GOLF runs in the blood of Tiger Woods' family.

The Masters champ, who will be defending his title at the Augusta National this week, isn't the only talented golfer carrying that famous surname.


His niece Cheyenne Woods, daughter of Woods' half-brother Earl Jr, turned pro in 2012.

They both learned the game from Tiger's late father Earl Woods, a former lieutenant colonel in the US Army, who served two tours of duty in Vietnam.

And Tiger's son Charlie appears to have inherited his father's family genes – sweeping all junior tournaments before him and has been called a child golf prodigy.

SunSport takes you behind the scenes of America's most famous golfing family.

IT BEGAN WITH EARL

At Kansas State University, Earl was known for his sporting prowess around campus.

He played baseball, earning a varsity letter (an award earned for excellence in school activities) in 1952 and 1953.

But it wasn't until he was 42, and stationed at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York, that he discovered the joy and beauty of golf.

Regularly, Earl would take himself off to Dyker Beach Golf Course in Dyker Heights.




Showing a natural ability in the sport, he later became a decent amateur golfer.

He recorded scores in the 70s over 18 holes and claimed that he was playing close to scratch handicap level when Tiger was born in 1975.

TIGER CARRIES THE MANTLE

From the age of two, Tiger had a golf club in his hand.

The family lived in Orange County, California – and Earl would take his son to the many US military courses there to work on his swing.

Just like Richard Williams did for Serena and Venus, he moulded a child golf prodigy.

At the age of three, Tiger is said to have shot a 48 over nine holes at the Navy golf course, next to the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.

He first broke 80 at the age of eight, and then won the Junior World Championships six times.

Later, Earl would shares his techniques for training Tiger in two books – Training a Tiger: A Father's Guide to Raising a Winner in Both Golf and Life, and Playing Through: Straight Talk on Hard Work, Big Dreams and Adventures with Tiger.

Earl died from a heart attack at the family home in Cypress, California, in 2006, aged 74.


CHEYENNE

The daughter of Susan Woods and Earl Woods Jr, Tiger's half-brother, Cheyenne is the former world No1's niece.

Before her granddad died in 2006, Earl passed on his wisdom to a young Cheyenne to create a golfing family dynasty.

He trained her how to putt in the same garage he taught his son, at the same time Tiger began his meteoric rise.

By the age of eight, Cheyenne shot a 98 at her first tournament.

At 10, she was crowned The US Kids Golf World Champion and well on her way.

A year after winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2011, Cheyenne turned pro.

To date, the 30-year-old has two tournament wins to her name – the SunCoast Ladies Series LPGA International in 2012 and the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters in 2014.




FATHER'S SON

Following in his father's footsteps, Charlie Woods, 11, is the latest golf star of the family.

An avid supporter of his dad, seen cheering Tiger on to victory at Augusta last year, Charlie is already dominating the junior golf world.

Back in August, he won a nine-hole kids tournament,blowing the opposition away to win by five strokes.

A video went viral of Charlie's swing at the event at the Hammock Creek Golf Club in Palm City, Florida, as he shot a blistering 3-under 33 in the tournament, with three birdies and no bogeys on the scorecard.

And he had the perfect caddie for the occasion, none-other-than his old man who carried his clubs.



Tiger told GolfTV of his son: "He’s starting to get into it, He’s starting to understand how to play.

"He’s asking me the right questions. I’ve kept it competitive with his par, so it’s been just an absolute blast to go out there and just, you know, be with him.

"It reminds me so much of me and my dad growing up."

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