Being Tiger Woods‘ son bestowed Charlie Woods with popularity. But the privilege had demerits of its own. A lot of social media coverage and sometimes dealing with unruly fans could take a toll on a young golfer. Most importantly, expecting little Woods to follow in his father’s footsteps or repeat such golf history had been a lot to ask for.
Recently, rowdy fans troubled Charlie in a pre-qualifying round at the Palm Beaches. The 15-year-old shot 86 in the 18-hole event in a failed attempt to qualify for the Cognizant Classic. During the qualifying tournament, he was bothered a lot by the intervening crowd. Let’s take a look at what happened at the venue.
Charlie Woods got bothered in a pre-qualifying round
The PGA Tour sent a Getty Images photographer to cover Charlie Woods right from the moment he started playing at Palm Beaches. This could be quite distracting for a teenager like him who was trying to focus. As per reports, a lot of fans gathered at the pre-qualifier. Moreover, it was unlikely to see such a crowd at events like this, and it can be too much to deal with. The caricatures did not stop there; men were hiding behind the bushes to grab a drive and people were going too close to the Woods Jr. due to the fewer ropes in the pre-qualifiers. Spectators were also seen arguing with the official when they were asked to be behind the line.
All these mounted up to a terrifying moment. A fan argued to get a book signed by Tiger Woods’ son. Thus, it is quite understandable that the instances were going overboard for a teenager. Somebody who was focusing on getting into the PGA Tour should not have these kind of diversions.
Tiger Woods has left a legacy behind him. It is natural that if his son makes a career in the same sport the latter will be hyped. Yet, everything should have a limit as far as the game of golf is concerned. The father-son duo was last seen playing at the 2023 PNC Championship, where they landed in a T5 position. As far as the current pre-qualifier week was concerned, the authorities were alerted on the same and assured better security for the next time.
The first player on the range for @The_Cognizant pre-qualifier.
Charlie Woods. pic.twitter.com/qr17wa1zvH
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 22, 2024
But it’s part and parcel of golf that little Charlie Woods has to bear with all this attention being Tiger Woods’s son. Most specifically, when he’s playing on the PGA Tour, people will try to get all the first-hand information about Woods’ blood.
Paige Spiranac also shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) about letting Woods Jr. focus on his game. She reasoned that the game of golf is tough and that Charlie should be allowed to work on his game without media coverage.
How about we let Charlie Woods develop his game without constant media coverage. Golf is mentally challenging enough without all the added eyeballs on him and pressure
— Paige Spiranac (@PaigeSpiranac) February 22, 2024
Well, being Tiger Woods’ son or not, for any 15-year-old golfer, it is very tough to cope with these kinds of attention from the media. Thus, if Charlie has to follow in the footsteps of his father, he will have to learn to ignore these distractions. Now, it is to see how he deals with all of that. But definitely, he’ll learn to cope with all that in time.
