Tiger Woods could play golf with anyone on the planet, but the one person he enjoys playing with the most is his son, Charlie.
Woods, who has not played a competitive tournament since the 2024 Open Championship due to a long list of injuries, gave a rare interview that was released this week to preview the second season of his indoor golf league, TGL.
Woods, 49, was all smiles in the interview, which was likely recorded before he underwent back surgery earlier this month. His chances of competing at the elite level again appear increasingly slim after yet another major surgery.
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But it is clear that 16-year-old Charlie’s development in the sport has given Woods huge fulfilment. The father-son duo has competed numerous times in the PNC Championship and made many special memories, including Charlie’s first hole-in-one.
When asked who his favorite person to play a round with is, Tiger responded without hesitation, “Charlie,” summing up the joy the former world No. 1 gets from seeing his son’s journey in golf.
As a 15-time major champion and one of the biggest sports stars of his generation, Woods has played golf with all manner of people, from presidents and world leaders to fellow sporting icons and stars of screen and stage.
But it is clear that nothing comes close to the satisfaction of teeing it up with his son.
Tiger understands the attention placed upon his son due to being arguably the greatest player in the sport, and the 82-time PGA Tour winner has been keen to manage expectations. “He’s a kid. Don’t compare him to me because he’s not me. He’s Charlie,” he said in June.
Charlie has shown this year that he is no gimmick on the golf course, winning his first American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) event, taking top spot at the Team TaylorMade Invitational in May.
The teenager, who does not graduate high school until 2027, is the No. 9 junior amateur in the United States, and he helped his Benjamin School team to victory in the South Florida PGA Junior Golf High School Championship earlier this month, finishing T4 in the individual standings.
Charlie is sure to be a coveted recruit for college programs as his graduation edges closer. Not only would he bring attention and interest to any school, but he has also shown he is a gifted talent.
And he is full of confidence after bagging his first AJGA victory. “Being able to say to myself that I won an absolutely amazing event and to say I performed under some high-pressure situations is just huge going forward,” he said at the time.
“I haven’t been able to say that I have done that, and now that I can, it is just a big thing for my mental game going forward.”
