Tiger Woods is one of the most respected golfers in the world. The four-time PGA Tour champion has been a celebrity since he was a child, and he turned professional at the age of 20. Tiger married model Elin Nordegren in 2004 and the couple has two gorgeous children.
Unfortunately, the couple divorced in 2010, following a highly publicized cheating scandal in which it was revealed that the golfer was having an affair with New York club hostess Rachel Uchitel. Despite his public split from Elin, Tiger appears to have a terrific relationship with both of his children. And throughout his career highs and lows, Sam and Charlie Woods have been his biggest supporters.
Who Are Sam And Charlie Woods?
In 2007, Elin gave birth to their first child, Sam Alexis. Tiger said shortly after she was born that her name was significant to both him and Elin. “We wanted to have a name that would be meaningful to either side of the family, my side or Elin‘s side, because she was born (the day after) Father’s Day.”
He went on to explain, "It just happened to fit. My father had always called me Sam since the day I was born. He rarely ever called me Tiger. I would ask him, ‘Why don’t you ever call me Tiger?’ He says, 'Well, you look more like a Sam," he said at the time.
Although much is not known about Sam, it is reported that she’s an avid soccer player.
Then in 2009, the couple welcomed their son Charlie Axel to the world. The young boy has definitely taken after his dad a bit, and he has started to golf also. The pro’s son made his debut in the PNC Tournament alongside his dad in the father-son competition, in December 2020.
Just like Tiger’s late-father Earl Woods, it seems like the golfer has bonded with his son over the game, and he’s encouraged him to do his best. Tiger’s spoken about how important it is to not discourage Charlie from the game that he’s made a career out of.
How Is Tiger Woods’ Relationship With His Children?
Tiger Woods appears to have a strong bond with both his son and daughter. He and his son Charlie made news in December 2021 when they matched in red jerseys at the PNC Championship. It was Tiger's first competitive round of golf since his car accident about a year ago, and he was joined by his son for the second year in a row.
During the opening round, the junior Woods struck a lot of solid tee shots while his father proudly watched and focused on walking at times due to his post-accident injuries. Recently, Sam gave an emotional speech that brought tears to her father's eyes.
Sam presented a deeper perspective of Tiger Woods, from recalling her grandfather Earl Woods' influential words, "train hard, fight easy," to giving amusing anecdotes about what Tiger does in his spare time.
Despite Tiger and Ellin’s divorce, their children continue to support their father in his career. Ellin even praised him for being a great father to their kids, saying: "My relationship with Tiger is centered around our children and we are doing really good – we really are – and I am so happy that is the case. He is a great father."
How Is Tiger Woods' Relationship With Ex-Wife Eliin?
In October 2004, Tiger Woods married model Ellin Nordegren. But things between them didn’t go well. Since their divorce in 2010 due to the athlete's cheating scandal, they have been co-parenting their children.
Tiger told Stephen Colbert in a December 2015 interview how he and his ex-wife managed to move past the hurt to become a united front for their kids. He said, “We have Sam and we have Charlie. And we love them so much that we are going to do whatever it takes to make that work.”
He continued, "That’s how it happened… I’ve talked to her about so many different things, and she does the same thing with me back and forth. We communicate so much better now, it’s incredible. I wish we would have done that earlier on, but it’s been incredible to have a best friend like that."
He has also told his two children about the “mistakes” he made in his marriage. “I’ve said, ‘Everybody makes mistakes, and the reason why Mommy’s living in her house and Daddy’s living in his house is because Daddy made mistakes, and it’s OK,’” he explained. “I’ve taken the initiative with the kids and told them up front.”
After his separation from Ellin, he moved on with Olympian skier Lindsey Vonn from 2013 to 2015, then stylist Kristin Smith from 2016 to 2017. He is currently in a relationship with restaurant manager Erica Herman. Erica has developed a close relationship with Tiger Woods’ children. After all, there are many photos of her looking right at home with his family, and she has even been there to support his kids during their events in the past.