Following in your father’s footsteps can’t be easy when the dad in question is 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods. However, his son Charlie is certainly making it look that way.
Woods Jr made headlines in December 2021 when he and Tiger hit 11 birdies in a row in their runner-up finish in the PNC Championship. Then, before accompanying his dad again for last year’s tournament, he shot a 68 in a qualifier for the Notah Begay III Junior National Golf Championship in Florida.
The 14-year-old has continued making progress in 2023, too, and is currently ranked 16th in the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour’s boys 14-15 division – an improvement on his T48 in the 11-13 division in 2022 and T122 in the same division the year before that.
His performances in its tournaments have been consistently impressive this year, too, with Woods Jr finishing runner-up in his first two tournaments and tied for ninth in April’s PGA National Junior Open. Given those performances – and his mentor – it perhaps shouldn’t be surprising that he’s now bagged his first win on the Tour in 2023. However, the manner of it was especially impressive.
Woods didn’t just win last week’s Major Championship at Village Golf Course in Florida, he cruised to the title by an incredible eight shots over its 36 holes. Woods’ opening round 72 included four birdies and the following day, he performed even better, with five birdies in his round of 71 to finish far ahead of closest competitor Noah Manly.
One of the most eye-catching aspects of Woods’ performance, which was watched by Tiger, was his score over the par-5s. Tiger has previously admitted that his son can now outdrive him, and it looks as though he put that big-hitting ability to good use as, over the two rounds, Charlie finished five-under in the eight par-5s he played, with a bogey on his 36th and final hole the only blemish.
By that point, of course, Woods could afford to relax a little given the huge lead he had put together, although it’s unlikely his famous father would allow him to rest on his laurels.
Back in December, Tiger admitted to trying to toughen his son up with mind games, saying: “It's non-stop, non-stop. It's trying to get him - if I can get into his head, that means someone else can get into his head. It's going to get to a point where I can't get into his head, and then no one else can get in there either. That's what my dad believed. You've got to be willing to take it."
Considering the comfortable nature of his win, it seems as though Woods Sr is getting through to his son as his progression continues.
On that note, it doesn't appear as though Charlie will have much to fear by the time he’s eligible for the boys 16-18 division, either. His remarkable performance at the weekend saw him finish nine shots better off than the winner in the more senior category, too.
