Charlie Woods burst onto the national golf stage three years ago when, at age 11, he joined his father Tiger in playing the PNC Championship. This marks the fourth consecutive time Team Woods has competed at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club to end the year.
Over that span we’ve seen Charlie make his first eagle, shape shots both ways, display a mighty recoil with his driver and drain long birdie putts all while displaying many of the same mannerisms we’ve seen from his Hall of Fame father over the past 25 years. This year, now 14, Charlie stepped back a tee and is playing from the same distance as the likes of John Daly, Jim Furyk, Nelly Korda, Vijay Singh and Steve Stricker.
“I think his speed has gone dramatically up since last year,” Tiger said when assessing Charlie’s game. “But I think that more than anything, it’s just the fact that he’s grown so fast. The aches and pains of growing, just teenage life.”
Charlie is bigger and stronger. On Saturday during the first round, he carried a drive 320 yards, with the ball ending just over the back of the green on the par-4 12th hole.
“I sort of didn’t have the speed that he has at that age,” Tiger said. “But also, I didn’t have the equipment, either. The equipment is so different.”
One thing that is difficult to quantify from watching Charlie on television each year is how his skills compare with other junior golfers in the country. He’s seen alongside the most famous golfer on the planet hitting great golf shots, and annually, whether on social media or from people in the gallery, there are those who contend that he’ll have a long successful PGA Tour career and even potentially win major championships like his old man.
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