USA Today via Reuters
Charlie Woods competed at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches’ pre-qualifier. This was his first attempt at qualifying for a PGA TOUR event, and the first step in a lifelong journey into the world of professional golf. Unfortunately, Junior Woods failed to stay in contention for the PGAT event. It looks like the expectation to perform the best on the greens added to the already existing pressure that the 15-year-old was dealing with.
While playing at a pre-qualifier event at Lost Lake Golf Club, Woods Jr. shot 86 as he failed to make it through the pre-qualifier. This would have been a prodigal start to the PGA Tour journey of the son of Tiger Woods. Charlie and Tiger have played in the last four editions of the father-and-son PNC Championship together.
Surprisingly, Olin Browne Jr., who is the son of three-time PGA Tour winner Olin Browne, made it into the top 5 players. While one golfer’s son is moving forward, one isn’t. However, Tiger Woods would be proud of the way his son played in a challenging event.
USA Today via Reuters
Olin Browne Jr. appreciated Woods Jr. and said, “It was great. Charlie is a great kid and it was great playing with him. It’s definitely the most people I’ve ever seen at a pre-qualifier. 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.”
Apart from Olin Browne Jr. (+2), Billy Basham (-5), Justin Allen (-1), Garrett Barber (E), and Reinaldo Simoni (+6) made it to contention. However, the dream of Charlie Woods is now over, as his scorecard was not up to the mark. While playing the 18 holes, Junior Woods had a solid performance of 11 pars and 7 bogeys.
But his lack of birdies came back to haunt him later. The top-ranked player, Basham, scored 6 birdies, which propelled him to the top. He started strong with three pars, two bogeys, and a double bogey on the first six holes. But the worst performance of the 15-year-old happened at the seventh green. It was a par-4 green at 470 yards. However, it took Junior Woods 12 strokes to finish!
He tried to catch up but ended up with six par holes back to back. Unfortunately, he scored a double bogey on the 14th green and bogeys on the 15th and 16th greens. While he made par on the remaining holes, he was already out of the running by then. Ever since the news of Charlie Woods’s early PGA Tour debut broke, it has grabbed the attention of the entire golf world and even sparked debate among the fans on the internet.
Too many eyes on Charlie Woods?
While some fans supported the young golfer’s decision to participate in the qualifiers for the Cognizant Classic, many were questioning Woods Jr.’s golfing skills and whether or not he truly deserved the spot or not.
As if being the son of a legend like Tiger Woods was not pressuring enough, the young golfer’s every move on the greens was also subjected to immense scrutiny, and after a disappointing result at the pre-qualifying event, an unlikely golf entity chose to come in support of the 15-year-old, who happened to be none other than Paige Spiranac.
The golf diva addressed the unfair treatment that Charlie was subjected to and tweeted, “How about we let Charlie Woods develop his game without constant media coverage. Golf is mentally challenging enough without all the added eyeballs on him and pressure.”
Charlie Woods’s first taste on the PGA Tour greens was not the sweetest but it will be interesting to see where the 15-year-old attempts next for the PGA Tour event. What are your thoughts on the unfortunate exit of the young prodigy on his first PGA Tour run? Let us know in the comments section below.
