Tiger Woods' Son Charlie Had A Wild Interaction With Overzealous Fans On The Golf Course
Tiger Woods passed down more than his name to son Charlie — the teen has also inherited his dad's talent for golf. Woods, an 82-time PGA Tour champion, spent two years learning how to be a protective girl dad after his daughter Sam was born in 2007, then became a boy dad when Charlie joined the family in 2009. While both kids have walked the fairway in support of their dad, Charlie is the one who has directly followed in his dad's footsteps by using his swinging skills on competitive greens.
In 2020, the two Woods males joined forces to play in the PNC Championship, an annual event where pro golfers team up with their offspring for the chance at a trophy. The duo have competed every year since, even finishing in second place in 2021. "It is an amazing gift to be able to share my love of golf with Charlie and we genuinely do look forward to playing in the PNC Championship all year," Tiger shared with PNC.
Eventually, though, all kids set out on their own path, and Charlie is no exception. While he's played with his father, and for his high-school team, he's never tried out for a solo spot in a PGA Tour event. That all changed when he teed up in Florida in February 2024 at a pre-qualifying tournament. While sports enthusiasts anticipated what Tiger's protégé would do, some even more enthusiastic people had their own agenda: Get as close as possible to golf royalty.
Crowds and autographs and granddaughters — oh, my
At the Lost Lake Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, at the end of February 2024, Charlie Woods was swinging for an eventual spot in a PGA Tour event. This particular round was a pre-qualifier; the young golfer would need to finish in the top five, then in the top four of the following qualifier round to tee off at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. Woods shot too many strokes above par, though, and was unable to advance.
What he did do, however, was draw a whole lot of attention, and some very overzealous fans. While Woods focused on making shots, spectators focused on the fact that Tiger Woods' son was playing a mere few feet away from them. By the time he reached the second half of his 18-hole game, he had a crowd of over 50 following him around. Without ropes separating the fairway from the walking path, fans invaded the green, creeping closer and closer to Woods as he golfed. One approached him for an autograph, several went after his ball in the brush, and one hopeful woman pulled her granddaughter out of school in hopes of sparking a love match.
At the end of his game, The Palm Beach Post reports Wood commented to his caddie, "That was some round, huh?" — although it's unclear whether he was talking about his non-winning score, or the scores of people invading his golf game.
Charlie has his dad's support
The caddie accompanying Charlie Woods as he puttered through the golf course in Florida was a friend, but in the past, the person wiping the mud off his golf clubs has been more closely related. Dad Tiger Woods carried his son's bags for 54 holes when Charlie competed in a national junior golf championship, while Tiger's grown-up and gorgeous daughter Sam served as caddie for both her dad and little brother during another event.
The family member who did accompany Charlie to his pre-qualifying game was mom Elin Nordegren, with whom Tiger has a positive co-parenting relationship. Nordegren regularly cheers from the sidelines, but when it comes to the actual game, it's dad who takes the lead. "Obviously I want to see him do the best he possibly can. I want him to learn from everything," the pro golfer told "Another Golf Podcast." He also shared he's very protective of his son, and the overzealous fans and critics. "When I grew up there were no camera phones, there were no videos. I try to shoo people away."
As Charlie continues to improve on his golf game, Tiger isn't putting any expectations on whether or not his son will ever own his own green blazer. "I'm proud of whatever direction he chooses — whether he sticks with the game or not," the five-time Masters champion declared to PGA Tour. "If he goes into something else, so be it. He's his own person."