Tiger Woods and his then-wife Elin Nordegren welcomed their second child Charlie Axel Woods on Feb. 8, 2009. On Tiger’s website (via People), he said in a statement, “We had a couple names and Charlie just fit.” The golf great added that “Axel” comes from “Elin’s brother’s name.” As Tiger put it, “We wanted to make sure it stayed in the family.”
A theory emerged that the name Charlie carried significance beyond it “just fit,” given the link between the child’s first name and the late Charlie Sifford, the first Black golfer to become a PGA TOUR member when he broke the “Caucasian-only clause.” There was a personal connection, too: Sifford was a close friend of Tiger’s late father, Earl Woods, and, according to the Associated Press (via PGA Tour), Sifford referred to Tiger as his “grandson.” Likewise, Tiger felt a similar sentiment, telling the Los Angeles Times, “He’s like the Grandpa I never had.” Tiger also noted, “I probably wouldn’t be here [without Sifford]. My dad would have never have picked up the game. Who knows if the clause would still exist or not? But he broke it down.”
Granted, Tiger hasn’t publicly linked Charlie’s name to the personal connection on his father’s side, but given the nod toward his mother’s side, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.