It sounds like it'd be easy to be the son of one of the greatest golfers of all time. But just like his father, Charlie Woods has also had his fair share of negative press. And it all started from day one.
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00:00It sounds like it'd be easy to be the son of one of the greatest golfers of all time.
00:04Plenty of money growing up, the nicest toys, and unlimited access to a golf course if that
00:09happens to be your passion. And that is indeed Charlie Wood's passion. But like father,
00:14like son. For as much success as the young golfer has enjoyed,
00:17Charlie has also had his fair share of negative press. And it all started from day one.
00:22The same year Charlie was born, his father was having an affair that led to a messy divorce.
00:27What followed was a fall from grace as numerous women came forward to claim they'd been with
00:31the legendary golfer. Even though Charlie was only one at the time, the repercussions of that
00:36can't be ignored. Nicki Swift spoke to an expert in family law, Alan Majewski, of the law firm
00:42Aronson, Majewski & Sloan, to get his opinion on Tiger and Elin Nordegren's messy divorce and
00:48whether there could be any lasting impact on their kids. He explained,
00:51The effect on the children of public divorces and revelations of infidelity and misconduct
00:56should always be considered by parents when going through obviously difficult
01:00and highly emotional circumstances.
01:02You know, it was a sad time in our lives."
01:05There were initial reports of custody arguments over Charlie and his sister Sam,
01:09but the two parents eventually settled into a joint custody agreement.
01:13In the years since, it appears that Charlie's parents have put their past behind them,
01:17with Us Weekly reporting that Tiger and Nordegren have found a way to successfully
01:21co-parent their two kids. That's good news, but it doesn't change the fact that there's
01:26another elephant in the room with Charlie — his performance on the golf course.
01:30Expectations have been sky-high for Charlie ever since he picked up a putter.
01:34Even his name comes from Charlie Sifford, a golf legend who was friends with Tiger's father,
01:38who in turn passed on the love of the game to Tiger himself. There's a lot of pressure
01:43on the young man, and it's clear that living up to dad is big on Charlie's mind.
01:47Having a win over him and having something he doesn't, it feels pretty good."
01:52Unfortunately, while he's impressed plenty of times,
01:55his performance hasn't always matched the hype. In April 2024,
01:58Charlie failed to advance to a U.S. Open qualifier after finishing 61st out of 74.
02:04Then, after qualifying for his first USGA championship in June,
02:08Charlie had an underwhelming performance at the U.S. Junior Amateur and left the
02:12tournament after another disappointingly low placing. There's nothing wrong with that.
02:17The problem is that so many people tend to show up to watch the high school sophomore play.
02:21ESPN reported that although the junior amateur doesn't usually have the biggest crowds,
02:25there were hundreds of spectators tagging along behind Charlie.
02:29The Palm Beach Post also reported that during a pre-qualifying round for the Cognizant Classic
02:34at Lost Lake Golf Club in the Palm Beaches, fans at the tournament were harassing Charlie
02:38as he walked the course. The outlet reported that spectators swarmed around him, asking him
02:43to sign autographs and squabbling with course officials who asked fans to move back. It's an
02:47ugly side of fandom, and a definite hurdle for someone to have to endure in order to pursue his
02:52passion. Golf is hard enough, but when every day is a visual reminder of how many people
02:57expect you to live up to your dad, it's gotta be darn near impossible to give your best.