Tiger Woods made his first professional debut on Aug. 29, 1996, at the Greater Milwaukee Open. Well, ever since that, there was no turning back for him until he started facing health issues. Even in September, Woods underwent his sixth lower back surgery in 10 years with the hope of relaxing the spasms that have been haunting him throughout the 2024 season.
That has kept him from confirming his presence even at the PNC Championship this December with his son Charlie Woods. Nonetheless, he is still one of the greatest stars in the golf world. Golf has been a part of Mr. T ever since he could remember. His father and grandfather were both professional golfers, and that already gave him a lot of exposure to the sport. However, sometimes that might have had a deep impact on him.
The 82X PGA Tour pro made his first national television debut when he was just 2 years old. On October 6, 1978, a young Tiger Woods, just two and a half months shy of his third birthday, made an appearance on “The Mike Douglas Show” alongside his father, Earl, as well as celebrities, Bob Hope and Jimmy Stewart. According to a documentary made locally, his father Earl Woods had already introduced him as a professional golfer, without even thinking about what he would want to be. “His father Earl was there and brought him up on center stage and introduced him as going to be a professional golfer,” it stated.
While the 48-year-old did manage to make a big name for himself in the sport, some of them are not as lucky. According to a report cited by them, Dr. Robert Litchfield of Western University’s Fowler Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic, reports that he’s performing ‘Tommy John’ surgery on 13- and 14-year-old baseball players. It is done to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament inside the elbow by replacing it with a tendon from elsewhere in the body. According to them, “It’s one thing if you’re a major league player and you’re 30 years old and you want to get another year or two out of your career — you don’t have the Tommy John surgery as a teenager.”
Well, turns out Tiger Woods is in the footsteps of his father, as he is the guiding light to his son, Charlie Woods’s golfing career.
Charlie Woods’s struggle with being a celebrity kid
Both Charlie Woods and his sister Sam Woods have often been spotted playing golf with their father. The former also started taking up an interest in the sport as early as 2 years old after watching his father play in tournaments. He started competing in professional events as early as 7. While it might seem very lucky to be under such a limelight, it truly is the opposite. In an interview, Charlie Woods’s golf coach and English Teacher from School stated how the 15-year-old’s life is difficult because of it. He shared a story from the 8th hole, a straight-away par-5 lined by condos down the right side in high school golf.
“And I’m watching all these doors to the condos opening up and all these people come out because they knew he was there,” he said. The round had to be suspended due to terrible weather, and while everyone else ended up taking shelter, Charlie Woods was stuck giving autographs and taking pictures. Even during his other matches, he is followed by a huge crowd, just like his father, which makes him nervous.