Tiger Woods: Charlie Woods Shines in Prestigious Dallas Amid Tournament with Proud Dad Tiger Watching
Tiger, for the most part, stood in the thick of the crowd, leaning against a tree or taking a knee when there was a lull in the action.
DALLAS — The few dozen fans, parents and coaches huddled under shade trees and congregated on the patio outside Brook Hollow Golf Club on Monday afternoon, the first day of the U.S. Junior Amateur in Dallas.
Can you blame them? It wasn’t quite 100 degrees, but felt like it, and the gusty south winds were like a furnace fan, blowing down Brook Hollow’s sloped fairways toward the clubhouse.
All it took was a 16-year-old walking to the practice green to liven things up.
Charlie Woods’ arrival for his 2:03 p.m. tee time got the crowd venturing into the sun near the 10th tee, his first hole of the day. And if someone didn’t know it was that Woods labeled on the back of his caddie’s vest, they found out by the time Charlie stepped to the tee.
Down to his left, among the gallery of around 100, was a 15-time major winner who looked the part, donning a blue and white striped shirt and blue golf pants.
It’s hard to hide when you’re Tiger Woods.
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But aside from being Tiger, he wasn’t much different than the other parents and supporters Monday at the biggest junior golf tournament in the world. He walked alongside Charlie’s threesome and looked fine doing it, with no apparent hobble or limp from the Achilles surgery he underwent in March. And even with Charlie’s group gathering the biggest gallery — and one of the few, if any, that required the USGA staff to deploy ropes to keep crowds at a distance — Tiger wasn’t hounded by fans.
“Is that him?” the occasional fan would whisper, and then snap a quick picture.
But Tiger, for the most part, stood in the thick of the crowd, leaning against a tree or taking a knee when there was a lull in the action.
It wasn’t the best day for Charlie, who struggled to an eight-over 43 on his front nine and finished 11-over for the day. Wayward shots off the tee got him off track early in the round, but he steadied things a bit down the stretch, and nearly holed out for eagle on his final hole.
But only a handful of golfers put together a solid round at a windy Brook Hollow, which was one of two courses hosting stroke play rounds Monday (Trinity Forest being the other). Of the 28 players under par in the tournament Monday, only four of them played at Brook Hollow.
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One of Woods’ playing partners, Vanderbilt signee Michael Riebe, explained how difficult the conditions could be, even when playing well.
“It was a battle all day,” said Riebe, who battled to one-over to position himself within the projected cut line heading to Trinity Forest.
Riebe was two-over after nine, then slipped to three-over after a bogey on No. 2 (his 11th hole). But he took advantage of the Par 5 fifth, hitting his second shot to the far left side of the green and making a long putt for eagle. On his final hole, No. 9, Riebe missed the fairway and missed the green left, but got up and down for par.
“It was just really hard to be decisive (at Brook Hollow),” Riebe said. “You really have to commit to a certain line and a club, because the wind switches all the time. And with the wind blowing so much, it really challenges your focus. The heat — everything about it was hard.”
