Tiger Woods can’t help but smile when it comes to his daughter, Sam Alexis Woods.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner spoke about the close-knit relationship he has with his 13-year-old, whom he shares with ex-wife Elin Nordegren, while playing golf with Jada Pinkett Smith during the premiere episode of the Golf Digest mini-series A Round with Tiger: Celebrity Lessons.
When Pinkett Smith, 49, asked what his daughter has taught him, Woods, 45, broke into a smile and joked, “What has my daughter taught me? I don’t like boys.”
He later answered that Sam “has taught me how to be more patient.”
“Daddy’s little girl,” the athlete added. “I love it.”
a round with tiger
golf digest Jada Pinkett Smith and Tiger Woods
“I have this thing about… I feel like every dude should have a daughter,” said the Red Table Talk host, who shares daughter Willow Smith and son Jaden Smith with husband Will Smith.
Tiger Woods
Jean Catuffe/GC Images Tiger Woods and daughter Sam Alexis Woods
Woods admitted that he doesn’t “ever want [Sam] to leave home.”
“She’s my little girl,” he said.
Woods later opened up about bonding with son Charlie Axel Woods over golf, agreeing with Pinkett Smith that the 11-year-old is a “natural.”
Tiger Woods
Stan Badz/PGA TOUR Tiger Woods with kids Sam and Charlie
Woods explained that he doesn’t want Charlie to feel pressured into playing golf, however: “I just don’t want him to hate the game.”
“I get emotional about it. Some of my best memories are being out there with my dad,” he said.
Woods filmed A Round with Tiger: Celebrity Lessons the day before his rollover car crash earlier this year.
On Feb. 23, Woods was driving downhill on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California when his car struck a sign in the center divider, cut through a tree and landed alongside the road. The vehicle sustained major damage, and Woods underwent emergency surgery for “significant orthopedic injuries to his right lower extremity.”
While Woods did not return back home to Florida until mid-March, Nordegren made sure he was able to see his kids while recovering, sources told PEOPLE in April.
Tiger Woods
Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Tiger Woods
“He sees the kids a lot,” the insider said at the time. “Maybe not every day, but almost every day. A lot of that is because of Elin, who is just amazing. She’s been incredible since the crash. She has bent over backwards to make sure that he can see the kids while he recovers from his injuries.”
After his return to Florida, another source told PEOPLE, “Tiger is happy to be back home. He is still recovering and has some pain, but he is in good spirits.”
Part of Woods’ positive attitude is due to his time with the kids, the first insider told PEOPLE.
“[Tiger and Elin] are working well to make sure that the kids have as much access to them as they want,” the insider said. “The kids can go to mom’s or dad’s anytime they want. And there’s very little jealousy over who gets to spend what time with the kids.”
Ultimately, the Los Angeles County Sheriff found that speed was the primary cause of Woods’ single-car rollover crash, but that there were “no signs of impairment” and that the pro golfer would not be cited for the accident.
After the sheriff’s announcement, Woods issued a statement saying that he would “continue to focus on my recovery and family, and thank everyone for the overwhelming support and encouragement I’ve received throughout this very difficult time.”
A Round with Tiger: Celebrity Playing Lessons airs Tuesdays on Golf Digest through August 10.
