BY LARRY LAGE Updated 6:47 PM EDT, July 22, 2024Share
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Charlie Woods, the 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods, covered his face with his cap after shaking hands with his playing partners on the 18th green at the Oakland Hills North Course.
Woods shot a 12-over 82 on Monday in the U.S. Junior Amateur, a tournament he played his way into.
“He still qualified,” Tiger Woods said to his son’s caddie after the rough round.
“That’s what I keep telling him,” caddie Luke Wise said.
Woods earned a spot in the field of top juniors from around the world when he shot a 1-under 71 to win his qualifier last month in Coral Springs, Florida.
He will have to have quite a turnaround Tuesday on the Oakland Hills South Course, which Ben Hogan called “The Monster,” to be among the low 64 scorers from a field of 264 players from 40 states and 35 countries.
Charlie Woods is the only one in the world who knows what it’s like to be the son of Tiger Woods, and now he’s fully aware of what it’s like to compete with all eyes on him.
At an event that usually draws a few hundred people for the championship match, about 100 were waiting on the first tee to see Charlie play while his dad watched, and at least that many spectators followed them for hours.
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Oakland Hills had six members assigned to assist with crowd control. That wasn’t enough, and 10 more men were dispatched to hold ropes to give the players — and Tiger — some space.
After Charlie hit his tee shot on the seventh hole and left behind his tee, adorned with a palm tree, a fan took it out of the ground to keep as a memento.
“I feel like he’s feeling pressure,” said 35-year-old John Pinch of Warren, Michigan. “If his dad could talk to him, he would probably try to get him to settle down.
“You can tell he’s really down on himself.”
Charlie was frustrated and let it show, slamming and swinging clubs into the ground after errant shots and shaking his head from side to side.
His father was relatively helpless because rules prevent parents from coaching their children during the tournament.
After a brief exchange prior to the round on the practice green, Tiger didn’t say a word to his son and didn’t appear to even make eye contact as he watched from afar while surrounded by police officers — at least one of whom snapped photos — and security personnel.
Without a doubt, Tiger wished his son could hear him on the 181-yard, par-3 fourth.
A rules official gave Charlie relief because his ball landed on a metal cap on the right side of the green.
“He gets a club length,” Tiger said, standing out of earshot of his son.
Tiger wanted his son to place his ball to the left, but Charlie elected to take relief to the right.
“No, no, no,” Tiger muttered to himself. “Go the other way.”
Charlie ended up with his first of five double bogeys at No. 4 to go with four bogeys and two birdies — on both of the par 5s.
He was wild off the tee — often missing to the right — came up short on a series of flop shots out of thick rough and sailed some approaches over greens.
Tiger was 14 when he qualified for his first U.S. Junior and reached the semifinals. He won his first U.S. Junior a year later and went on to become the only player to win the tournament three times in a row.
Tiger traveled to suburban Detroit from Scotland after matching his highest 36-hole score as a professional at the British Open, missing the cut for the third straight time in a major.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf