Nineteen of the top 25 female golfers in the world will tee off at the Wegmans LPGA Championship today, but the player getting most of the attention this weekend will be playing her first professional round of golf.
Cheyenne Woods, the 21-year-old niece of golf icon Tiger Woods, will make her LPGA tour debut this weekend on a sponsor’s exemption. Woods comes to the LPGA fresh from setting school records at Wake Forest for lowest single-season scoring average (73.47) and career average (74.31).
“I’m so thankful that I had those four years of college to really prepare me for the tour,” Woods told USA Today. “Playing every week and balancing my time with academics and athletics, I think, has really helped me prepare for this stage. But the biggest transition I think would be getting used to the media.”
Woods has grown accustomed to the media hype surrounding her, as she went on to say, “ The media is something that I’ve dealt with since I was about 12 years old, having the last name of Woods. So that’s also something I’m thankful for, to help me get ready for this stage, too.”
But what about her superstar uncle?
“He’s always been so supportive of me. He knows a lot of expectations are out there. But he just tells me to be me. …He is obviously amazing at golf, and having him there and knowing I can go to him whenever I need him is nice to have.”
You can catch the LPGA Championship in its entirety on the Golf Channel.
