Tiger Woods’ Kids: Then & Now Photos Of Sam & Charlie

Even though Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren‘s marriage ended in a 2010 divorce amid a cheating scandal for the golf superstar, the pair has remained committed and loving co-parents to their two children: 13-year-old daughter Sam Alexis and 11-year-old son Charlie Axel. Sadly the kids were so small when the couple split, with Charlie being only ten-months-old, but their dedication to raising their two beautiful children remained. On Tiger’s 45th birthday, we’re taking a look back at how much the youngsters have grown up!

Both of the kids’ lives have been tied to golf, the sport in which their dad has become an icon with his 82 tournament wins, 15 coming in majors. Sam was born on June 18, 2007, just a day after her dad finished second in the U.S. Open in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Charlie came along on Feb. 8, 2009. The kids have been visible over the years cheering on their dad at golf tournaments, as well as making for adorable caddies.

Now Charlie is following in his 44-year-old dad’s steps on the links. The 11-year-old is already an up and coming golfer on the junior circuit, and for the first time he played in a tournament alongside his father at the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando (Grande Lakes) from Dec. 17-20, 2020. It turned out to be a blended family affair, as Charlie’s mom Elin, 40, and Tiger’s girlfriend Erica Herman stood with Sam as they followed Charlie and Tiger’s play up and down the fairways.

At 13, Sam is now almost as tall as her 5’11” mom, and towered over Erica. They watched as Tiger and his mini-me son twinned in matching red Nike golf shirts and black plants. Just five years ago, Sam she still looked like such a little girl, as the then-seven-year-old wore a white caddy jumpsuit during the 2015 Par 3 tournament that precedes the Masters every April. Now she’s so grown up looking!

In addition to golf, Tiger and Elin are both huge fans of professional tennis. They’ve been photographed separately bringing their kids to enjoy tournaments in South Florida, while Tiger has been seen taking Charlie to the U.S. Open in Flushing New York to watch matches in 2017 and 2019.

After the messy ending to Tiger and Elin’s four year marriage, Tiger explained how he and Elin are now “best friends” during a 2016 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “You told Time magazine less than a year ago that she is one of your best friends. How is that possible? Keeping your ex-wife your best friend, given how that ended, my friend,” Stephen asked the golfing legend, hinting at the blowout Thanksgiving 2009 fight that blew the lid open on Tiger’s alleged infidelities. “That’s more impressive than being 11-time PGA Player of the Year. Honest to God, how do you do that? How did you guys work that out?”

“It becomes two simple things, OK? We have Sam and we have Charlie. And we love them so much that we are going to whatever it takes to make that work. That’s how it happened,” Tiger explained as audience applauded. “She’s been one of my best friends and I’ve talked to her about so many different things and she does the same thing with me back and forth. We communicate so much better now, it’s incredible. I wish we would have done that earlier on, but it’s been incredible to have a best friend like that.”