All week, the golf world has been focused on the PNC Championship, intrigued by Charlie Woods’ golf game and our first in-depth look at Tiger Woods, sports dad. On the one hand, there’s nothing relatable about Charlie’s game — he can already beat nearly every grown-up watching on TV. On the other hand, Woods has never been more relatable.
But Woods wasn’t the only parent on hand to watch Charlie during Sunday’s second round. His ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, was among those following from outside the ropes, taking in the action with their daughter, Sam. The TV broadcast tried to strike the balance throughout the week of highlighting the Woods family dynamic while still respecting the privacy of an 11-year-old kid; in this case, Golf Channel used Nordegren’s presence to shed more light on their parenting dynamic.
Notah Begay III, Golf Channel analyst and Woods’ longtime friend, discussed how the divorced couple has handled co-parenting of Sam, 13, and Charlie, 11.
Charlie Woods the golfer was good, and so was Tiger Woods the father
“It’s been incredible,” Begay III said. “You never know how a parent separation is going to affect the kids and both Tiger and Elin have made it such a huge priority to protect the interests of their kids and their privacy. Tiger talked about it yesterday in his post-round comments, making sure he takes the brunt of the media requests here, trying to make sure that both Sam and Charlie, from both Elin and Tiger, have a nice quality childhood like anybody else out there.”
Woods is, by all accounts, an enthusiastic parent. We’ve seen him share meaningful moments at tournaments, notably his 2019 Masters victory, but he eagerly receives updates from home whenever he’s at tournaments, from Charlie’s golf scores to updates from Sam’s soccer games. He’s also understandably protective of his kids’ privacy, choosing his words carefully in interviews all week and keeping Charlie in what he called “our little world” on the course.
“I talked about Tiger being at all those soccer games and youth activities — well, Elin’s right there and right next to them. Co-parenting is a difficult task, and they’ve really done a wonderful job for their kids,” Begay concluded.
Team Woods finished with a bang on Sunday, playing their final six holes in six-under par to post a second consecutive 62. Their two-day total of 20 under left them in 7th place alone, five shots off the winning total posted by Justin Thomas and his father, Mike.
But there’s no question that the Woods family left feeling like winners.
“I don’t think words can describe it,” Woods said. “Memories for a lifetime.”
