Charlie Woods Bounces Back From US Junior Disappointment To Win First ‘Major’ Tournament
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Charlie Woods responded in true Tiger fashion as he won a South Florida Junior major in his first start after his US Junior Amateur disaster
Charlie Woods has shown a few characteristics of his father in his golf swing and on-course mannerisms, and it seems he also has Tiger’s resilience after claiming his first major tournament victory.
Only a week ago Woods missed the cut at the US Junior Amateur after a brutal USGA debut saw him finish 22 over par through 36 holes.
The 15-year-old seemingly has that old Tiger battling spirit though, as he’s responded in typical Woods fashion by going out and winning on his very next start.
Woods won the South Florida Junior Cup on 31 July, which is one of eight events marked as major tournaments on the South Florida Junior Tour.
OK, it’s not one of ‘those’ Majors that Tiger has 15 of tucked away at home, but its a start and the circumstances of the victory make it even more impressive when you consider what happened last time out.
Woods shot 73-68-73 at the BallenIsles Country Club’s East Course to finish as the only one of the initial field of 63 to end the tournament under par.
And even in his post-round comments, Charlie showed the same tenacity that has fired his dad up through his legendary career – with that US Junior Amateur performance only serving to ignite more passion to succeed.
“I wanted it so bad,” said Woods. “I felt focused, and I knew what I had to do to get it done. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do better.”
“I feel like it was a compilation of a lot of hard work this summer. I wanted to redeem myself, and I feel great about how I played.”
Having that surname brings about a huge amount of extra pressure and expectation for Charlie, but whether his golf game can measure up in the future or not he seemingly already has a terrific attitude towards the game.
Having had some glimpses of the limelight already may help. Woods regularly partners Tiger at the PNC Championship when the comparisons in their swings are hard to ignore.
And despite being so young, the teenager has also been seen at Augusta and the other Major championships helping Tiger on the range and in practice rounds – with the great man saying his son was particularly helpful with his putting stroke.
Having such a bad exit at the US Junior Amateur was always going to attract attention, and from here on in every performance like that one at Oakland Hills will be accompanied by question marks about how good Woods Jr can be.
Charlie tried to qualify for the US Open when he shot 81 at a local qualifying event, while he also entered pre-qualifying for the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic.
That also didn’t go his way as he shot 86 with a bit of a disaster in a 12 taken on a par four – and again plenty was made of that.
Those events are all far and above where a 15-year-old golfer should be though, and Woods has won two events in two months at his own level so all in all he’s doing OK.
From how he’s dealt with the last couple of weeks, even if he doesn’t reach the heights his dad did, it won’t be through a lack of trying.
Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 – Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he’s conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England’s Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.
