The 15-time major champion said he and Sam have their “own relationship” outside of the sport

Tiger Woods’ daughter Sam is not planning on following in her father’s footsteps.

In a rare live interview while on the Today show May 1, the golf legend shared that his 16-year-old, whom he shares with ex-wife Elin Nordegren, has a “negative connotation” to the game due to his frequent travel when she was a child.

“You know, hey, when she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her,” Woods, 48, said. “I had to pack and I had to leave and I would be gone for weeks and there was a negative connotation to it.”

Despite caddying for her dad — for the first official time — at the PNC Championship in Florida last December, Sam and Tiger are pursuing a bond away from the links.

“We’ve developed our own relationship, our own rapport, that’s outside of golf that we do things that doesn’t involve golf,” Woods said on Today.

All of which is not to say the 15-time major champion didn’t try to involve her in his passion.

A few weeks after Sam was born in 2007, Tiger revealed that he had already put a golf club in his baby daughter’s hands. “She couldn’t quite hold it. But it was there,” he said at the time.

Over the years, Sam has supported her dad at numerous golf tournaments, and was front and center when it came to honoring Woods at his World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Florida in March 2022.

“We didn’t know if you’d come home with two legs or not,” she said during a speech at the event, referencing her father’s 2021 car crash, which led to him being hospitalized.

Meanwhile Sam’s younger brother, 15-year-old Charlie, is charting a course in Tiger’s wake.

Last week, he attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open but missed the cut, failing to advance in qualifying after hitting a 9-over-par 81 in an event at the Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

But he has seen success in the sport and competed alongside his father the last four years at the PNC.

In addition, in late March, Woods and Nordegren celebrated his latest accomplishment, when he received his state championship ring after his North Palm Beach, Florida school won the Class 1A golf title.

“My son and I, we do everything golf-related,” Tiger said on Today Wednesday, comparing his relationship with his two kids. “It’s very different.”

In 2018, GOLF.com asked Tiger Woods if his kids had any interest in following his footsteps into the golf world. “No, not really. They’re keen into soccer,” he said. “If they want to play golf, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s fine, too.” Six years later, his son, Charlie Woods, has become a sensation in the golf world, in part thanks to his uncanny resemblance to his father’s skills and mannerisms. Sam Woods, on the other hand? She’s stayed passionate about soccer, even competing for the Benjamin Buccaneers on the regional level. However, what was turning out to be a remarkable season for the team ended in heartbreak.

The 19-year-old and her team were one step away from the Florida High School Athletics Association’s Class 3A Girls Soccer Regional Finals. Coming into the semifinals with a 17-0 record this season, the Benjamin Buccaneers were the No.1-ranked team in Class 3A, No.2 in Florida, and No.9 in the US. Needless to say, the odds were in their favor against the King’s Academy Lions, who had an 11-4-2 record. However, as the game kicked off on February 9, the Lions proved to be more formidable than expected.

Despite being without their star player, Lola Hathorne, the Lions displayed their defensive prowess. But so did Sam Woods’ Buccaneers. After a goalless regulation play, the match went into 20 minutes of overtime. However, both teams held their ground, and overtime ended with a 0-0 score. That meant an impending penalty shootout.

Sam Woods’ team took the first shot, but the Lions goalkeeper stopped it. But as the Lions stepped up to the spot, their first penalty was saved, too. With both teams scoring their next two penalties, it was 2-2. But when Woods’ team missed another, King’s Academy saw an opening and took it, leading 3-2. They needed to score just once more to seal the deal, and that’s precisely what they did. Unfortunately, that meant Woods’ team’s unbeaten run came to an end, and so did their season.

Having lost their chance to go up against Edgewood in the Regional Finals, given their stellar stats, the match was a disappointing turn of events for Benjamin School. This defeat pushed Sam Woods and her team out of the race for the State Championship as well, dropping down to third in the district rankings. While this was disheartening, especially after the 5-0 result of the same fixture a year ago, they’ll “learn from this and come back stronger,” per their coach.

As for Sam Woods, what has her three years at Benjamin School looked like so far?

Tiger Woods would be proud of Sam’s wins with the Benjamin Buccaneers
Sam Woods is the 25th-ranked player in 3A D11 stats and has scored 7 goals in her 3 years with the Benjamin Buccaneers, having played 46 varsity games. This season alone, she played in 15 games, scoring 4 goals and making 2 assists. After defeating the Lions in the semifinals last year, Woods’ team played against this season’s regional champions, Edgewood. However, they missed out on the state semifinals as Edgewood got the better of them.

However, the Buccaneers won the District Championship in Palm Beach in 2023 and clinched the Ryan Rogers Remembrance Soccer Tournament later in August. Although Benjamin School’s girls soccer team has not won a title at the state level in the last three years, Sam Woods & Co. will aim to come back stronger next season, making the most of their chances to play for the State Championship!