Charlie Woods, the youngest child of golf legend Tiger Woods, has already made his mark in the
golf world, and at a remarkably young age. Here is the untold truth about Tiger’s son Charlie.
Tiger Woods and his then-wife Elin Nordegren welcomed their second child
Charlie Axel Woods on February 8th, 2009.
Announcing the birth of the child in a statement on Tiger Woods' website, the parents wrote,
"We had a couple names and Charlie just fit. As far as the Axel,
that’s Elin’s brother’s name so we wanted to make sure it stayed in the family.”
Some observers theorized that the first name was a reference to the late Charlie Sifford,
the first Black golfer to become a PGA Tour member. There was even a personal connection,
too: Sifford was a close friend of Tiger's late father, Earl Woods, and, according to
the Associated Press, Sifford referred to Tiger as his "grandson." Likewise, Tiger felt a similar
sentiment, telling the Los Angeles Times, quote, "He's like the Grandpa I never had."
Granted, Tiger hasn't publicly linked Charlie's name to the personal connection on his father's
side, but given the tribute they used for Charlie's middle name,
it's not out of the realm of possibility.
Charlie Woods happens to be bilingual. Elin Nordegren, Charlie's mother,
told People in 2010 that even though she was raising her kids in Florida,
they were still tapping into their mother's Swedish heritage.
The Swedish model told the outlet,
"My children and I are both Swedish and American citizens, we speak both languages."
She also spoke of her plans at the time to take her children to
Sweden often to visit their maternal relatives and experience the culture.
In addition to teaching Swedish to Charlie and his sister, Sam Woods,
Nordegren also celebrates Swedish customs with them. As early as age one-and-a-half, Charlie,
along with his sister and mother, was spotted dancing around a Christmas tree to celebrate
Saint Lucia's Day, an annual tradition on which Swedish people celebrate the Winter Solstice.
In a video that's made the internet rounds, Charlie Woods was spotted swinging a golf club at
the age of four. However, he and his older sister, Sam Woods, were also hooked on a totally different
sport as youngsters. In 2018, Tiger Woods told Golf.com his kids were, quote, "keen into soccer."
When the outlet asked whether or not the five-time Masters Tournament winner
would urge his children to spend more time hitting the links, Tiger replied,
"If they want to play golf, that's great. If they don't, that's fine, too."
Charlie's father mentioned that he enjoyed getting a chance to "pass the
ball around with them" and "watching them play different sports and games,” adding,
"It's so much fun to see how happy and passionate they are about soccer."
In 2020, Tiger told Golf Digest that the pandemic shifted his son's interests -- specifically,
he started getting more interested in the sport his dad is famous for. Regardless, Tiger added
that like all kids, his children's interests go from one thing to the next. He wouldn't be
surprised if one day Charlie's interested in golf, and the next day it's something else.
When Charlie Woods joined forces with his father Tiger Woods at the 2020 PNC Championship,
something special happened on the green:
Charlie hit a career milestone under the national spotlight.
fairway and put him in putting position. After sinking the putt,
his father patted him on the back as the two were all smiles when Charlie hit his first-ever eagle.
Tiger later remarked that he was the same age as Charlie when he hit his first eagle.
"I remember doing it with my dad. I was about 11 years old, and it was the same with him,
and it was the most perfect moment."
Like father, like son, Charlie wowed the world with his golf swing when he
was surrounded by cameras. Funnily enough, this was similar to how his
father once impressed the public with his swing as a child on The Mike Douglas Show.
"And here's Bob Hope reacting to this little kid who already shows this tremendous skill in golf."
Could this be a sign that Charlie is on pace to have a professional
golf career on par with his father?
Before Charlie Woods went viral as an 11-year-old golf sensation,
he unintentionally sparked headlines for another reason in 2009.
That year, CNN reported Charlie's maternal grandmother, Swedish politician Barbro Holmberg,
was released from the hospital after being admitted for complaints of stomach pain.
ABC News reported that in the 911 recording for the incident,
an unidentified caller said Holmberg "collapsed" before paramedics rushed to Tiger Woods' home.
A year after her mother's health scare, Elin Nordegren told People what happened,
explaining, quote, "Charlie had a bad stomach bug and we all ended up getting it."
She explained that her mother "collapsed" when she caught the bug due to her pre-existing condition
of low blood pressure. The Swedish model explained she called 911 when her mother fell
unconscious for an extended length of time. But it turned out that Holmberg's
condition was more stable and less dangerous than it may have appeared,
and she was released from the hospital within 12 hours of first being admitted.
Considering the intense amount of media coverage that was
following the family at the time during Nordegren's divorce from Tiger Woods,
the hospitalization sparked much more scrutiny than was warranted. As Nordegren told People,
"She was fine soon after. But it got a tremendous
amount of coverage because of the other things that were going on."
The father and son duo didn't just dress alike at the 2020 PNC Championship:
Charlie Woods also happened to play like Tiger Woods. The PGA Tour's
Twitter account highlighted the moments with a side-by-side video comparison that went viral.
Charlie's mannerisms throughout the event were nearly identical to his father's;
the golf swing, follow through and mannerisms on the green—whether it
was their stance on the green to adjusting their gloves—all lined up. The similarities
almost seemed like Charlie was a clone of an adolescent Tiger. This extended beyond the
pair's golf fundamentals as Charlie's celebratory moments drew a striking resemblance to his dad,
be it Tiger's iconic first pumps or when he tips his hat with a smile.
Tiger Woods admitted his son,
Charlie Woods, has definitely inherited the trash-talking trait, telling Golf Digest,
"He's a little on the chirpy side, just like I am."
Tiger further divulged that his mouth backfired
when Charlie began borrowing some of Tiger's "lines" on the green.
Professional golfer Justin Thomas also attested to Charlie's trash talking during a 2020 press
conference when he recalled a putting contest between the two a few years prior.
"He's like, 'here I am, I'm nine years old beating the number one player in the world and,
supposedly, the best golfer of all time.'"
The 2017 PGA Championship winner revealed he came back and beat Charlie in that friendly putting
competition. When it was announced that Charlie would be joining the 2020 PNC Championship,
Thomas playfully said he wanted to, quote, "shut his little mouth up."
Charlie would get the last laugh when a stroke from Thomas landed
in a bunker and Charlie left a note next to Thomas's ball that read "draw hole."
The prank, which golf analyst Justin Leonard called "next level," was one of many viral
moments from Charlie at the 2020 tournament formerly known as the Father/Son Challenge.
It appears that Charlie Woods has expensive taste when it comes to his personal set of golf clubs.
It must be something that runs in the family: As his father, Tiger Woods,
made clear in a video for Golf Digest he is picky with his golf clubs, too.
According to Golf.com, Charlie has his own set of state-of-art golf clubs from TaylorMade.
The outlet explained that the kid happened to be carrying a similar set of clubs as
Tiger when they played alongside each other at the 2020 PNC Championship.
Using such a high-level set of clubs when he's still
only a growing junior golfer shows that Charlie isn't playing around on the green.
The clubs in his bag seem to indicate that he wants to compete on the highest level.
In the summer of 2020, GNN reported that Charlie Woods won a US Kids Golf event by 5 shots.
The website noted that the prodigy was "3-under [par]
33 on the 2,467-yard course" and scored "three birdies and no bogeys."
And as outlets like ESPN and TODAY noted, Charlie was supported every
step of the way by his father Tiger Woods, who tagged along as his caddie.
A few weeks later, Golf Digest reported that the rising star
also won his age division by three shots at a PGA tournament in South Florida.
As Charlie was starting to make headlines, during the first year he was serious about golf,
his dominance was somewhat reminiscent of Tiger's when he was Charlie's age. In 2015,
Tiger told Time that he "peaked at 11." He explained by that age he
"had already won 113 tournaments" and "went 36 and 0 that year."
Is Charlie's early dominance the beginning of what may turn into an
illustrious professional golfing career? Only time will tell.
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren finalized their divorce in 2010. Four years later,
Nordegren told People their relationship had become happily centered around their children.
In 2015, Tiger also shared details about their modern family,
telling Time they worked hard at co-parenting and his relationship with Nordegren was "fantastic."
Tiger even called her one of his "best friends."
The family dynamic was brought to the forefront
during the 2020 PNC Championship when Charlie Woods teamed up with Tiger.
As the New York Post noted, Woods' girlfriend,
Erica Herman was present watching the tournament at the same time as Elin Nordegren.
Charlie's sister, Sam Woods, was also there to cheer on her sibling.
On The Golf Channel's broadcast of the tournament Notah Begay III
praised Tiger and Nordegren's efforts as co-parents, saying,
"I talked about Tiger being at all those soccer games and youth activities — well,
Elin's right there and right next to them. They've really done a wonderful job for their kids."
Through Charlie and Sam, Tiger and Nordegren have remained on good terms to the point where
they can stand by each other when supporting their kids at functions.
Charlie Woods' golf stroke mechanics left an impression on golf analysts
when he made his national debut at the 2020 PNC Championship.
Jonathan Yarwood was one of the golf experts who raved about Charlie's swing, telling Golf.com,
"Being Tiger Woods' son, he uses phenomenal athleticism to redirect
the club using a huge amount of right side bend."
PGA Pro's Darren deMaille also praised Charlie's golf-swinging motion on Quick
Fix Golf by highlighting his ability to "rotate" his body on his swing. He noted,
"Most of our golfers that we see at the academy can't do that."
Tiger Woods himself even told Golf Digest, quote, "I idolize his swing
all the time." The golfer tied for the most PGA Tour wins of all time added,
"I wish I could rotate like that, and turn my head like that and do some of those positions,
but those days are long gone and I got to relive it through him."
Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters Tournament,
which was a moment of redemption for the star who hadn't won a major since 2008.
After Tiger's final stroke to clinch the victory, his son, Charlie Woods, gave him a big hug.
For Tiger, that moment reminded him when he hugged his father, Earl Woods,
after he won his first Masters Tournament in 1997.
As Tiger said afterward,
"To come full circle as a father, and to have my son jump into my arms,
it really means so much to me." Taking Charlie out to play
competitive golf has been full of more "full circle" moments. Tiger told Golf Digest,
"It's been just an absolute blast to go out there and just, you know,
be with him and it reminds me so much of, you know, me and my dad growing up."
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