Charlie Woods hits his second shot on the first hole during pre-qualifying for The Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches at Lost Lake Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Charlie Woods, the son of 82-time PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods, shot 16-over par in the pre-qualifying event for next week's Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.
The 15-year-old Woods, along with Olin Browne Jr. and Ruaidhri McGee, were part of the second group that got underway at 7:39 a.m. ET Thursday morning at Lost Lake Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. He ran into trouble early with two bogeys on four holes and a double bogey on the par-5 fifth hole. Things got worse on the par-4 seventh hole when he hit a 12 to go 12 over par.
Woods fared slightly better on the back nine with two bogeys, a double bogey and six pars, finishing with an 86.
Not helping the teenager was a group of fans described by the Palm Beach Post as overzealous at best
As Woods walked up the fairway in frustration, spectators began to realize that there were no ropes to keep them off the course. In return, they walked very close to Woods on the fairway and ignored repeated requests from tournament officials to stay on the cart path.
One angry fan asked an official: “Who are you?” The fireman?”
The fan base reportedly grew to more than 50 fans who made their way to the back nine, including one who brazenly violated tournament etiquette:
After Woods left the 12th green, another fan approached him with a pen and a copy of Tiger's book “How I Play Golf” and asked Charlie to sign the book. When an official told the fan that wasn't allowed, she set off a commotion of silence and shouts, including “I live here,” as Woods teed off on No. 13.
Woods' already bad day could have gotten even worse if not for his two-person security team, which included a Martin County sheriff's deputy.
There are five pre-qualifying sites for next week's Cognizant Classic – formerly known as the Honda Classic. The top 25 players and matches from each location advance to a final qualifying tournament on Monday. From there, four players will make it into the tournament, which runs February 29th to March 3rd at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Even though this qualifying tournament didn't go well for Woods in his first attempt at qualifying for a PGA Tour event, it was certainly a good experience for him going forward. He has competed in the last four PNC Championships with his father, and last fall he tied for 17th at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship and also helped his high school golf team win a state championship.
The 2024 Cognizant Classic will have prize money of $9 million, of which $1.62 million will go to the winner. Those confirmed for the event include Rory McIlroy, Tom Kim, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick and defending champion Chris Kirk.