The swing and follow-through occurred around 8 a.m. ET on Thursday at a pre-qualifying tournament in Florida. The PGA Tour instantly recognized it.
It was a wonderful swing, which we had seen before. How could we miss it?
It was Charlie Woods’ maiden try to qualify for a tour tournament. Social media users felt the moment, too, but they weren’t as sentimental.
The first comment on X, formerly Twitter, read: “You know you guys have a genuine event starting today.”
“Leave the kid alone,” stated another message.
Some people worried why Woods wasn’t attending school. Others wanted to know where they might see him on TV. Some even used profanity, either explicitly or implicitly, in an attempt to lower expectations or to take a cheap jab at Woods.
Turn the efff off
Swing garbage ass and score.
The kid is crap!!
Would you say it about your child if he or she won the high school golf state championship?
Tiger Woods’ son is fifteen. He shot 16-over-86 and finished 64th in the field. He will not progress to Monday’s open qualifying, so his first PGA Tour event will have to wait.
If you are a parent who has set expectations for your child’s athletic achievements, you can exhale. Your kid or daughter, possibly no one’s son or daughter, is under the same pressure to achieve — or fail — as Charlie Woods.
He has demonstrated his strength as a player by winning the Florida state championship and making highlight-reel strokes alongside his father in the PNC Championship.
However, it may never be good enough for us.
Forget about unreasonable expectations. These expectations are unattainable.
They can act as a reminder to all sports parents about how fortunate we are. Every week, if not every day, we get to watch our children play without the rest of the world observing.
If Charlie Woods was your child and you were aware of the pressures he was under, would you be critical of him? Would you tell him what he could do differently in all the games you watch? Or would you relish every opportunity to see him proudly following in your giant shadow?
The finest example we can set for our children isn’t always what we excel at. It is how we act, behave, and conduct ourselves on a daily basis. It is in allowing our children to be children for as long as possible, regardless of where their vocations lead them. And it’s letting them go when they fail to meet our expectations.
Tiger Woods’ son is fifteen. He shot 16-over-86 and finished 64th in the field. He will not progress to Monday’s open qualifying, so his first PGA Tour event will have to wait.
If you are a parent who has set expectations for your child’s athletic achievements, you can exhale. Your kid or daughter, possibly no one’s son or daughter, is under the same pressure to achieve — or fail — as Charlie Woods.
He has demonstrated his strength as a player by winning the Florida state championship and making highlight-reel strokes alongside his father in the PNC Championship.
However, it may never be good enough for us.
Forget about unreasonable expectations. These expectations are unattainable.
CHARLIE WOODS!!
A chip-in birdie for Team Woods @PNCChampionship 💪 pic.twitter.com/0nh0KdP0JV
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 17, 2023
They can act as a reminder to all sports parents about how fortunate we are. Every week, if not every day, we get to watch our children play without the rest of the world observing.
If Charlie Woods was your child and you were aware of the pressures he was under, would you be critical of him? Would you tell him what he could do differently in all the games you watch? Or would you relish every opportunity to see him proudly following in your giant shadow?
The finest example we can set for our children isn’t always what we excel at. It is how we act, behave, and conduct ourselves on a daily basis. It is in allowing our children to be children for as long as possible, regardless of where their vocations lead them. And it’s letting them go when they fail to meet our expectations.
Yes, this is Tiger Woods, the winner of 15 major championships and 82 PGA Tour events. But, as a father, he appears to be no different from any of us in his concern for his son.
“I just don’t like the idea that he stares at his phone all the time,” Tiger Woods stated in December, according to Sports Illustrated. “Put your phone away and simply look around. One of the issues I believe all parents face is that most of their children no longer look up. Everyone is looking downwards.
“glance around you; the world is stunning; simply glance up. But everyone is staring at a screen, and that is how they perceive life. It drives me crazy at times because he’s always looking down, but there are so many lovely things around you at the same time.”
When you look at their connection, even in the fragments we see in public, you can see that they are two excellent golfers who are first and foremost father and son.
Woods kept his kid out of interviews at the PNC Championship, but Charlie did stop at the turn to answer questions from Will McGee, the 12-year-old son of two other golfers, Mike McGee and Annika Sorenstam.
“My mom was wondering, because she gives me advise on my swing, but I don’t always listen. Do you listen to your father for swing advice?” Will ask.
“It doesn’t happen very often,” Charlie explained. “I mean, when I’m desperate, absolutely.”
One thing that Charlie Woods and Will McGee have in common … reluctantly taking advice from @TigerWoods & @ANNIKA59 😂
Listen to our coverage of the @PNCchampionship all weekend long: https://t.co/aCgwlCDauJ pic.twitter.com/J0GqIjTjbe
— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) December 15, 2023
Woods has not applied any external pressure to Charlie or his older sister, Sam, who plays soccer. Sam also caddied for her father and brother during the PNC Championship.
“It couldn’t have been more amazing for all of us,” Tiger stated. “It couldn’t have been more special for me to have both of my children inside the ropes, participating and playing, and being a part of the game of golf.”
“I drove the ball pretty well today. “I didn’t miss a fairway,” Charlie stated at the same tournament. “I didn’t miss a fairway, and we still shot eight under. “We just don’t putt well.”
His father smiled as he listened intently.
“That sums it all right there,” he remarked.
Charlie Woods’ future could include playing and succeeding on the PGA Tour. His playing career would eventually come to an end. Someday, your child will have that moment as well.
Larry Berra, Yogi Berra’s oldest son, died in 1972 after pursuing his ambition of playing in the major leagues. It was a desire that existed independently of his father’s successful baseball career until he met Whitey Herzog, the New York Mets’ director of minor league development.
Larry Berra warned Herzog that if he didn’t fulfill the team’s standards, he had to let him go. His wish came true. Everyone assumed he was released regardless.
He was battling with injuries in the minor levels, but he, like Charlie Woods, has always carried that shadow.
“When I was playing in the Appalachian League, we traveled to one town, and I was in the on-deck circle,” Larry Berra said author Mark Braff in his book “Sons of Baseball.” “Some guy was ranting at me, saying, ‘You’re not as good as your old man.'” And I turned around and said, ‘Listen, if I was as good as my father, I wouldn’t have to listen to you, and I wouldn’t be in your small town.’ “And my coach yelled at me.”
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