Charlie Woods tried to qualify for the Cognizant Open next week, but he was unable to punch his ticket to his first PGA Tour tournament. Although his play was the main cause of his failure, he also had to deal with a group of rowdy fans who were following him around, which didn’t help.
It’s difficult not to feel a little sorry for those who choose to emulate a well-known athlete in their parental figure. Being in that position has undoubtedly many benefits, but you also assume the attention and scrutiny that accompany being surrounded by a lot of hype that may be challenging to live up to.
That’s especially true if your dad is Tiger Woods, since it’s no easy feat to live up to the shadow of one of the all-time greats in golf. Charlie Woods has chosen to forge his own route in spite of this, though.
Playing alongside his father at events, the younger Woods has already drawn a lot of attention. On Thursday, he tried to achieve what Tiger was unable to do by trying to qualify for his first PGA Tour event at the age of fifteen.
Sadly, he missed the cut after shooting +16 in the seventh and final round, which was marred by a septuple bogey.
Charlie’s parentage puts a lot of strain on him already, so it’s difficult to believe that what he encountered at Lost Lake Golf Club didn’t have an effect on him. Among the 116 players in the field, he was the only one with a camera following him all day, and The Palm Beach Post reports that he also drew a sizable gallery full of supporters who had a hard time acting civil.
According to the outlet, some of those spectators tried to get Tiger to sign one of his books in the middle of the round, ignored a marshal assigned to maintain space between him and the fans, and scurried to retrieve a ball when it went out of bounds. Charlie also had a two-man security detail assigned to maintain order.
Oh, and there was the lady who “pulled her granddaughter out of school with the intention of drawing Woods’ attention.”
Charlie shouldn’t have to put up with a circus like that, but I suppose it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that some folks who chose to spend a Thursday morning watching a 15-year-old play golf in Florida are a little bit.. out there.