Tiger Woods may be a 15-time major champion – but his proudest achievement is becoming a dad to two incredible kids.
The golf pro shares daughter Sam, 16, and son Charlie, 15, with his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, and while they couldn’t make their relationship work, they appear to be mastering co-parenting.
Tiger previously revealed he and Elin now have a “fantastic” relationship, which helps them successfully raise their children, despite being apart.
“She is one of my best friends. We’re able to pick up the phone and talk to each other all the time,” he told Time, adding that Sam and Charlie know “they have two loving parents that love you no matter what”.
As for being a dad, Tiger said in 2011 that it is his most rewarding role: “I just love being with them and seeing what they’re doing, what they’re capable of doing – the joys, just the shifts of interest. It’s just fun. We have a great time together.”
Tiger and Elin welcomed their daughter, now 16, on June 18, 2007, and her dad wasted no time putting a golf club in her hands – although, at only a few weeks old “she couldn’t quite hold it”.
The couple named Sam after Tiger’s father’s nickname for him growing up. “We wanted to have a name that would be meaningful to either side of the family, my side or Elin’s side,” he explained during a press conference for the AT&T National in 2007.
“Because she was born [the day after] Father’s Day. It just happened to fit. My father had always called me Sam since the day I was born. He rarely ever called me Tiger.”
He added: “I would ask him, ‘Why don’t you ever call me Tiger?’ He says, ‘Well, you look more like a Sam.'”
In 2021, Tiger discussed his close-knit relationship with his daughter during the mini-series, A Round with Tiger: Celebrity Lessons.
Appearing alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, he was asked what Sam has taught him, to which he jokily replied: “I don’t like boys,” before adding that she “has taught me how to be more patient”.
