Charlie Woods contributes to his family’s golf legacy by playing a key role in securing a high school state title for his team.
A state championship is one of the few prizes his father, Tiger, has not claimed during his golf career, but 14-year-old Charlie was on the victorious team as The Benjamin School’s boys team captured the FHSAA Class A state championship on Wednesday. Charlie shot 78 and 76 in his two rounds at Mission Inn Resort in Florida. He finished 26th in the individual standings as his five-man team won their fourth state title.
Tiger Woods has an excuse for not winning a state title in high school: the California Interscholastic Federation did not have a championship while he was a student. He did, however, win the US Junior Amateur as a 15-year-old, a record at the time.
Charlie and Tiger have played together in the PNC Championship, a tournament in which major winners compete alongside family members. They finished seventh in their debut at the tournament in 2020.
“I don’t think words can describe it,” the 15-times major champion said of competing alongside his son. “Just the fact that we were able to have this experience together, Charlie and I, it’s memories for a lifetime.”
Tiger has also advised his son to model his game on someone outside the family.
“[I told him] don’t copy my swing. Copy Rory [McIlroy]’s,” Woods said on NBC last year. “That’s one of the things my dad instilled in me, is that you should be able to balance and hold your finish until the ball rolls and stops. You can swing as hard as you want, but you need to have balance.”
Charlie’s golf handicap is unknown but is it believed to be around around scratch.
