his daughter
“She has, I think, a negative connotation to the game because at that time, when she was growing up, golf took Dad away from her.” Woods told me today.
‘I had to pack up and leave, I was away for weeks and that has a negative connotation. So we develop our own relationship, our own understanding that is outside of golf – we do things that have nothing to do with golf, while my son and I do everything that has to do with golf. So it’s very different.’
None of Tiger’s children were born before his own father’s death in 2006. Earl Woods played a major role in his son’s success and the 48-year-old spoke of his regret at never spending time with his grandchildren.
“I wish my dad could have met Charlie, and I wish Charlie could have met my dad,” he said. “There’s a commonality: I’m in there. But I wish they had met. They would have loved each other.’
Charlie Woods, 15, is a promising amateur who regularly plays with his father
“I wish my dad could have met Charlie and I wish Charlie could have met my dad,” Tiger said
Despite emphasizing that his father is “always with me,” Woods wishes he had listened to his father more during his life.
“It’s amazing how many things I say to my kids that come from him,” said Woods – who even claimed he felt like his father.
“I wish I had taken more of his advice. I wish I paid more attention to him when he was alive because I say many of the same things he said in the short time I had him on this earth.
“But I’m so happy that he was part of my life and I can pass on some of the things that are inside me through him.”