Tiger Woods may have inspired his son Charlie to pursue a career in golf but his first𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 wasn’t one to get convinced. Much can be owed to the “negative connotation” she had around the sport for she saw her father’s active career kept him away for long stretches of time. So, little Sam decided to swap the greens of golf for the soccer pitch, trade measured swings for powerful strikes and hush galleries for roaring crowds. Years after she first kicked a ball in the backyard, Sam has culminated her soccer journey, and she is going out as a winner.

On March 1, Sam proved she’s much more than just a famous last name. As captain, the Benjamin School Buccaneers’ leader led her team to a stunning victory—the first state championship in Benjamin Girls soccer history—over Episcopal School (1-0), clinching the FHSAA Class 2A girls’ soccer state title. But there’s another reason why this was extra special.

Practically inseparable since 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood—be it the soccer camps since they were only just 7-year-olds or countless sleepovers—senior players in defender Sam and goalkeeper Emily Simon couldn’t have anticipated a better end to their soccer careers than this. With Sam going on to Stanford where she wishes to pursue a degree in either psychology or biology and Simon still leaving undecided, the best friends closed their high school chapter with a bang. As both of them broke into nostalgic laughter, Sam said,

“We’ve been friends since forever and I can’t imagine a better end for not only our season but our soccer career,” Woods said to the Palm Beach Post. “To go all the way, to end on a win, to end having a ring and having a gold medal is absolutely the best way to go out. We’ve had such amazing chemistry with this team. I can’t ask for a better team to have played my final games with.” And when it came to summing up the long season, Sam couldn’t hold the truth for far too long.

“I’m just really happy that we got this far,” Woods said. “We didn’t really expect it.” Her words couldn’t ring more true! Let alone a state win, for the longest time, it didn’t look like they were anywhere near to even get to DeLand. Odds were stacked against them. They entered the season with zero expectations, considering they lost their top three scorers to graduation or other pursuits and a losing record of a regular season with just four wins, a 1-4-2 record to start the year, and nine underclassmen on the roster to show for it. But results improved late in the season, and in January, they found themselves in the district championship match. There, Woods scored the only goal in an upset victory over King’s Academy to stretch her soccer career.

“We definitely treated every game like it was our last,” Woods said. “We played our hearts out. We left everything on the field every single time. I think that’s one of the reasons why we made it so far—because we left everything out there. We didn’t only play for each other; we played for ourselves, our team, our coaches, our school. This is a really important moment for all of us.”

Meanwhile, Emily Simon also chimed in and reflected on her bond with Woods. “Me and Sam have been so close for so long. We’ve grown up together… I don’t even consider her one of my best friends. I consider her my family now. I really love her so much. She means the entire world to me,” Simon said, her voice filled with nostalgia.

Emma Bartoli, a freshman, scored the only goal in the game. The championship run was built on a solid defense for the Buccaneers, with Sam playing a key role as the central defender. Notably, Buccaneers head coach Hillary Carney had referred to her as Benjamin’s defensive “general.”

This win was a full-circle moment for Tiger Woods’ daughter, who had decided to forge her own path. Her father had previously talked about how she went down a different road due to her dislike of golf.

USA Today via Reuters

“She has, I think, a negative connotation to the game because, at that time… when she was growing up, golf took Daddy away from her,” Woods admitted on the Today show in March last year. “I had to pack, and I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks, and there was a negative connotation to it. So we developed our own relationship, our own rapport, that’s outside of golf that we do things that don’t involve golf.”

While she remained away from golf as a player, she caddied for her dad and supported him thoroughly, even inducting him into the Hall of Fame in 2022. Well, last Saturday, it was Tiger’s turn to return the favor.

He was spotted at Spec Martin Stadium at Stetson University in DeLand, cheering on his daughter. Woods was snapped wearing a baseball cap and an FHSAA Soccer State Championships T-shirt in the stands. Later, he shared a warm embrace with Sam to celebrate the win.

This was a fitting way for Sam Woods to say goodbye to her soccer career, but a new chapter remains on the horizon—one that will once again see her follow her father.

What’s next for Sam Woods?

During the 2024 PNC Championship, broadcaster Dan Hicks casually dropped a major update: “Tiger Woods’ daughter Sam, who is caddying for him this week, will be attending Stanford University next year.”  While Sam has kept her future plans quiet, her dad recently confirmed the news. Following a tough TGL match loss against Atlanta Drive GC on Tuesday, Tiger Woods was asked about his daughter’s big win and what it meant to him.

“Well, the core group of girls that were on that team have been together since they were six, so they’ve played traveled and they’ve played for Benjamin,” he shared. “To be able to end her high school career like that and to go on as a state champion is pretty cool.” 

And yes, Stanford is officially happening. “She’s going to Stanford in the fall, so everything is really trending,” he said, and he also mentioned that she “did like the campus.” As for what she’ll be studying? She’s leaning toward a degree in the sciences—either biology or psychology—while her friend Simon is still deciding on her next steps.