For two decades, Tiger Woods couldn’t walk ten feet without causing a stampede. Case in point: how fans created a “sea of humanity” up the 18th fairway at East Lake during the 2018 Tour Championship as he secured his first win in five years. Now, at a junior tournament in Florida, he stood on the range for an entire session without a single fan asking for a photo.

“Tiger Woods is standing behind Charlie Woods on the range, arms crossed, sunglasses on, hat on backwards, watching Charlie hit balls,” Dan Evans recounted on Episode #74 of The Dan Evans Show, which dropped on Christmas Eve 2025. “And here was the greatest part about it. Nobody cared there. Nobody went up to him. I didn’t see him take a single picture.” “People were just like, ‘Hey, he’s here for his son’s tournament.’ And everyone left him alone the whole time,” Evans added.

For anyone who witnessed Woods’ prime, this scene borders on fictional. During the 2000s, his presence transformed golf courses into concert venues. Galleries swelled into the thousands. Fans jockeyed for sightlines, cameras clicked without pause, and security personnel formed human barriers just to give him room to swing.

At the 1997 Phoenix Open, an estimated 10,000 fans packed the 16th hole to watch a 21-year-old Woods drain a hole-in-one—then showered the tee box with beer cans and cups in delirious celebration. At the 2000 WGC-NEC Invitational, fans gathered around the 18th green in near-darkness just to make out what was happening as Woods finished his final round. His caddie once threw a fan’s $7,000 camera into a water hazard after the shutter clicked mid-swing. That was the chaos Tiger Woods generated simply by existing on a golf course.

This version of Tiger Woods still surfaces in certain contexts. At the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur in Dallas this past July, coverage confirmed Tiger walking the course alongside Charlie, drawing a gallery that far outnumbered most others, with fans and police surrounding him throughout the round.

The contrast sharpens the significance of Evans’ anecdote. At a major junior championship in Texas, the old chaos returned. At a local Florida event, it vanished entirely.

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Why Golf Fans Might Be Giving Tiger Woods Space Now

Part of the restraint may stem from something unspoken: recognition of what Woods has endured. Seven back surgeries. A ruptured Achilles. A near-fatal car crash in 2021. He hasn’t competed in a full PGA Tour season since 2019, and withdrew from the 2025 PNC Championship—the family event he and Charlie had played together for five consecutive years—while recovering from his latest procedure.

Meanwhile, the sport has moved forward. Scottie Scheffler dominated 2025 with six victories and two majors, drawing comparisons to Woods’ own peak. Rory McIlroy completed his career Grand Slam at Augusta. The galleries that once belonged exclusively to Tiger now trail younger stars who play every week.

Perhaps fans at that Florida junior event understood something. Tiger Woods, at 49, is no longer chasing trophies. He’s chasing moments with his son. And the best way to preserve those moments is to step back and let him have them.

No frenzy. No cameras. Just golf.