Tiger Woods has been in the spotlight for over 25 years, but his teenage son, Charlie, is showing signs of emerging from his shadow. The world really began to notice the youngster when he finished runner-up with his famous father at the 2021 PNC Championship. Here are some of the little-known facts about the emerging talent.
1. Charlie Axel Woods was born on February 8, 2009.
2. He is named after a player Tiger used to look up to – Charlie Sifford. During his speech after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, Tiger said of the former PGA Tour pro: “I always called him ‘Grandpa,’ because he was like the grandfather I never had. And I ended up becoming so close with him that I ended up naming my son, Charlie, after him.”
3. He has his own prototype irons – a set of custom-made TaylorMade P7CW irons. But how do they differ from a standard set? Mass has been removed from the toe and heel sections. The result is that there is reduced weight on the head.
4. He has a seriously impressive career-low score. Tiger has gone on record to state that Charlie’s game is improving. During the 2022 Hero World Challenge, he said his game was “getting a lot better”. Evidence of that can be found in a round Charlie played just a couple of months beforehand, where he shot the 68 in a qualifier for the Notah Begay III Junior National Golf Championship in Florida.
5. He goes to watch tennis with his dad. Away from golf, Tiger is an avid tennis fan, and has regularly been spotted catching a live match. It seems that passion has rubbed off on Charlie, too, who has accompanied his dad to tennis matches, including the 2019 US Open.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
6. He can outdrive his dad. In his prime, Tiger was known as one of the game’s longest drivers and even hit a 498-yard drive at one point in 2002. While he has lost some of his distance as the years have worn on, he still averages over 300 yards, but, according to Woods, Charlie now outdrives him. During the 2022 Hero World Challenge, Woods told the Golf Channel: “‘It’s already happened. He hit a drive at Medalist and got me by a yard”.
7. Tiger plays mind games on Charlie like his father did to him. Once again, during the 2022 Hero World Challenge, Tiger admitted he took a leaf out of his father’s book on getting into his son’s head. He said: “It’s non-stop, non-stop. It’s trying to get him – if I can get into his head, that means someone else can get into his head. It’s going to get to a point where I can’t get into his head, and then no one else can get in there either. That’s what my dad believed. You’ve got to be willing to take it.”
8. In the final round of the 2021 PNC Championship, Tiger and Charlie hit 11 birdies in a row as they finished runner-up to John Daly and John Daly II – a course record.
Watching in awe. 😲11 birdies in a row for Team Woods. pic.twitter.com/iIP9S4UDOZDecember 19, 2021
9. It’s not just Charlie’s father who thinks he could have a bright future in the game – the bookmakers suspect he could follow in Tiger’s footsteps and take the game by storm, too. Early in 2022, sports website Bookies.com drew up projected odds on Charlie winning a Major by the age of 30, and arrived at 19/2 (+950) that he will.