The challenges of being Tiger Woods’ son were evident in Charlie Woods’ first attempt to qualify for a PGA Tour event.
The scrutiny was prevalent in the usual corners on the internet, and sounded even more painfully awkward in person, where Charlie shot an 86 at the Lost Lake Golf Club in Florida at a pre-qualifying event for the Cognizant Classic.
The Palm Beach Post’s Emilee Smarr documented the 15-year-old’s frustrating round and described some of the bizarre behavior by a group that she estimated grew up to 50 fans.
Smarr reported that fans walked closely to Charlie despite repeated warnings from officials, who asked that fans stick to the cart paths.
One fan responded: “Who are you? The fire marshal?”
Another fan approached Woods after the 12th hole, “demanding” that Charlie sign a copy of Tiger’s book, “How I Play Golf.”
“When an official told the fan it wasn’t allowed, she made a commotion of shushes and yells, including ‘I live here,’ as Woods teed off on No. 13,” Smarr wrote.
Getty Images sent a photographer to the event to capture shots of Charlie and his mother, Elin Nordgren. Tiger was not in attendance for the tournament.
“Yelling at a kid because he won’t sign an autograph, fans yelling at section officials, grandmothers taking their grandkid out of school so Charlie would notice her,” popular golf account Monday Q Info wrote on X.
“We have lost the damn plot.”
Thankfully, not all the fans following Charlie were strange.
“I live just up the street, I heard he was playing here so I figured I would come by,” Randy Eng told PGATour.com, which noted that Eng followed Charlie’s group on a bicycle for the front nine.
“I play the gold tees here, and my drives usually end up way behind his.”
Charlie’s disappointing round, undone by a 12 on the seventh hole, left him tied for 110th in the 116-player field.
This was not to qualify for the PGA tournament but to qualify for the chance to qualify for the tournament.
“It’s definitely the most people I’ve ever seen at a pre-qualifier,” former PGA Tour pro Olin Browne Jr., who played with Charlie, told the PGA website.
“Charlie’s got a beautiful golf game. It’s tough to come out here and play a professional event at 15 years old. I think he conducted himself beautifully. He didn’t have his best stuff today, but he hit some high-quality shots.”
It could eventually be a laughable footnote on his way to a flourishing PGA Tour career or a sign that as talented as he is, Charlie isn’t the next Tiger or even the next Stewart Cink.
It is proof that Charlie will face challenges most teenage golf hopefuls would never have to encounter.