Like Father Like Son

Charlie Woods is growing up. Will he follow Tiger's famous footsteps?

- JEFF WILLIAMS

It’s become an annual treat to watch Tiger Woods and his son Charlie play in the PNC Father/Son Challenge. Their swings are similar, their club twirls are similar, their putting strokes are similar and so is the early walk toward the hole when they are sure the ball will drop.

There’s the similar lean on the putter when they wait for others to putt out. There’s the ball flips walking from tee to green, the whiplash follow-through when they go for the big shots. And of course, there’s the trash talking that is part and parcel of such a fun event as the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, where Tiger and Charlie finished fifth in December. This year, 14-year-old Charlie (he turned 15 in February) was moved back a tee box for the event, playing the course at 6,500 yards. That’s (a little) longer than the members’ tees at Augusta, and he played the same tee boxes as Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and John Daly. Charlie was even able to outdrive his dad, who was playing from one tee box back, on a few holes.

When Charlie first came onto the golf scene several years ago, he looked like a mini-me version of his father, coming about up to Tiger’s chest. He’s not so mini any more, standing five-foot-eleven, according to reports, just a few inches shy of his father’s billed height of six-foot-one. And he’s still growing.

“His speed has gone dramatically up this year,” an admiring Tiger said when asked to name the biggest difference in Charlie’s game. “He’s hitting it past me now.”