THE TIGER CUB Sam Alexis Woods Arrives - Just in Time for Carnoustie Open

Jun 19, 12:28 PM

Current Headlines: By MATTHEW LINDSAY

TIGERWOODS is set to play in the Carnoustie Open next month after the arrival of his first child.

His Swedish wife Elin gave birth to a baby girl, Sam Alexis Woods, in the early hours of yesterday.

The momentous event lifted the spirits of the world's No.1 golfer after his agonising second-placed finish in the US Open at Oakmont just hours earlier.

It also means he will be bidding to land the Claret Jug for the third year running at Angus in July.

Woods, who won The Open at St Andrews in 2005 and at Hoylake last year, was set to miss the third Major of the season if his wife was still due. He had admitted: "If she's going to have it during the week of The Open, I just don't go. That's the most important thing, not a golf tournament."

However, the 31-yearold will now try to become only the second man (after Aussie Peter Thomson) in the modern era to win the game's greatest event three times in a row.

That is a huge boost for Scottish golf fans, who are sure to flock to Carnoustie from July 19-22.

A statement of Tiger's official website read: "Elin and I are delighted to announce the birth of our daughter, Sam Alexis Woods. Both Elin and Sam are doing well and resting peacefully. 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."

Tiger, though, has admitted that becoming a father will have a major impact on the way he prepares for tournaments.

He confessed: "Yeah, life is going to change. Our priorities change. You are bringing a new life into the world and it's 100-per cent dependent on you for survival.

"I think it'll be interesting to try and figure out my tournament schedule, preparations, my commitments that I have with my sponsors, to try and balance that."

Woods won The Open last year two months after his father, Earl, died following his battle with cancer.

"Last year I was not looking forward to the year. Two totally different mindsets, one is just praying and hoping and the other is just pure excitement and enjoyment, so it's two totally different opposite ends. I'm looking forward to what's going to transpire."

(c) 2007 Evening Times; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.