Charlie Woods is not your average teenager. He couldn’t be, even if he wanted to. Unless he plans to move into some Mediterranean country house or settle down in some Icelandic village, the teenager will face media attention and public scrutiny in every aspect of his life, personal and professional. It’s truly a matter of wonder that the teenager still manages to prioritize his midterm after rubbing shoulders with the likes of Justin Thomas, Annika Sorenstam, and John Daly alongside his father.

However, one downside—farcical as it may sound—of having a Tiger Woods, a Jack Nicklaus, or a Gary Player as a father is that GOAT-level expectations are placed on your shoulders when those are not broad enough to carry their legacy. Unfortunately, everything Charlie Woods will ever achieve will be measured against his father’s achievement.

The father-son duo is currently gearing up for their routine annual outing at the PNC Championship this week. Charlie Woods has performed really well so far this year. However, his future success will hinge on how well he can get to grips with the ludicrous pressure that comes with being Tiger Woods’s son.

Woods’s legacy can prove to be a burden

In Tiger Woods’s success story, Earl Woods is the keystone—the fons et origo of the maverick who changed the game of golf. Woods has taken some of the parenting skills from his father and inculcated the value of grinding in his son. Nevertheless, it’s not the same as the relationship between Tiger Woods and Earl Woods. The veteran golfer appears to be more candid with his teenage son. “Charlie is Charlie… Yes, he is my son. But then again, he is his own person.“

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Woods has courted and rejected the limelight since a young age. The media has thrown the spotlight on his personal life countless times but could never penetrate beyond the drawing room. That much you can expect from a person who names his yacht ‘Privacy.

For Charlie Woods, the case is a little different. The 15-time Major champion was always Tiger Woods, a first from the Woods family. However, for the teenager, first and foremost, he is Tiger Woods’s son, at least until he reaches close to or surpasses his father’s records, which seems well-nigh impossible at this moment. That’s a compliment on the father’s ridiculous achievements rather than a diss on the son’s skills.

Carving out an identity for himself will be hard for the teenager. Even when Woods was a young sensation quickly rising through the ranks, donning green jackets, and drinking from the Claret Jug, he was not subject to such minute scrutiny as Charlie Woods will be on his PGA Tour debut and every shot in his rookie season.

We have examples of wunderkinds buckling under pressure and eventually getting lost in the whirlwind of stardom and fame. But so far, Charlie Woods has weathered it pretty well, and he seems to be reveling in the spotlight.

How has Charlie Woods performed so far?

Charlie Woods officially debuted in front of the world at the 2020 PNC Championship. The 12-year-old kid finished in seventh place with 62 under. The following year, the father-son came all guns blazing as they recorded a second-place finish, just two shots behind Team Daly. The father-son duo fluttered 11 consecutive birdies in the final round to post 57 after shooting 62 in the final round.

That year was significant for Charlie Woods personally as well. He netted five top-10 finishes from his six starts in the boys 11–13 category at the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour. However, it was 2022 when the teenage Woods finally spread his wings. The 13-year-old appeared in four tournaments at the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, bagging a top-10 finish in each of them with two titles and a runner-up finish to his name.

The 13-year-old’s whistle-stop growth didn’t elude the keen eyes of Tiger Woods. Lest the teenager become complacent, Woods threw him into the thick of it all at the Junior PGA South Florida Tour. In the 13-18 boys category, the youngster had two top-25 finishes to show for himself from four outings.

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Building on top of his stellar breakout, the teenager raked in a further six top-20 finishes from his seven outings at the Junior PGA South Florida Tour. Moreover, Charlie Woods did what he couldn’t last year, notching a victory at the Last Chance Regional and qualifying for the Notah Begay III Junior National Championship. With his pop caddying for him, Charlie Woods knocked off his career-best 66 at the qualifier.

At the final 54-hole tournament, the teenager carded 215 to tie for the 17th position in the boys’ 14-15 category. Last month, the 14-year-old was part of the Benjamin School team that was crowned the Florida State Champion. Reportedly, Woods was there to witness his son lift a trophy he couldn’t get his hands on.

The fact that so much data about a junior golfer of 13 who plays at regional qualifiers and his school tournaments speaks volumes. Comparably, Lucky Cruz, who won the Notah Begay III Junior Golf Championship this year, has an Instagram profile with around 3K followers. Charlie Woods doesn’t have an official Instagram account yet. But the teenager has a fan page by his name that boasts 11K followers. The hype is real. So is the cross that everyone expects Charlie Woods to bear.

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