Tiger Woods’ son Charlie immediately hits back after disastrous display in amateur tournament

Charlie Woods missed the cut at the US Junior Amateur Championship, a tournament his dad Tiger won three times, but he bounced back with a solid opening round in his next tournament

Charlie Woods made a solid start to his Junior PGA Championship campaign(Image: Tim Heitman/Getty Images)

Charlie Woods has bounced back in style with a strong opening round at the Junior PGA Championship to suggest he possesses his father’s fighting spirit. The 16-year-old recently competed at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

It was a tournament his legendary father won three times. However, Charlie’s bid to emulate Tiger’s success didn’t go as planned when he missed the cut by a wide margin. A horror first round saw him card an 81, leaving him 11 over par.

He improved in the second round with a three-over 74 at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Texas. But with a total of 14 over, Charlie was well off the three-under cut line and had to exit the tournament early.

Undaunted, the young Woods wasted no time getting back into the swing of things at the Junior PGA, where young talents from across the world have gathered at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Charlie channelled his dad’s renowned tenacity, shooting a one-under 70 thanks to some impressive fairway-hitting, placing him 43rd out of 156 competitors. Charlie, who didn’t speak to the media after his round, managed to thrill the crowd, including die-hard Tiger fan and Birck Boilermaker club member Joe Couch.

As reported by the IndyStar, Couch said: “Tiger was the reason why I played golf and it’s a cool experience to see everything and see Charlie play. It’s surreal watching Charlie play at a course I play at every day.

Tiger Woods watched on as Charlie missed the cut at the U.S. Junior Amateur(Image: Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)

“There’s a couple of shots I think he’d want back but I also feel like he’s playing well. He’s handling his emotions and there was a lot of commotion but I thought he was playing well.”

Local resident Ryan Eli, from nearby Frankfort, brought his sons Ryker and Cole to witness the round. He said: “It’s just great seeing all this amazing talent and being a lifelong fan, getting to share this experience with my boys is something I’ll treasure.”

Woods is set to return to the course on Wednesday morning, aiming to make the cut and then climb the leaderboard.

Woods has put his recent disappointment behind him(Image: Tim Heitman/Getty Images)

Aside from his hiccup at the U.S. Junior Amateur, Woods’ form is on an upward trajectory. In May, he clinched his first American Junior Golf Association tournament at the Team TaylorMade Invitational in Florida.

He posted a six-under final round of 66 to win the tournament on 15 under at Streamsong Resort’s Black Course in Bowling Green. Woods ended three shots ahead of Phillip Dunham, Willie Gordon and Luke Colton.

He entered the event ranked 604th in the AJGA boys rankings, with his previous best tournament performance being a tie for 25th place at the Junior Invitational in March.