"Golf took Daddy away from her" - Tiger Woods explains why daughter Sam has a 'negative connotation' to the sport
Tiger Woods' daughter Sam apparently isn't terribly fond of golf. That may seem surprising since her father is one of the most dominant athletes in the sport's history, but it came at a price and that price was family time while Sam was growing up.
Woods recently revealed why Sam feels this way (via Today):
“She has … a negative connotation to the game, because when she was growing up, golf took Daddy away from her. I had to leave, and I’d be gone for weeks," he admitted.
He said the two had to forge a relationship in the remaining time and without involving golf. It was very different for his son Charlie, who plays golf and is working towards a career in it as well.
Tiger Woods was one of the most successful PGA Tour golfers for a very long time, but that meant a lot of tournaments and a lot of traveling. For much of the year, he would have to spend the first few days of the week traveling and getting settled, and then the last few playing four rounds. Golf doesn't have a long offseason either.
Sam does get involved, though. As much as she has that negative connotation, she did work with Tiger Woods and Charlie at the PNC Championship, so it's not all out of the question.
Tiger Woods opens up on Charlie's golf journey
Tiger Woods has been coaching his son Charlie for a long time, hoping to see him one day follow in the same footsteps in pro golf. Right now, things aren't coming very easily for the young golfer.
Woods said that his son usually takes his advice but has been fighting back on some things of late (via Today):
"He's 15 years old," he said. "It's what happens — it's what teenagers go through. They're trying to find their own place in the world."
Woods' father helped mold him into the player he turned out to be, and he said that he wished his dad could have met his son. He believes the two would have had a great relationship, but Charlie was born after Woods' father passed.