ESPN Jason Sobel Blog

Before marrying the former Elin Nordegren, there were those who believed such a major step in Tiger Woods' personal life would adversely affect the advancement of his golf career on the road toward history.

"Let's face it, a wife can sometimes be a distraction to a good game of golf," one naysayer once said in regards to such a prospect. "Case in point: 'All you do is practice. Why don't you stay home here and have some quality time with me?' He doesn't need that. ... The level of competition that he's at, a little problem like that could destroy him."

The source of those comments wasn't a fellow player or a so-called expert. It was Tiger's own father, Earl, who at one time believed that a bachelor's life offered the most direct route toward golfing immortality. To put it bluntly, he was wrong. It should be noted that in the time since those nuptials took place in October 2004, Woods has prevailed in 25 of 58 starts on the PGA Tour while adding six more major championship titles to his résumé.

Of course, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. And so it happened that when Elin gave birth to the couple's first child, Sam Alexis, on June 18, 2007, there were again murmurs that fatherhood could cut into his desire, his practice time and, as a result, his assault on the record books. Instead, Woods missed one scheduled appearance before competing in seven more tournaments that season, winning four of them, including the PGA Championship and the inaugural FedEx Cup playoffs.

In fact, it seems that any time Woods has been faced with an emotional or physical impediment, he only returns with greater success. When Earl passed away in 2006, Tiger took nine weeks off and came back at the U.S. Open. After missing the cut and later admitting he returned too soon, Woods countered with an impassioned victory at the British Open one month later. And of course, last year, when competing in the U.S. Open with a torn ACL and multiple leg fractures, Woods triumphed in a sudden-death playoff over Rocco Mediate.

Armed with such information, don't expect many to believe that Woods' career can't overcome another major milestone in his personal life.

It was first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday night that Elin gave birth to the couple's second child, a baby boy. His name is Charlie Axel Woods.

Let the records show that Woods now trails Jack Nicklaus by four majors and three offspring.

When asked in October how child No. 2 will affect him, Woods said, "Obviously, it's going to impact us. It's going to impact my sleep. I have a feeling I won't be getting a whole lot of sleep."

A notorious early riser, the lack of a full eight hours of shut eye will hardly serve as cause for believing he won't regain his previous form upon his return from knee surgery. Speaking of which, now that the baby has arrived it can safely be assumed that his 2009 season debut will rely solely on Tiger's ability and desire to tee it up in a competitive environment rather than having to postpone such a comeback due to the birth.

Back when Woods won the 2007 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational -- his initial victory after Sam was born -- he was asked about the feeling on the course of winning for the first time as a father. "Well, it wasn't that," he said. "The whole idea was to just keep putting pressure on the guys, keep it bogey-free and not drop a shot coming in."

But weren't there some sort of family-oriented thoughts as he was approaching the title? "No," he claimed. "Not when I'm out there playing."

Expect a similar focus -- and a similar winning percentage -- now that Woods is a father for the second time.

Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.