Without Tiger On Bag, Charlie Woods Struggled Mightily At The U.S. Junior Amateur

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What must have felt like the weight of the world came crashing down on the shoulders of Charlie Woods at the U.S. Junior Amateur on Monday.

Woods, the son of Tiger Woods, shot a 12-over 82 in the opening round of the stroke play portion of the tournament, all but ending his hopes of his advancing.

Charlie reached the tournament after winning a qualifier even in Florida. But U.S. Junior Amateur rules meant that Tiger was not allowed to serve as his caddie for the national tournament.

“He still qualified,” Tiger Woods said to his son’s caddie after the rough round.

“That’s what I keep telling him,” caddie Luke Wise said.

Charlie could still, in theory, advance to the match play portion of the event. But in order to do so he’ll have to play an absolutely incredible round Tuesday on the Oakland Hills South Course. The same course that legendary golfer Ben Hogan once called “The Monster.”

Woods currently sits in a tie for 236th after the first round. A total of 264 golfers from 40 states and 35 countries make up the entire field. Charlie must be among the low 64 scorers in order to advance to the match play portion of the tournament.

You can run the math on that if you’d like, but his odds are not great.

On the other hand, Charlie got to serve as his dad’s coach earlier this year at the U.S. Open, something Tiger said was a special moment for him.

“I trust him with my swing and my game. He’s seen it more than anybody else in the world. He’s seen me hit more golf balls than anyone,” he said.

“I tell him what to look for—especially with putting—and he gave me a couple little side bits today, which was great, because I get so entrenched when hitting certain putts to certain pins. I tend to forget some of the things I’m working on…

“We have a great relationship and great rapport like that, and it’s a wonderful experience for both of us.”