Charlie Woods can do with a lot fewer eyes on him. None other than Paige Spiranac, the celebrity influencer, feels so. The 30-year-old golf beauty took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her dissatisfaction toward the golf community after the younger Woods failed in his bid to qualify for a PGA Tour event. But the matter was made worse because of an undue amount of attention lavished on the 15-year-old.

Spiranac feels the golf world needs to cut him some slack. “How about we let Charlie Woods develop his game without constant media coverage. Golf is mentally challenging enough without all the added eyeballs on him and pressure.” Woods Jr. carded 16-over 86 in the first round of the pre-qualifier for the Cognizant Classic (earlier known as the Honda Classic) in Hobe Sound, Florida. The top five players and ties advanced to the Monday qualifying round of the tournament.

The 15-year-old, who has regularly appeared with his father, Tiger Woods, at the PNC Championship, started his round with an 11-over 47 in the front nine. But a costly 12 on the par-4 seventh hole sealed his fate. Although Charlie Woods made 11 pars, that wasn’t enough to save the day, which also included 2 bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine.

His round was closely monitored, with every shot being put under the scanner on social media. Paige Spiranac feels it’s not right to put that much pressure on a 15-year-old golfer, especially when it was technically a qualifier for a qualifier event, and stated, “It was a pre qualifier for the Monday qualifier. A lot of juniors play in pre quals and Mondays for experience. It’s not uncommon at all.”

Teenage Woods’ swing was a matter of much debate, considering how closely it resembles his father’s. Moreover, Woods Jr. bombed a 300-yard drive at the 2023 PNC Championship and has been winning silverware for his school as well. All that led to huge anticipation around Charlie Woods. “Don’t compare him to me,” said Tiger Woods on an episode of Another Golf Podcast. “He’s not me, he’s Charlie, okay? He’s going to be his own person. Whatever road he goes down, he’s going to go down his own road, and he’s going to create his own path.”

The 15-time Major champion may have made this clear. However, carrying the Woods name and being in the spotlight, with every move he makes being scrutinized, is something Charlie might just have to live with. So, after Paige Spiranac expressed her thoughts on the treatment Charlie Woods is getting, another user compared his situation to Gary Nicklaus.

“For Tiger Woods’ son to attempt a career as a professional golfer is fraught with unfair comparisons and a virtually impossible mountain to climb… Just ask Gary Nicklaus,” they wrote. Notably, it wasn’t just the media coverage that Woods Jr. had to battle, as on-ground reports revealed an ugly show from the spectators.

Unruly fans add to Charlie Woods’ woes

First off, Tiger Woods wasn’t there; the 15-time Major champion recently withdrew from the Genesis Invitational – a tournament he hosts – with the flu that later turned out to be influenza. Mother Elin Nordegren was present, though. With all the attention Charlie’s getting, there were around 50 fans tagging the 15-year-old, completely disregarding requests from field marshals. The Palm Beach Post reported that one fan even retorted, “Who are you? The fire marshal?” 

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There was no dearth of autograph hunters as well, with some taking Tiger Woods’ book to get a sign from his son. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence, though – people wanting his autograph, that is. Earlier, his school coach also revealed that the 15-year-old draws a huge crowd whenever news of him teeing up gets out. But this time, only one of his friends and two security details were there to protect him instead of his entire Benjamin School team. Nevertheless, Woods Jr. maintained a graceful appearance that would perhaps get a pat from Paige Spiranac.

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