It was like father like son at the Notah Begay III Junior National Golf Championship this week after Charlie Woods notched his best ever round.
The 13-year-old prodigy, whose iconic dad Tiger was acting as caddie, bounced back from his 80 on day one to fire a four under par 68 at Mission Inn Resort in Florida. His score saw him finish the day tied-4th in the Boys 12-13 division at four over par.
Having a 15-time major champion offering advice was clearly beneficial, with Woods Jnr making two birdies and an eagle over his 18 holes. And the latter was millimetres away from being an albatross, with the ball agonisingly lipping out of the hole.
The potential of Woods Jnr became apparent at the PNC Championship last December, when he and Tiger teamed up to finish second - two shots off Joh Daly and his son, John II. It was Tiger's first competitive appearance since being left with multiple leg injuries following his high speed car crash in February 2021.
And speaking after his round, Charlie hailed the influence of his dad, saying: "That was awesome, I mean I couldn't have done it without him. Some shots I would have been so off but he steered me on the right course. Dad told me to stay patient. I just played steady golf; focus on each shot, don’t look too far ahead and just stay in the game."
On Twitter, golf fans were quick to make comparisons between the youngster and his dad, with @TankIsImmortal dubbing Charlie "baby GOAT." @zacharymahabir added: "On the rise with the best caddy on the planet."
Some however, were quick to reference golf's ongoing civil war, warning that Charlie would soon be hearing from Greg Norman: "I say Charlie gets an 8 figure offer from LIV next week," jibed @Ohiocovid1.
The irony of course, is that Woods has been one of the most vociferous critics of the Saudi-backed tour, turning down a massive offer of approximately £600 million from Norman to defect. And he recently played a pivotal role in a meeting of PGA Tour players to discuss who to repel the rebel series.
He and Rory McIlroy have since announced proposals for a new TGL, a Monday night league that will run in conjunction with the PGA Tour. The concept is designed to attract a new audience to the sport.
