“He’s in 8th grade, but still, he’s a kid. Let him go out there and be a kid, enjoy it. You don’t nitpick, kids,” said Tiger before the PNC Championship in December 2022. Being the son of the legend Tiger Woods, Charlie carries the heavy weight of expectations on his shoulders. Unlike his peer competitors, Charlie Woods has a constant spotlight on him, surrounded by judgmental eyes, comparing him with his father’s legacy. It’s tough being compared to him, as Tiger is considered one of the most influential golfers in the sport. However, junior Woods has surprised the golf community a few times over the years, erasing doubts one by one.
From 2022, the father-son duo went on to play all the PNC Championships, with a notable performance being the 2024 PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando. The 15-year-old scored his first ace with his father standing by his side. The duo came in second after a playoff with Team Langer, with a score of 28 under par. He has also showcased some remarkable individual performances. He had his first win in the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour’s Major Championship in June 2023. Then, in September 2023, he clinched the 14-15 age division, Junior Golf National Championship Last Chance Regional with a score of 6 under par 66.
Even though Charlie has been moving up the ladder steadily with his confidence and resilience, he always faces the challenge of being compared to his father, Tiger Woods.
“Always, the trap door when it comes to Charlie is that no one can just be happy in the moment, you always want to look ahead and be like, well, he did something that Tiger Woods never did. Just enjoy the moment and allow him to develop, and I know that’s the hardest thing when you’re the son of someone as great as Tiger Woods,” said Rex Hoggard in the latest episode of the Golf Channel Podcast. As mentioned by Rex, it is true that no matter how hard Charlie tries, he will be judged based on his father’s legacy. Something even Jack Nicklaus’s 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren used to face.
Being under that constant spotlight of pressure is tough business and his father, in this regard, has ensured that he is always protected so that he remains focused on his game. As Tiger Woods had once mentioned in Another Golf Podcast, “I want him to learn from everything, but also I want to protect him from all of this. You know, the environment, especially in this day and age, when I grew up, there were no camera phones, no videos and stuff. I try to shoo people away. Let him enjoy. Don’t put any pressure on him.” An environment of constant scrutiny and comparison is bound to make anyone question everything about themselves. Everyone expects the boy to outperform his father, which is a very challenging task. The 82x PGA Tour winner is aware of this dilemma that his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 faces that too, from such a young age, something even he didn’t have to face, as he did not have any legacy to keep up. Even under all the pressure and spotlight on him, Charlie remains calm and composed, taking his own time to build his career.
Even with the amount of pressure, Charlie Woods sure got that much-needed confidence boost, as he said after his win, “Being able to say to myself that I won an absolutely amazing event and to say I performed under some high-pressure situations is just huge going forward.” However, if we are to compare him to his peers instead of his father, how difficult was the field in the 2025 Taylormade Invitational?
Charlie Woods against other junior golfers
Charlie Woods was under a lot of pressure in the 2025 Team Taylormade Invitational Title, as he faced tough competition from his competitors. It’s a remarkable feat to defeat the World No.1, Miles Russel, when you stand at the 606th position. They have come face to face early this year in the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, where Russell gave a crushing defeat to Charlie, leading with a score of 9 under par, two strokes ahead of Jackson Byrd, who came in second. Charlie was tied for 25th along with his fellow athletes Joshua Kim and Ronin Banerjee.
Luke Colton and Charlie had an interesting battle in this year’s Team Taylormade Invitational, where Colton held the lead consistently for two rounds with consecutive 5-under-par 67s, but tied for second place after a final round of 70, totalling 12-under-par. At the same time, Charlie started off slow with a score of 70, followed by 65, and smashed the final round at 66, giving him a total score of 15 under par. Willie Gordon is another contender who stands equal to Charlie in terms of performance. In the Team Taylormade Invitational this year, Tiger junior took the title home, but Gordon gave a tough fight and was tied second with a score of 204, 12 under par 204.
