Charlie Woods’ playoff elimination at the U.S. Junior Amateur wasn’t just about a spectator’s mistake. It quickly turned into fans pointing the finger at Tiger Woods for not training his son the way Earl Woods once trained him.

During the 2024 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, Paul Waring was making his backswing on an approach shot to the 10th green when a spectator shouted, disrupting his swing and resulting in a poor shot. A similar disruption unfolded for Charlie Woods on Wednesday, when a fan’s phone camera clicked during his backswing in a 14-for-2 playoff.

“Charlie Woods caught a BRUTAL break during a 14-for-2 playoff at the U.S. Junior Am when someone took a photo with the sound on during his backswing,” Nuclr Golf wrote on X, reposting Trevor Keaton’s video. “Charlie made a bogey rather than birdie and failed to advance in the playoff.”

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Visibly frustrated, Charlie turned to the culprit and said, “Really, dude,” while another spectator added, “Right in the middle of his swing.”

But while the incident seemed to hinge on the spectator, fans online kept saying the same thing: Tiger Woods should have prepared his son better for distractions.

One fan reminded everyone about how Tiger Woods’ father, Earl Woods, used to train him. “Tiger’s dad used to throw s**t at him on his backswing to make him mentally tougher.” According to Golf.com, Earl would jingle coins while Tiger prepared to putt, throw objects across his line of sight, and even shout as his son began his backswing. 

Another brought up a similar point. “Tiger must not have rattled keys or made loud noises like his dad did, otherwise Charlie would’ve locked in.”

However, in December 2021, during a pro-am in Orlando, Woods did exactly that. Woods appeared to be putting his son through a mental-toughness drill, tossing a ball across his line of sight as he practiced his putting. 

Still, many insisted Tiger hasn’t gone far enough. “I guess Tiger isn’t training him as his dad did. His dad would literally drop the golf bag in his downswing,” one user wrote. Others were harsher: “If that tiny sound threw him off that much, he wasn’t going to make the shot anyway.”

Other criticism also followed. “If that tiny sound threw him off that much, he wasn’t going to make the shot anyway,” the fan posted. There’s no way of finding out now. 

Someone else had a different take. “You don’t need your ears to make a golf swing. Setup process must involve turning your ears off,” the fan remarked. 

Charlie Wood’s Disappointing Tournament

The U.S. Junior Amateur as a whole was full of disappointments for the Florida native. On Thursday at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Charlie opened stroke play with a 76, carding four bogeys, a double bogey, and two birdies. He bounced back with a 70 in round two, aided by an eagle.

However, he made a frustrating shot on the 11th tee on Tuesday and even dropped an F-bomb in frustration.

That 70 earned him a spot in the 14-for-2 playoff, but the bogey on the first hole, triggered by the spectator’s photo, ended his run.

Spectator etiquette is a cornerstone of golf, especially in junior events where fairness and focus are paramount. Disruptions like this are rare but can be decisive, as Charlie’s elimination showed.

Although fans kept circling back to Tiger teaching mental toughness to his son, the fans’ behaviour during these events needs to be looked at.