Charlie Woods steals the show
MIAMI • Charlie Woods wowed his 15-time Major champion father Tiger with an impressive eagle for Team Woods in the PNC Championship family tournament in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.
The 11-year-old put his drive in the fairway at the par-five third hole of the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, then hooked a five-wood approach around some trees.
The ball bounced short of the green and settled three feet from the pin, with Charlie giving a fist-pump just like his old man before rolling in the putt.
A beaming Woods had a hug for his son, exclaiming “First eagle!” as they walked off the green.
Charlie, whose swing is so reminiscent of his superstar dad, has drawn plenty of comments this weekend, draining another birdie putt in the first-round scramble format, following the ball as it rolled towards the cup and in at the ninth. At the 13th, he struck a sweet tee shot and signalled to Tiger – playing off the tournament tees further back – that he did not even need to hit a tee ball.
“It was some of the most incredible golf shots,” the former world No. 1 said with a laugh. “He had the best time to be out there in this environment. I’ve seen this all along. A lot of the shots he hit, I’ve seen this entire year.
“We had so much fun being around one another and cheering one another on. It was the most perfect environment.
“First and foremost, I’m dad. There is that competitive spirit that Charlie and I both share. We want to win, but being competitive and being with each other and leaning on one another, it was an absolute blast.”
The Woods duo got off to a hot start at their first official tournament together, with six birdies and an eagle on the front nine.
They combined for a 10-under 62 that left them sharing sixth, four shots behind reigning Singapore Open champion Matt Kuchar and son Cameron.
Vijay Singh and son Qass were in second, two shots adrift, with Australian Greg Norman and son Greg Jr another shot back and tied with Tom and Sean Lehman, and David and Brady Duval. LPGA great Annika Sorenstam and her dad Tom were joint-14th at seven under.
The two-day exhibition tournament features 20 teams of Major champions paired with a family member. Charlie is the youngest competitor to take part, and Tiger has stressed all week that the main aim was to have fun with his son.
“I really don’t care about my game. I’m just making sure that Charlie has the time of his life and he’s doing that,” he said. “I’m making sure he is able to enjoy all of this.”
The duo played alongside world No. 3 Justin Thomas and his father, Mike. The 2017 PGA Championship winner revealed the young Woods was already an accomplished trash-talker, having trolled Team Thomas with a note when they were in a bunker.
“It started in the pro-am. Charlie drove one through the fairway and my dad was playing in front of them and he’d hit it through the fairway and into the trees,” he said.
“My dad wrote on a piece of paper, ‘draw hole’ on it and put it under his ball. In typical Woods fashion, he kept the piece of paper, and when my dad hit it in the bunker he put the exact same piece of paper behind his ball.”
However, Mike admitted Charlie’s cheekiness is backed up by his burgeoning talent on the greens. “I knew what he had,” he said. “He was impressive. Very impressive.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS