Miami—Charlie Woods wowed his 15-time major champion father Tiger with an impressive eagle for Team Woods in the PNC Championship family tournament in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.
Charlie, 11, put his drive in the fairway at the par-five third hole of the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, then hooked a five-wood approach around some trees.
The ball bounced short of the green and settled three feet from the pin, Charlie giving a fist-pump just like his old man’s before rolling in the putt.
A beaming Woods had a hug for his son, noting as they walked off the green “First eagle!”
Charlie, whose swing, so reminiscent of his famous father’s, has drawn comment this week, drained another birdie putt in the first-round scramble format, following the ball as it rolled toward the cup and in at the ninth.
At the 13th, Charlie struck a sweet tee shot and signaled to his father— playing off the tournament tees further back—that he didn’t even need to hit a tee ball.
“It was some of the most incredible golf shots,” Woods said with a laugh. “He had the best time to be out there in this environment. I’ve seen this all along. A lot of the shots he hit I’ve seen this entire year.”
The Woods duo got off to a hot start, with six birdies and an eagle on the front nine.
They combined for a 10-under 62 that left them sharing sixth, four shots behind Matt Kuchar and son Cameron.
Vijay Singh and son Qass were in second, two shots adrift, with Australian Greg Norman and son Greg Jr. another shot back and tied with Tom and Sean Lehman and David and Brady Duval.
The two-day exhibition tournament features 20 teams of major champions paired with a family member.
Charlie Woods is the youngest competitor to take part, and Tiger Woods has stressed all week that the main aim was to have fun with his son.
“I really don’t care about my game. I’m just making sure that Charlie has the time of his life and he’s doing that,” Woods said. “I’m making sure he is able to enjoy all of this.”
The duo played alongside Woods family friends Justin Thomas and his father, Mike.
Justin Thomas noted earlier in the week that the young Woods was already an accomplished trash-talker, and he trolled team Thomas with a note when they were in a bunker.
“It started in the pro-am. Charlie drove one through the fairway and my dad was playing in front of them and he’d hit it through the fairway and into the trees,” Justin Thomas said.
“My dad wrote on a piece of paper ‘draw hole’ on it and put it under his ball.
“In typical Woods fashion, he kept the piece of paper, and when my dad hit it in the bunker he put the exact same piece of paper behind his ball.”
