Will Charlie Woods follow in his father Tiger Woods’s footsteps and secure a USGA Championship victory? Over the past seven months, a few of the 15-year-old’s golf endeavors have ended on a sour note, especially when it comes to his PGA Tour dreams. At first, the junior golfer failed to make the cut for his first PGA Tour event, the Cognizant Classic. And then he also missed the cut at the 124th U.S. Open qualifiers.
But that’s not all; even at the junior events, Woods has been facing failures. The 15-year-old recently played the Future Masters at Dothan Country Club and there too he was outside of even the top 50s. He finished at T103 after carding 73-76 in the two rounds. The only achievement Woods has in the 2024 season is qualifying for his first USGA event, the US Junior Amateur, which his father has won three times. But to prevail as a winner in the end, the 15-year-old would require the intense mental and physical game of Tiger Woods.
How did Tiger Woods slay the fear of competition?
In a rare interview clip with ESPN, Tiger Woods shared a time when he was intimidated by an older player when he played the Junior Worlds at the age of 11. The 15-time major winner said, “It intimidated the hell out of me” as he watched that older player hit a tee shot. But Woods didn’t let it shake his game and, ultimately, carded a lower score than the other player.
Woods explained that this was the moment he stopped fearing other people, as he understood that small victories mattered to gain momentum in golf. Instead of posting the lowest score in an event, Woods would rather focus on little goals like making the fairway, draining the putt, or scoring lower than his opponent. That’s how he was always ahead of everyone and became the fearless golfer he has been.
This was Wood before he won the US Junior Championship for the third time. To win, Charlie Woods might have to adopt an identical tactic as his father to get the fear of his opponent out of his head. Furthermore, the 48-year-old also had a stringent routine that he followed every day. With his father, Earl Woods, by his side, the then-young pro used to run 4 miles in the morning, have a session at the gym, and then practice his shot game and golf for 2 to 3 hours.
USA Today via Reuters
Additionally, he used to play basketball or tennis and run another 4 miles to end his day. For Woods Jr. to match or surpass his father’s achievements, he might need to adopt a few tips and tricks from his old man’s book to succeed. A similar routine might help the 15-year-old get close to victory. Other than physical training, Earl Woods used to train Tiger Woods mentally, as well. This is something Woods has been instilling in Charlie Woods, too.Tiger Woods pushes Charlie Woods’s mental game
Earl Woods’s legacy of having his son practice and concentrate through his out-of-the-norm tactics has not left the Woods family just yet. Although the 82-time PGA Tour winner once described it as a bit harsh, he understood how much it had helped shape his legendary career. So, Woods has been following the same with his son as well.
In 2022, the 48-year-old pro was giving an interview to Paul Azinger and Dan Hicks. There, he was asked whether he challenges Woods Jr.’s mental stamina, and unsurprisingly, Woods replied with a yes. The 15-time major winner explained just how his father used to distract him with tricks and train him to not get distracted, Woods also does the same with his son.
He further added, “It’s nonstop, it’s trying to get him—if I can get into his head, that means someone else can get in his head. It’s getting to a point where I can’t get in his head, and then no one else can get in there, either.” Undoubtedly, through this strenuous mental and physical training, the 15-year-old junior golfer would have a better chance of winning his first USGA event later this month.
With many failed attempts following Charlie Woods, the US Junior Amateur Championship will be a chance to get redemption and prove to the world that he also can reach the winner’s podium and lift a trophy!
