In the Same Neck of the Woods

Seventeen years ago, a young child named Woods took up an interest in golf. Cheyenne Woods, that is, Tiger's niece. In 1992, when she was a mere 19 months old, she went with her mom to watch the 1992 Nissan Los Angeles Open and cheer on her uncle Tiger. At the time, Tiger was making his Tour Debut, and was heckled at the tee, as the spectators thought the 16 year old amatuer Tiger was far too young to compete. This was the first of two events that sealed Cheyenne Woods' fate of playing golf. When Cheyene was 8, Tiger's dad, the late Earl Woods, brought her to the course and made her chip some balls on the green. Before Earl had died, he was everything to Cheyenne. He listened to her, and she thought he was the wisest person in the world. Tiger has since filled his father's role, listening to everything she says, and mentoring her in the game of golf.

Over the course of Cheyenne's young career she has already won 30 amateur tournaments, as she prepares to enter her sophomore year at Wake Forest, which finished ranked #13 in the NCAA for women's golf. Her first year as a Demon Deacon, her teammates thought she was going to be a prima donna, a diva, but they have since changed their perspectives. They say she is "low maitenance" and has an "explosive laugh", making her easy to get along with. Cheyenne arrived at Wake Forest asking for no special treatment, and saying she has to earn everything.

Now, almost 19 years old, Cheyenne is currently playing her first professional tournament at the Wegmans LPGA in Pittsford, N.Y. In her LPGA debut on Thursday, she shot a 75 (+3), which was good enough to tie for 119th place. In her the second round of the tournament, she moved herself up to 63rd place, shooting -2 for the day. At +1 for the tournament, she sits one stroke above the expected +2 cut line. She's off to a good start, and perhaps one day we will see "Tigress Woods" atop the leaderboards for the LPGA.

R.I.P. the King of Pop, Michael Jackson