Tiger Woods is a new Daddy

Woods became a father Monday morning(18Jun) in Orlando, Fla., when his wife, Elin, gave birth to a daughter they named Sam Alexis Woods. The news was announced on his Web site, leaving out such details as height and weight and when she was born.

"Pictures of Sam Alexis Woods will be made available shortly," it said beneath a short note from Woods.


The big question is when anyone will see this child in public.

Woods can rarely go anywhere at a golf tournament without getting pounded by the press and the public, and sometimes his peers.

He draws such a clear line between private and public that Woods won't reveal his schedule until a week before a given tournament. He doesn't let anyone except his friends inside his home, even before he got married. The name of his yacht says it all — "Privacy."

Ditto for his wife, a one-time model from Sweden, who will turn and walk away from a conversation when she sees a group of photographers pointing cameras at her.

There was one moment in South Africa at the Presidents Cup when Woods had just lost a match and was standing behind the 17th green at Fancourt with his wife, watching his teammates. A dozen photographers began taking pictures of them, and Woods finally stepped in front of his wife and barked, "You got enough, already?"

Imagine how much more protective he will be of his daughter, or any other children who follow.

The great coincidence about this birth was the timing.

Woods' daughter was born the morning after he finished second by one shot at the U.S. Open, needing a 30-foot birdie putt on the last hole to force an 18-hole playoff Monday. It might be the one time, in hindsight, Woods didn't mind settling for second.

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The only time Elin Woods was a prominent part of the picture was last summer at Hoylake, and only because Woods was a blubbering mess of tears having captured his first victory since the death of his father.
For other players, children are part of their careers, traveling to tournaments, caddying at the Par 3 Tournament at the Masters.

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Woods is so protective of his private life, it is difficult to imagine allowing his child or children to be at a tournament lest they feel part of the circus.