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American Morning

Tiger Woods' Niece Shows Promise

Aired April 13, 2001 - 10:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LAURA OKMIN, CNN ANCHOR: We spent last weekend watching Tiger Woods win the Masters to make golfing history. But there's another Woods trying to master her homework just so she can just get to the golf course.

Her name is Cheyenne Woods. She's 10 years old and happens to be Tiger's niece. And in case you're wondering, Cheyenne is already winning championships and developing her own "A" game. CNN/Sports Illustrated's Tom Rinaldi introduces us to the next generation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM RINALDI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For some of us, a good golf swing is like searching for the grail. For her, it's like looking up the family tree.

Practice helps, yes. But genetics don't hurt.

TIGER WOODS, 2001 MASTERS CHAMPION: We started in the same spot, the same garage I started in at. She picked up the club, and there she went.

EARL WOODS, CHEYENNE WOODS' GRANDFATHER: I took her into the garage right back here and got one of Tiger's cut-down clubs. And she began to play in there.

CHEYENNE WOODS, TIGER WOODS' NIECE: My mom and I would go to the park, and we'd see how many times it took me to get to the other end.

RINALDI: When your uncle is Tiger Woods, the other end of the park is closer than it looks. For Cheyenne Woods, the hole is too.

C. WOODS: Thank you.

RINALDI: The daughter of Earl Woods, Jr., Tiger's half-brother, Cheyenne Woods is like any 10-year-old from Phoenix, any 10-year-old who plays golf in the southwest section PGA, LPGA Girls Golf Club, International Junior Golf Tour, U.S. Kids Golf Tournaments, and just about anywhere the grass is green and the course is open.

She's already won more than 25 times just five years after her first tournament.

C. WOODS: It was in Mesa. And we played nine holes. And I shot a 96. And I looked at the scoreboard. And I was like, "Mom, mom, look, I won. I got the highest score."

(LAUGHTER)

RINALDI: Cheyenne sees her uncle just a few times a year. She sees her grandfather more often.

While she says she's just as likely to talk about school with both of them, there are lessons to be learned about the game as well. And she's an eager student.

RINALDI: Tiger Woods has already every major championship, three U.S. amateur titles, dozens of PGA tour victories. And he's not at the peak of his career. He has transcended his sport while destroying many of its boundaries. He is a one-word catch phrase in the world's vocabulary.

He's also Cheyenne Woods' uncle, nothing less, nothing more. Excellence, pressure, legacy, those are just words when you're 10 years old. And they don't fit onto a small, white ball.

T. WOODS: Hopefully she doesn't burn out. I don't ever foresee her doing that because right now she has a great love of just playing golf. And usually, when they do that, when they have that, that burning desire, that love, they usually don't burn out.

E. WOODS: She is growing up with a very, very strong sense of self-worth. And that's where it all starts.

She's going to avoid that pitfall. The Woods? OK, so my name is Woods. Yeah, I'm a girl.

RINALDI: And on the course, the girl has a simple goal.

C. WOODS: Hitting it far.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKMIN: She said it was simple. Last year, Cheyenne won the inaugural U.S. Kids National Championship for her age group in Georgia. She finished fourteenth in the Junior Worlds, not bad for somebody who also just had a big part in her school play. Well rounded. FYI, by the time Tiger was 10 years old, he'd already won two Junior World titles, mighty large shoes to fill for Cheyenne.

But she looked pretty good, didn't she?

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: She looks good so far.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: How about that putt, huh?

HARRIS: Wow. And yeah, she's got the complete package.

OKMIN: Got it all.

HARRIS: Good deal.

KAGAN: Thanks so much.

HARRIS: That's a great story.

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