She's less than 4 feet tall, but can drive a tee shot 200 yards. Her name is Cheyenne Woods ... that's "Woods" as in "Tiger Woods."
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Tiger Woods and his 10-year-old niece Cheyenne Woods. Cheyenne is already showing huge talent as a golfer. |
Ten-year-old Cheyenne is Tiger's niece, and she is already showing some of the same genius for golf that has made Tiger the world's top player.
Cheyenne first picked up a golf club at the age of 2, and competed in her first tournament at 5.
"She took to it automatically, like a duck takes to water," says her father, Earl Woods Jr., Tiger's half-brother.
Cheyenne has won about 30 tournaments so far, and regularly shoots in the 80s. Her playing is beginning to get attention in the golfing world, not just because she is Tiger's niece.
"They look alike. They smile alike. They have a flair to them. They have great personalities," says Kent Chase, Cheyenne's coach.
Similar Beginnings
Cheyenne even started playing golf exactly the same way Tiger did, under the guidance of his father, Earl Sr.
"My grandpa bought me some clubs and then I just started hitting," Cheyenne recalls.
"We started in the same spot. The same garage I started. She picked up the club and there she went," says Tiger.
There's no telling how far she's going to go now.
"She's a competitor. She enjoys doing well," says her father.
Her coach agrees: "She's highly trained. She's very motivated and she's possibly got some serious talent inside of her."
Well-Rounded
Cheyenne is also a straight-A fourth-grade student, with an array of interests outside golf.
"She's very well-balanced. And that's what we try to keep it at: a very good healthy balance for her," says her father.
Tiger seconds that.
"I think what she's doing is fantastic. She's a great kid," says Tiger. "Hopefully she doesn't burn out. I don't ever foresee her doing that because right now she just has a great love of playing golf."
While others may have great things in mind for her, Cheyenne's goals are pretty simple at this point.
"Ummm. To, like, become a pro and stuff," she says.
(Agencies)
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她身高不足4英尺,卻能把高爾夫球從球座上擊到200碼開外。她就是夏安-伍茲,泰格-伍茲家族的另一名小成員。
年僅10歲的夏安是泰格-伍茲的侄女,她小小年紀(jì)已經(jīng)顯現(xiàn)出和她叔叔--這位世界頂尖高爾夫球手同樣的天賦了。
夏安兩歲時開始接觸高爾夫球,五歲時候參加了她的第一場高爾夫球比賽。
夏安的父親,也就是泰格-伍茲的同父異母的兄弟小厄爾-伍茲談到自己的女兒時說:"夏安天生就喜歡打高爾夫球,就好象鴨子生來就喜歡戲水一樣。"
夏安迄今已經(jīng)贏過30多場比賽。通常她僅用80多桿就能打完一局高爾夫球。她的表現(xiàn)引起了整個高爾夫界的關(guān)注,而這并不因為她是泰格-伍茲的侄女。
夏安的教練肯特-齊茲說:"他們(泰格和夏安)兩人長得很象,笑起來也一樣,兩人都很有天賦,而且頗具人格魅力。"
相似的入行經(jīng)歷
夏安和泰格-伍茲一樣都是在老厄爾-伍茲的指引下開始練習(xí)高爾夫球,老厄爾-伍茲是泰格-伍茲的父親,也就是夏安的祖父。
夏安回憶說:"我爺爺給我買了些高爾夫球棒,于是我就開始練打球了。"
泰格說:"我們在同一個地點開始學(xué)練打球,就是當(dāng)年我開始練球的那個車庫。她在那兒學(xué)會了使用高爾夫球棒,并不斷進(jìn)步。"
現(xiàn)在還沒有人知道她在高爾夫球上到底能有多大的造詣。
夏安的父親說:"她絕對是個有力的競爭對手,她以打球和打好球為樂。"
她的教練也這樣認(rèn)為:"她訓(xùn)練有素且上進(jìn)心強,她很可能生來就有一種一絲不茍的精神。"
全面發(fā)展
夏安如今是四年級的學(xué)生,她的功課全優(yōu),除了打高爾夫球外,還有著其他廣泛的興趣愛好。
她父親說:"夏安各方面發(fā)展的很平衡,而這也正是我們對夏安的期望。"
泰格對此表示贊同,他說:"她做得棒極了,她是個非常有前途的孩子,但愿她不是一時的熱情。在我看來她應(yīng)該不會是三分鐘熱度,因為時下她太愛打高爾夫球了。"
盡管別人會對夏安予以厚望,而目前小姑娘自己的目標(biāo)卻是非常的簡單。她說:"嗯……我只是想成為一名職業(yè)高爾夫球手,一個有真本領(lǐng)的人。"
(中國日報網(wǎng)站譯)
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