At just 16 years old, Charlie Woods draws media attention that most veteran pros would envy or dread. Cameras follow his every swing, and crowds gather at junior tournaments. This week, Charlie teed it up at the North & South Junior Amateur Championship at the historic Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in North Carolina. The event, a prestigious stop in the junior golf circuit, was an opportunity for Charlie to climb the junior rankings and possibly move closer to elite amateur status. But he is Woods, and the treatment he gets during the tournaments is nothing but normal.

Charlie was given featured group coverage, a rare privilege that only the leading player gets. He was not even in contention, and did not serve a spectacular performance either. On top of that, he had a rough start, opening his final round with three straight bogeys and slipping outside the top 30 early on. But as the tournament progressed, so did his game.

After shooting 72 in both of the first two rounds on Pinehurst’s iconic No. 2 and No. 8 courses, he entered the final day at 2-over, six shots off the lead. He closed with a 1-under 71 on Pinehurst No. 8 to finish 1-over for the tournament, tying for 12th place, a solid finish after a shaky start. Still, a finish like that wouldn’t usually earn featured group coverage, but everyone always hopes for him to perform just like his father.

Earlier this year, at the Cognizant Classic pre-qualifier in Hobe Sound, Florida, Charlie Woods was surrounded by chaos that had little to do with golf. Fans ignored officials, walked alongside him on the fairways, shouted during his swings, and even chased his ball into bushes after an errant shot. One even tried to get him to sign a copy of his father’s book mid-round. Through it all, Charlie struggled to stay composed, ultimately shooting a 16-over-86 and failing to advance, a performance clearly affected by the distractions around him.

All of this attention doesn’t come without a cost. The constant media spotlight and crowd distractions can make it difficult for Charlie to stay fully focused on his game, something Tiger Woods never had to deal with at the same age. “The type of attention is very different than what I had. We didn’t have social media. We didn’t have camera phones. We didn’t have any of that,” Woods once said, reflecting on the simpler media landscape of his youth. So, comparing 16-year-old Tiger with his son all the time does not seem fair.

Charlie is chasing his own path while carrying the weight of his father’s legacy, and the pressure that comes with it is hard to ignore. Yet to his credit, he continues to handle the pressure and comparisons with remarkable composure for someone his age. But this has become the new normal for kids carrying the weight of a legendary golfing surname, and Charlie is certainly not alone in it.

Charlie Woods isn’t the only one under the spotlight

John Daly II has walked a similar path and offered rare insight into what it’s like growing up in the shadow of a major champion. Speaking on the Identity Sports Podcast, Daly Jr. recalled how being John Daly’s son came with automatic assumptions. “People expect just because you have a famous professional, like Tiger, for example… they expect you to be at a certain level immediately,” he said. For him, that meant constantly being compared to a father known for his unfiltered personality and explosive talent, regardless of his own pace of growth as a player.

More importantly, Daly Jr. didn’t just speak about his own experience; he directly acknowledged the unique spotlight on Charlie Woods. “Everybody just puts Charlie in this category that not many people get to until they are 20, 21, or 22, whatever it is,” he said, expressing concern about how public expectations have inflated around someone still in high school. “He’s just a kid; he wants to have fun, I guess. I don’t know him all that well, but I think people expect way too much of him for his age right now.”

Coming from someone who’s navigated the same tension between surname and identity, Daly’s words offer both empathy and perspective, highlighting that for kids like Charlie, the real challenge isn’t just golf; it’s growing up under a microscope.

In a sport that demands focus and patience, Charlie’s biggest test might not be the course but learning to thrive in a spotlight he didn’t choose. How he handles it could define more than just his game.