Tiger Woods Admits He Gets ‘Emotional’ About His Son Charlie, 12, Playing Golf In New Series
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In a new series filmed before his February car crash, Tiger Woods opened up about his reservations about his son Charlie, 12, pursuing a career in golf.
Tiger Woods, 45, has mixed feelings about his 12-year-old son Charlie following in his golfing footsteps. In the first episode of A Round with Tiger: Celebrity Playing Lessons, a new Golf Digest series that was filmed the day before Tiger’s Feb. 23 car wreck, the golf pro spoke to Jada Pinkett Smith about how Charlie has taken a liking to the sport. “He just watched me do it and just kind of does it,” said Tiger, who learned how to play golf at a young age from his own father, late pro Earl Woods.
However, Tiger does not necessarily want his son to continue the family legacy. “I just don’t want him to hate the game,” he admitted to Jada. “I don’t want him to fall into that trap. I get emotional about it. Some of my best memories are being out there with my dad. Left hand grip just a touch more. There you go.” Tiger shares Charlie, as well as daughter Sam, 14, with ex-wife Elin Nordegen.
Tiger has taken his son on the golf course a few times — and Charlie has already showed some impressive skills for his age. In Dec. 2020, the pair competed together at the 2020 PNC Championship, formerly known as the “Father/Son Challenge,” and Charlie made an incredible shot that was just shy of an eagle shot. Tiger had a big smile on his face while out on the course watching Charlie, who twinned with his legendary father in a bright purple golf shirt.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be playing with Charlie in our first official tournament together,” Tiger told GOLFTV a month before the tournament. “It’s been great watching him progress as a junior golfer, and it will be incredible playing as a team together in the PNC Championship.” Tiger also said that Charlie is “starting to understand how to play. He’s asking me the right questions. I’ve kept it competitive with his par, so it’s been just an absolute blast to go out there and just be with him. It reminds me so much of me and my dad [growing up].”
Tiger’s new show was filmed the day before he suffered severe injuries in a car wreck in Southern California. He lost control of his car and rolled down an embankment on the border of Rolling Hills Estate and Rancho Palos Verdes, causing traumatic injuries to his right leg, open fractures to both his tibia and fibula, a bruised rib cage, and lacerations to his lower front jaw. He hasn’t played golf since the accident and has been using crutches while continuing to recover.
“This has been an entirely different animal,” he said on May 27 about his post-accident rehab. “I understand more of the rehab processes because of my past injuries, but this was more painful than anything I have ever experienced.” When asked about his hopes of playing golf again, Tiger said, “My physical therapy has been keeping me busy. I do my routines every day and am focused on my No. 1 goal right now: walking on my own. Taking it one step at a time.”