Tiger's wife gives birth to a daughter

Tiger's wife gives birth to a daughter...just in case you missed it!=]

June 19, 2007

Tiger has a cub.

Less than 24 hours after Tiger Woods finished second at the U.S. Open on Father's Day, his wife gave birth to their first child, a daughter. He announced Monday night on his Web site that Sam Alexis Woods was born early Monday morning.

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"Both Elin and Sam are doing well and resting peacefully," Woods wrote. "We want to thank our doctors and the hospital staff for all their dedicated and hard work. This is truly a special time in our lives and we look forward to introducing Sam to our family and friends over the next few weeks. We thank everyone for their well wishes and continued respect of our privacy."

Woods said he would miss a major if it meant seeing the birth of his child. Now he won't have to, but it's not clear how his upcoming schedule will be affected.

Woods finished a shot behind Angel Cabrera on Sunday to finish second in a major for the second time this year.

He's scheduled to host a tournament in Washington, D.C., from July 5-8. The British Open starts July 19, and the PGA Championship begins Aug. 9 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa.

"I'm pacing myself already just because of the fact that I have a baby coming up," Woods said about two weeks ago. "I don't know how much I'm going to play after that or how much I'm going to play before that. A lot of that is depending on what happens and the health of Elin and our child."

The past two years have been life-changing for Woods, who has won 12 majors in his brilliant career.

He turned 30 in December 2005, and the following May his father, Earl, died at age 74 after a long bout with cancer.

A month later, Woods failed to make the cut at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. He came back to win the British Open in July and broke down in tears on the 18th green at Royal Liverpool, sobbing on the shoulder of his caddie.

In December, Woods went public with his wife's pregnancy. Last week, before the U.S. Open he talked about becoming a father.

"My practice sessions are going to have to be tailored around a little bit, have to move things around. But, you know, I don't really know how my game is going to be affected by it because I've never gone through it before," he said.

"All I know is that Elin and I are excited, and that this is far more important than any game of golf. This is an opportunity for us to raise our first child, and we're really looking forward to it."