Charlie Woods spotted at the US Open 2023, no trace of Tiger
Although Tiger Woods is not competing at the ongoing US Open 2023, his son Charlie Woods was spotted near the Los Angeles Country Club, where the event is taking place.
Charlie was seen practicing at the Riviera Golf Club, which is not far away from the LACC. Former touring professional-turned-golf instructor Lucas Wald posted a short clip of Woods Junior teeing it off on the Riviera.
Wald wrote:
"Charlie Woods teeing off at Riviera yesterday in Los Angeles. Cool action - he has a decent coach I’m sure 😎"
The 14-year-old was also seen watching the third major of the season, which is taking place at the North Course of LACC.
The official handle of the USGA posted Charlie's picture on Twitter with the caption:
"Early scouting for the 2039 #USOpen? 🤔"
Early scouting for the 2039 #USOpen? 🤔 https://t.co/Nj3wfBvkSe
Since impressing everyone in the 2021 PNC Championship, when he and his father made 11 birdies in a row for a runner-up finish, Charlie has improved his game even more. The 14-year-old finished T9 at the PGA National Junior Open in April and went on to win the 36-hole Hurricane Tour’s Major Championship at Village Golf Course in Florida.
Justin Leonard, whose son goes to the same school as Charlie, praised his game. During the KitchenAid Senio PGA Championship, Leonard drew similarities between Tiger and his son when he saw the latter playing at a junior club championship in Florida.
He was quoted, as per Golfweek:
"This beautiful high-like soft cut looked like a 3-hybrid or something. Landed on the green, and it stopped dead. There might have been a little bit of a club twirl at the end of it, and I walked by Tiger, I go, ‘Okay, a lot of that looked very familiar,’ and we both had a good chuckle."
Although bookmakers have set the odds of 1500 to 1 for Charlie Woods to achieve a major victory before reaching the age of 22, he still has a long way to go.
Why is Tiger Woods not playing in the US Open 2023?
Tiger Woods withdrew from the US Open 2023 as he is still recovering from the subtalar fusion surgery that he underwent in April. He is a three-time champion at the US Open, 2008 being the last time he triumphed at the event.
Tiger had to withdraw from the fourth round of the Masters 2023 due to challenging weather conditions at Augusta National and severe pain in his foot. He hasn't played in any event since then. Before withdrawing at Augusta National, he joined Gary Player and Fred Couples for the record of most (23) times making the cut at the Masters.
Earlier, the 15-time major winner had mentioned that his schedule moving forward was going to be only four majors and a couple of more events. However, injury has kept him out of two of the three majors, and it looks uncertain that he will be competing at the Open Championship either.