Tiger Woods said his teenage daughter wants nothing to do with golf after the game “took daddy away” when she was growing up.
When appearing on the “Today” show Wednesday, the 15-time major winner explained why daughter Sam, 16, has a “negative connotation” to the sport he forged his storied legacy.
“No, no, no,” Woods, 48, responded when asked by pal Carson Daly if Sam wants to play golf. “She has, I think, a negative connotation to the game because at that time… when she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her.
“I had to pack, and I had to leave and I was gone for weeks and there was a negative connotation to it. So we developed our own relationship, our own rapport that’s outside of golf that we do things that don’t involve golf.
“Meanwhile, my son (Charlie Woods) and I, we do everything golf-related. It’s very different.”
Sam caddied for her father and 15-year-old brother last December at the PNC Championship, which took place at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando.
It marked the fourth straight year that Woods and Charlie played in the tournament.
Sam gave an emotional speech at Woods’ 2021 World Golf Hall of Fame induction, when she referenced the golfer’s terrifying car crash that February, which nearly cost him his right leg.
Meanwhile, Charlie is continuing to grow his golf game and is taking tips from his father.
Woods explained on “Today” that his son listens to him when it comes to golf, but admitted there has been “a little pushback” at times.
“He’s 15 years old. It’s what happens — it’s what teenagers go through,” Woods said. “They’re trying to find their own place in the world.”
Charlie took part in a local qualifier for the U.S. Open last week but did not advance in his first attempt to make the major.
Woods had taken his kids to a number of golf tournaments and other sporting events over the years, with the trio sharing a sweet embrace at the 2015 Masters.
Woods shares Charlie and Sam with his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren.
They were married for nearly six years before their messy public divorce in 2010.