Safe to say Charlie Woods was the star of the show Saturday during the first round of the PNC Championship.
The son of Tiger Woods stole the show with a solo eagle at the par five third and hit a variety of golf shots that showed skills beyond what might be expected from an 11-year-old, even if his father is named Tiger.
By day’s end, about 25 people gathered across a pond on the Ritz Carlton property with a huge, hand-painted sign that read: “Charlie Woods Fan Club.”
After a very hot start that saw them shoot eight-under par over the first nine holes, Tiger and son cooled off a bit and played just two-under coming home. They finished 10-under par, should have been 11-under but Tiger couldn’t help Charlie at the par four 15th where Charlie’s bunker shot stopped five feet from the hole, four feet better than his father’s sand effort. After Charlie missed the par bid, Tiger missed as well, resulting in the team’s only bogey on the day.
That left them four behind the lead duo of Matt Kuchar and son Cameron. They finished at 14-under par, 58, the only team to shoot under 60.
Vijay Singh and son Cass were in at 12-under while teams Norman (Greg and son), Lehman (Tom and son) and Duval (David and son) were all in at 11-under.
But is was the young Woods who was the star of the show.
“He hit some of the most incredible golf shots,” Tiger said of Charlie’s efforts. “It couldn’t have been a better environment for him with the Thomases (Justin and dad Mike) and the LaCava (Joe and son).”
Tiger has seen Charlie’s progress back home as they’ve played together often at The Medalist in Jupiter. “I’ve seen this all day, not a lot of people have. Charlie’s learning and he will continue to get better.”
For the record, Charlie is the youngest ever to play in the event.
