• Ladies European Tour

Woods: I'm finally out of Uncle Tiger's shadow

Cheyenne Woods believes her victory at the Australian Ladies Masters on Sunday will finally see her step out of the shadow of being Tiger Woods' niece.

The 23-year-old, who turned professional in 2012, carded a final-round 69 at Royal Pines, on the Gold Coast, to edge out local amateur teenager Minjee Lee for her maiden Tour title.

Woods, the daughter of Earl Dennison Woods Jr, Tiger's half-brother, choked back tears as she spoke of the significance of winning a Ladies European Tour event.

"This is a huge accomplishment for me," she said. "The European Tour has been great to be able to play this past year.

"I've been able to see all of these great players and play with Solheim Cup members. To be able to come out here and compete with them and come out on top was huge for me.

"I've been pro for two years, and for the majority of it, people just think of me as Tiger Woods' niece, so now I have a game of my own and I have a title now, a win, which is exciting.

"It's nice now to say to people that I can play and I'm not just a name.

"Growing up with the last name of Woods, there's a lot of expectations and pressure and spotlight on you but I always knew that I was able to win.

"I always knew I'd be able to compete with these ladies so now it's kind of a weight off my shoulders because now everybody knows, not just me."

Woods' win earned her $51,000 in prize money and a two-year exemption on the Ladies European Tour events. She will play next week in the LPGA Tour-sanctioned Women's Australian Open in Victoria.

Tiger, meanwhile, took to Twitter to congratulate his niece.

Way to go @Cheyenne_Woods ! A great win and accomplishment. I'm so proud of you.— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) February 9, 2014

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