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Cheyenne takes inspiration from uncle Woods

Dubai - Cheyenne would be making her second appearance at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters this weekend

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It's never easy to live in the shadows of an illustrious family member and sporting history is littered with many an example of sons or daughters or for that matter nieces and nephews unable to live up to the mountain of expectations.
Having a famous surname is a double-edged sword, a blessing and a curse, as Bruno Senna, the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna would attest to.
 

Full name Cheyenne Nicole Woods  Born July 25, 1990 (age 26)  Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)  Nationality United States  College Wake Forest University  Turned professional 2012  Current tour(s) Ladies European Tour (joined 2013)  LPGA Tour (joined 2015)  Former tour(s) Symetra Tour (2014)  Professional wins 2

 
More recently, Nico Rosberg managed to get the chip off his shoulder by emulating his father Keke in becoming a Formula One World Champion.
And for Cheyenne, it is a bit of both as well. The pretty looking 26-year-old is the niece of one of the legends to grace men's golf - Tiger Woods.
But Cheyenne has learnt to live with it and given it a positive spin by taking inspiration from her celebrated uncle.
"I guess you could see it as a blessing and a curse, but for me it's all I've ever known," said Cheyenne Woods, at the Emirates Golf Club on Tuesday.
Cheyenne would be making her second appearance at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters this weekend after playing here two years ago.
"Since I was 10-year-old, I've had this. This is kind of what comes with the territory of playing golf for me. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love being able to have Tiger as my uncle and have that resource of knowledge and that inspiration to look up to. You do have the added attention but because I've had it for so long, I've sort of grown used to it, and you try to block it out and you figure out how to deal with it eventually," she added.
And Cheyenne was delighted to see her uncle make a return to golf after a 15-month lay-off because of surgeries to his troublesome back.
Woods finished 15 out of 17 golfers at the Hero World Challenge in Bahamas, his first event since the Wyndham Championship in August 2015. He had 24 birdies, six double bogeys and eight bogeys for a four-under.
"To see him come back, and everyone was anticipating this week of golf that he just played, and so I was real excited to see him not only on the course but on the course playing well. That's the Tiger we've all missed. I think everybody was happy to see the fist pump and see Tiger making birdies and holing out bunker shots, because that's the Tiger that we all remember," she said.
"Tiger is to me the greatest golfer that's played, and the greatest golfer in my lifetime," she added.
Woods has won 14 majors and is still four shy of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 and Cheyenne believes that he still can best that record.
"From what we saw this past week, I think Tiger definitely has many more wins in him. Next season will be really exciting to see him play, hopefully a full schedule or whatever he might put together. I think he definitely has a chance," felt Cheyenne.
james@khaleejtimes.com