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.

321 yards? No problem.

Charlie Woods just drove it OVER the green. ?

pic.twitter.com/DfzND47rDI

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 16, 2023

“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.

While that could happen, it’s also wise to pump the breaks and realize how far Charlie has come in a relatively short time. Afterall, he mostly played soccer growing up in South Florida and it wasn’t until 2020—when COVID-19 locked down the world—that Charlie found a deeper passion for golf and started to take the game more seriously. That was only three years ago.

“People need to quit comparing him to other kids who have been playing competitive golf for more time,” said a Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher in America. “People need to wait and see where he is in five years, 10 years.”

Of course, that’s nearly impossible because his last name is Woods. But the point is valid.

This was Charlie’s first year playing a full competitive junior schedule, playing mostly state and regional competitions.

Junior Golf Scoreboard, which has ranked junior golfers since the late 1990s, has Charlie ranked No. 1,326 out of a database of 10,616 juniors. He’s the 86th-ranked player in those same rankings for the Class of 2027. In the 16 events Charlie played that are recorded in the JGS system, he collected two victories and his low score of 66 came in September in the second round of the Notah Begay III Florida Regional qualifier win at Mission Inn in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., the same place where he shot 78-76 last month to help his high school team win the Class 1A Florida State Championship, which is not a part of the JGS rankings.

The evolution of Charlie Woods. ? pic.twitter.com/Z3iUOYc2FC

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 16, 2023

Speaking of high school, Florida is a talent-rich state that produces many Division I golfers each year. Charlie ranked 80th overall in high school in Florida this season out of 4,088 boys in the iWanamaker ranking system. He was the ninth-ranked freshman in Florida out of 657 and ranked 28th out of 1,420 in Class 1A, where his Benjamin school competes.

“Charlie is ultra-talented and while he is still newer to competitive golf he has the opportunity to excel long term because of the wealth of experience he can tap into and the opportunity to learn from the GOAT on how to play and prepare,” the aforementioned Top 50 Teacher said. “So many juniors never get exposed to that. In fact one of the things I’ve found is that young players who grow up around really good players have an edge on learning to play. He obviously has a huge leg up in that department.”

What will be interesting moving forward is to see how Charlie might compare to his peers if exposed to more national competition. To date, he has not competed in any AJGA events (he became eligible when he turned 13) nor has he attempted to qualify for any USGA national amateur events, most specifically the U.S. Junior Amateur, an event Tiger won three consecutive years from 1991 to 1993.

Charlie Woods – Mike Mulholland

Said Tiger: “I provide guardrails for him and things that I would like to see him learn and address, but also, then again, I’m trying to provide as much space as I can for him. Because there’s so much of the noise in our lives that people are always trying to get stuff out of us, and my job as a parent is to protect him from a lot of that stuff.

“Also, then again, as a teenager, I want him to try and become his own man at the same time. So it’s a challenge as a parent and to provide that—that atmosphere for him, to learn, to grow, and have that freedom, meanwhile understanding that there’s so much noise looking into our lives at the same time.”

A philosophy that appears to be working beautifully so far.

Charlie Woods is back!@LukeKerrDineen shares what junior golfers can learn from his swing. pic.twitter.com/zxBD7v6Fq2

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 15, 2023

• • •

Florida State High School (iWanamaker)

-Ranked 80th overall out of 4,088 players

-Ninth-ranked freshman out of 657

-Ranked 28th out of 1,420 in Class 1A

Junior Golf Scoreboard

-Ranked No. 1,326 out of 10,616 players

-86th in the Class of 2027

Results of 16 events on JGS rankings

Jan. 7-8, IMG Junior Honda Classic (81-77, 21st place)

Feb. 25-26, HJGT South Florida Junior Open (75-71, 2)

March 4-5, HJGT Jensen Beach Spring Junior Open (79-82, 6)

March 18-19, SFPGA Medalist Tour (78-78, 19)

April 22-23, HJGT PGA National Junior Open (77-82, 18)

April 29-30, SFPGA Medalist Tour (75, 8)

May 6-7, SFPGA Medalist Tour (83-75, 15)

June 3-4, HJGT Major Championship (72-71, WIN)

June 19-20, SFPGA Championship (75-81, 33)

June 22-23, SFPGA Nicklaus Junior Championship (79-75, 20)

Aug. 2-4, SFPGA Junior Cup (75-68-76, 10)

Aug. 19-20, FJT Sandridge Open (74-79, 13)

Sept. 2-4, SFPGA Labor Day Classic (80-70-82, 35)

Sept. 23-24, Notah Begay Florida Regional (71-66, WIN)

Nov. 4-5, Notah Begay Junior National Championship (73-74-68, 35)

Dec. 2-3, SFPGA Tour Championship (69-73, 5)

(HJGT: Hurricane Junior Golf Tour; SFPGA: South Florida PGA Section; FJT: Florida Junior Tour)

Main Image: Getty

The post How good is Charlie Woods? Putting his young junior golf career into perspective appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The team was five under after 12 holes in rainy and windy conditions—well behind the Kuchars at the top of the leaderboard—when Charlie, 14, carried the ball 320 yards with it rolling just off the back of the green.

321 yards? No problem.

Charlie Woods just drove it OVER the green. ?

pic.twitter.com/DfzND47rDI

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 16, 2023

Tiger and Charlie both putted from the position and missed the eagle attempt, but converted on the easy birdie to get to six under with five holes remaining.

Image: Mike Mulholland

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Returning to the PNC Championship for the fourth time, Team Woods will be looking to improve on their best finish of T2 in 2021.

Fifteen-time major winner Woods commented, “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. Competing together, against a field of so many golfing greats and their families, is so special.”

Six-time major winner, Lee Trevino will be making his 26^th appearance in the PNC Championship, the only golfer to have played in every edition. Turning 84 at the start of December, he enjoyed his best finish just two years ago when he finished third, playing with grandson Daniel.

Padraig Harrington, who recently added a sixth Champions Tour title to his remarkable resume, is returning to Grande Lakes for a sixth time, but this year he will be partnering his youngest son, Ciaran.

Harrington explained, “Ciaran has been working hard on his game recently and he wanted to have his turn. It was actually Ciaran watching Paddy and I play together out there these last couple of years that really ignited his passion for the game, which shows what a very special event this is. He must have watched me play in hundreds of events over the years and it has taken the unique atmosphere and experience of the PNC Championship to inspire him!”

The only team making their debut this year is Steve Stricker and daughter, Izzi, completing the 20-team line-up for the 26th edition of the PNC Championship.

The 20-player final field for the 2023 PNC Championship is:

This is PNC Bank’s 12th year as the tournament’s title sponsor. The event was renamed the PNC Championship in 2020, reflecting the world class talent and special bonds that characterize this inclusive family tournament.

Last year, the PNC Championship gathered a field of golfing greats that had won 73 major titles. With only 20 teams competing, players past and present have shown unprecedented interest in campaigning for a spot in the star-studded line-up.

The PNC Championship has continued to evolve and develop since the inaugural tournament in 1995, when 10 major winners gathered with their sons. The tournament now features 20 major champions and their relatives competing in a two-day, 36-hole scramble for the Willie Park Trophy.

To qualify for the PNC Championship, players must have won a major championship or The Players Championship. Their partner must not hold any playing status on a professional Tour.

Image: Getty Images

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Yes, you read that correctly. The Florida High School State Championship. Man, it felt like yesterday that he was just a little like who we only saw when he was watching tennis or celebrating another Masters victory with his dad. The kids are growing up faster and faster these days, don’t they?

Anyway, here’s young Chuck chipping one in and delivering the tried and true “C’MON … LET’S GO!” celebration, complete with a pair of fiery fist pumps:

?? Charlie Woods with a massive fist pump after chipping in during the Florida High School State Championship. @TWlegion

(?: mr_3putt/IG | @ziregolf) pic.twitter.com/mrHbbnSyZZ

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) November 15, 2023

Check out that shaft lean! He’s certainly learned from the best. 

Now, the haters will likely go in a number of different directions with this one – it’s an easy chip, it would have gone 10 feet past if it didn’t hit the stick, no one would care about (or film) a straightforward chip-in in the Florida High School State Championship, etc., etc. All of those things might be true, but the fact remains that Charlie is Tiger Woods’ son and when Tiger Woods’ son does anything relatively cool on the golf course, it’s going to be a big deal. So save your breath and save your Twitter/X fingers. Just enjoy the cool clip of a chip-in from Charlie. Life ain’t that serious, folks. 

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With each successive glimpse of Tiger Woods in a golf setting comes hope among his legion of fans. It’s hoped that Woods’ recovery from ankle surgery in April that sidelined him for the rest of 2023 after just two starts is progressing well enough that someday in the near future the 15-time major winner will return again to competition.

And with that, came one more video of Woods from the weekend that had people talking on social media.

Charlie Woods teeing it up for his 2nd appearance in the @nb3jgnc! With a 15x Major Champion walking on the bag for 54-holes, he will be one to watch! #charliewoods #tigerwoods #nb3 #jgnc #seeyouatcoushatta pic.twitter.com/otvqdLKNOq

— Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship (@nb3jgnc) November 4, 2023

There’s Tiger, carrying the bag for his son Charlie during the opening round of the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship in Louisiana. No golf cart. Just Woods walking seemingly without any issue as he caddies for his son in the first round of the three-day event.

And then there he was again on Sunday, joining Charlie once again.

It's #movingday at #Coushatta!

The fog rolled in early this morning but the players are out, led by Charlie Woods, Owen Coniaris and Landon Abalateo for the Boys 14-15 Division.

Good luck to all the players looking to move on up the leaderboard!#CharlieWoods #TigerWoods… pic.twitter.com/33NudSahB3

— Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship (@nb3jgnc) November 5, 2023

Suffice it to say, social-media followers quickly became internet doctors, giving Tiger a clean bill of health as they noted that he looked more comfortable than he did when posting a T-45 at the Genesis Invitational in February and far better than when made the cut but had to withdraw from the Masters.

Best his walk has looked since the accident. pic.twitter.com/aW8qufQp4b

— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) November 4, 2023

Tiger Woods is gonna win multiple majors again pic.twitter.com/O064yGBsLm

— Frankie Borrelli (@FrankieBorrelli) November 4, 2023

Tiger Woods walking a golf course and carrying Charlie’s bag is a great sign for 2024.

There will be challenges to swinging a golf club and hiking some hillier courses like Augusta National, but this is a light November victory. pic.twitter.com/ZM8bdYYIhl

— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) November 4, 2023

The video, like the other clips before, doesn’t offer any certifiable evidence that Tiger’s return is imminent. But with a few tournaments on the schedule in the coming weeks that Woods has participated in previously—his own Hero World Challenge coming the first week in December, followed by the PNC Championship, in which he’s teamed with Charlie the last two years—there are milestones that feel like opportunities for Tiger to become a competitor again if his body lets him.

Just as promising as the video was what Woods reportedly told Stewart Cink earlier this week in Mexico when they crossed paths ahead of the World Wide Technology Championship.

“He said that he’s started practising, which I think is a great sign,” Cink told Golf Channel. “I don’t know what he’s practising for, but he said he started practising, so that means he’s in ‘go mode’ for something.

“I don’t even like to ever ask because he’s always afraid you’re going to go tell everybody, so I just said I’m glad you’re practising.”

Cink isn’t the only one.

Main image: Michael Owens

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The 15-time major champ once again caddied for his son, this time at a regional qualifier for the Notah Begay III National Championship. Charlie won the 14-15 age division at Mission Inn in Orlando with scores of 71 and 66 — and he made a clutch birdie on the final hole to secure the one-shot victory. Have a look:

Charlie Woods makes a 8ft. putt on 18 to secure the victory in the boys 14-15 division! He is on his way to COUSHATTTAAA! #jgnc #nb3jgnc #seeyouatcoushatta pic.twitter.com/UrcDiKEJlf

— Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship (@nb3jgnc) September 24, 2023

“It’s great. We just stay in our own little world,” Charlie told tournament host Ryan Burr after about having his dad caddie for him. “We take it one shot at a time. He puts me in my place.”

Charlie, 14, and Tiger also teamed up to win the 14-15 age division of a Hurricane Junior Golf Tour event by eight shots in June. It’s worth noting that the elder Woods, recovering from ankle surgery, was mostly riding a cart for that win, but walked alongside Charlie this weekend. Last year, Charlie shot a then career-best 68 in this event on his way to finishing T-4 in the 12-13 age division.

“Shooting 68 last year and followed up with 66 this year, obviously, this course is great for me … you have to go shoot a low round to win this thing, and it’s not going to be given,” added Woods, who qualified for the finals in November at Coushatta Casino Resort in Louisiana. “Just took it one shot at a time, don’t think too far ahead, and you just gotta keep eating. That’s it.”

Here’s Charlie’s post-round interview:

Charlie Woods post round interview after firing rounds of 71(-1) & 66(-6) to win the Boys 14-15 division and secure his spot in the @nb3jgnc National Championship on @golfchannel! #jgnc #nb3jgnc #seeyouatcoushatta pic.twitter.com/0i4bn39BhY

— Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship (@nb3jgnc) September 24, 2023

And here are some photos from the dad of one of his playing partners:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Shane Croft (@mshanecroft)

Tiger and Charlie have played together in the past three PNC Championships, finishing runners-up in 2021. The 82-time PGA Tour winner hasn’t given any updates on when he’ll return to competition, but golf fans certainly hope to at least see him — and Charlie — back at that cart-friendly event in December.

Main image: Shane Croft Instagram

The post Charlie Woods shoots career-best score with Tiger on his bag appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

That’s because Charlie Woods, the 14-year-old son of 15-time major champ Tiger, teed it up down the road at Riviera Country Club. And a new video of the rising star’s swing drew plenty of attention ahead of the 2023 US Open. Take a gander:

Charlie Woods' swing is __________.pic.twitter.com/kEDWCUyKcn

— Golf on CBS (@GolfonCBS) June 15, 2023

A Woods puring one off the opening tee at Riviera wearing a sweater vest? Yeah, we’ve seen that one before. What’s also pretty cool is that Tiger made his PGA Tour debut in the same exact spot as a 16-year-old 30 years ago. Anyway, looking good, Charlie! Both the swing and the sweater vest, that is.

Here was just some of the reaction on Golf Twitter:

All of the stars are in Los Angeles …

Even Charlie Woods, who teed it up at Riviera yesterday.pic.twitter.com/yWK9FpkkT7

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 14, 2023

Charlie Woods swing is ?????? pic.twitter.com/PRcnBKstVS

— JonathanYarwood (@JonathanYarwood) June 15, 2023

Charlie Woods has a better swing than you

pic.twitter.com/hj1svTrnyp

— Tour Golf (@TuorGolf) June 14, 2023

No arguments here. That’s a darn good golf swing. And if Tiger gets healthy from his most recent surgery, this year’s field at the PNC Father-Son Championship is going to be in trouble.

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The 2022 PNC Championship didn’t by any means have the stakes of a US Open or Masters, but as Tiger has told us many times, he doesn’t enter tournaments to finish in second place. He was at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club this past week, competing with his 13-year-old son, Charlie, in the two-player team event, to win.

The problem was that neither Woods had their best stuff.

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Mind you, despite having played just nine competitive rounds on the PGA Tour this year, the most recent coming five months ago, Tiger’s swing was impressive at times during the two-day exhibition. He drove his ball past Justin Thomas on multiple occasions and flagged a series of long irons to set up birdie opportunities. But even during the good rounds, in 2022, there’s no escaping reality for Tiger.

“The plantar fasciitis is no fun,” Woods said on Sunday, after finishing T-8 with Charlie in their third PNC start. “We were both like walking penguins out there.”

The other penguin, Charlie, was also working through some pain. What he called a “minor, very minor” ankle injury in preparing for this event meant he struggled with his swing all weekend. He found more of a groove on Sunday after a subtle breakthrough on the range ahead of the event. He swung keeping more weight on his trail leg, and played a big cut. It became the day’s go-to shot.

“That’s all I got,” he said to his dad.

“I got ya’ bud,” Tiger responded.

Charlie’s about to tee off. He’s wearing a sneaker on his left foot to let his injured ankle spin out.

Kid is a trooper. pic.twitter.com/YJZ44QoOQQ

— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) December 17, 2022

Team Woods followed a 13-under 59 on Saturday with a seven-under 65 on Sunday, their 20-under total leaving them six back of eventual winners, Vijay and Qass Singh. For Team Woods, the event became about other things: The bonding experience between father and son, and their family friends on Team Thomas.

And, perhaps most important of all, an opportunity for Charlie to learn his dad’s superpower of fighting through.

“It’s probably a great learning opportunity for Charlie,” Justin Thomas, who finished two back of Team Singh, said. “To be in competition and just being like, ‘Hey, I didn’t have my best stuff.’”

At the same time, Charlie was also impressed at what he saw from his dad.

“I feel like I already knew what he was capable of,” Charlie said, “and then yesterday, that’s the best he’s ever played in a while, and that kind of shocked me a little bit.”

“I used to be good,” Tiger responded with a smirk.

In many ways it was a fitting end for the 2022 season for Tiger, and a reminder of what’s ahead of the man who turns 47 next week. Teeing it up at all during the Masters in April was a victory in itself, and a platform to build upon that was never quite realised. In obvious discomfort at the PGA Championship in May, Tiger withdrew after three rounds and skipped the US Open. The Open returning to St Andrews in July, where he missed the cut, proved another false dawn, as did his planned return at the Hero World Challenge, the tournament he hosts and which he pulled out of just three days ahead of the opening round.

“It was a tough year,” he said on Sunday, “but also one of the more rewarding years I’ve had in a while.”

Now that the PNC is in the books, Tiger knows what to do next.

“Now I get to truly recover and heal and progress forward on this,” Woods said, “because there’s so many good things that I’ve been able to do physically, be able to hit the golf ball and practice and do everything in a standstill. But I haven’t been able to get from point A to point B, and we’re obviously going to work on this.”

It’s a cliché to call this Tiger’s new normal, but that’s what it is. His offseason will be filled with work to get his body back into shape, as he prepares to fight through another season. Tiger knows no other way of operating. If the Masters in April is indeed his next start, as many expect, we likely won’t see him at his best. Tiger knows that, too.

But Tiger also knows we doesn’t need his best stuff to give us something special.

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Even on national television, there is a comfort playing with buddies — no matter how relentless and laughably brutal their needling can be — and 13-year-old Charlie Woods made that clear after the first round, when his dad, Tiger, allowed him to be interviewed for the first time in their three PNC appearances.

Of playing with Justin Thomas and his dad Mike, who have become very close to the Woods family, Charlie said to NBC reporter Steve Sands: “It makes it a lot less nerve-wracking in the final stretch because we always throw shots at each other, and it’s just very fun.”

It makes us wish they are mic’ed up like the players are during The Match.

“It’s literally nonstop,” Tiger said of the trash talking. “It starts pre-round, before we even get here the texts were flying. The warm-up, the jabs are coming out. And then through the round there were jabs, a couple of notes left here and there, a couple of things said that we loved.”

The families also seem to push each other in their play. While Tiger and Charlie stormed to a start of 28 on the front nine en route to shooting 13-under 59, Justin and Mike went 28-29 for a 57 that gives them a two-shot lead on Team Woods and Vijay Singh and his son Qass.

“We certainly root for them when we are out there, too,” Mike Thomas said, “but you also kind of feed off each other. Balls start going in the hole.”

Charlie described the experience as like playing with family, and he was thoughtful to include the caddies — Joe LaCava; his son, Joe, who is looping for Charlie; Jani Thomas, Justin’s mom; and Jim “Bones” Mackay.

Told that Charlie had spoken of them as kin, Justin smiled and feigned surprise: “Charlie said that? Wow. I didn’t even know if he honestly liked us, so I’m glad to hear that he said that.”

Added Mike to laughter: “He was working his way towards being in the family, but apparently he’s in.”

Justin said he ribbed Charlie all day by calling him “Snoopy” because he’s wearing a Snoopy hat for the tournament. The Thomases also threw a few quips out when Charlie hit some putts way too hard. Never mind that the kid was limping around on a bum ankle. Even holidays aren’t off limits for the trash talk.

“They got the [winning PNC] belt a couple years ago. They rubbed it in our face over Christmas dinner,” Tiger recalled. “They are in a great position to possibly do it again on Christmas dinner, but we are going to have a little something to say about that.”

In this “family,” it’s a whole lot to say.

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