Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Charlie Woods is a miniature version of his dad, Tiger, and his performance at the PNC Championship showed just that.
At this point, people know that Charlie Woods and Tiger Woods could be clones. Obviously, they’re not because he has hints of his mother in his features, but the similarities are plentiful.
From the moment the little cub hit the scene in 2020, he was Dad’s shadow. Their mannerisms are eerily identical. The way they club twirl, scratch their nose, celebrate putts, and many other things make him look like Tiger reincarnated.
On Sunday at the PNC Championship, there were multiple moments when Charlie reminded everyone of the Big Cat. However, his chip-in birdie on the par-4 9th really made him look like his dad.
After the ball dropped into the hole, Charlie gave a fist pump that mirrored his dad and yelled, “Come on!” It was hard to tell who enjoyed that moment more, Tiger or Charlie. The 15-time major champion couldn’t do anything but smile with pride.
“It was neat because I was saying earlier to Cara [Banks] I was on the high side, so I got a chance to see it from about 10, 12 feet out, and it looked great from where I was,” Woods said. “To see his reaction — it happened right in front of me… He got excited, and I looked over at Stricks, and he was shaking his head. It was great.”
That chip-in was one of many instances from the week where Charlie impressed. He drove the green on a par-4 during Saturday’s round. The 14-year-old did it again on Sunday as he drove another par-4 green to set them up for a birdie.
His recoil on his tee swings looks like dad, too — another familiarity between the two.
The kid already has impressive swing speeds, but Charlie is still young. Woods talked about all the changes with his son before the event.
“I think his speed has gone dramatically up since last year. But I think that more than anything, it’s just that he’s grown so fast,” Woods said.
A lot has changed between last year’s PNC Championship and this year’s for him. He is in a transitional period of his game, and it shows.
“You can see how much he’s grown from last year. It’s amazing how much he has grown, has changed, and it’s a moving target with him,” Tiger said before the tournament. “He’s grown somewhere near four inches this year, so his swing has changed, it’s evolved, clubs have evolved. We kept trying to adjust things, and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s also challenging for him because, every couple weeks, things change.”
Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
It’s hard to keep the expectations in check because of those moments of greatness. People want to see another Tiger Woods; who wouldn’t? However, he is 14, so who knows what could happen with Charlie and golf.
Could he do great things like his dad? Possibly.
He has already accomplished something his dad didn’t as an amateur— winning a high school state golf championship. While the Big Cat has plenty of other accomplishments, it’s still something Charlie has on him.
The little cub has the potential, but hopefully, he will get to do things the way he wants.
Tiger seems to understand that, but in today’s society of social media, it has to be challenging to keep him out of the limelight and humble. Hopefully, he can continue evolving his game and growing up without too much pressure.
Team Woods didn’t win, but it was a strong finish for the duo. They fired off a 61 in the scramble format on Sunday to finish tied for 5th place at 19-under.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
