‘Pretty cool to see’: Large gallery follows Tiger, Charlie Woods at U.S. Junior Amateur
Bloomfield Hills — It was easy to spot 15-year-old Charlie Woods playing Monday in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills. Wherever he moved, with his golf-legend father, Tiger Woods, standing nearby watching intently hole by hole with his arms folded across his chest, a rather large gallery of fans moved with him along the North Course.
The other players in the field of 264, many who carry a Tiger head cover on their driver like the one Tiger Woods made famous — Charlie, of course, also has one — took notice of the large following and said they appreciate how his presence has increased interest in the event. There is one more day of stroke play on Tuesday, then the 64 lowest scores advance to match play beginning Wednesday. The championship is Saturday.
“There was a lot of people out there not watching me,” Tyler Watts said laughing after leaving the scoring tent on the North Course at five under and in the lead. “There was a lot of people. It was pretty cool to see.”
Weather impacted play, which was suspended at 2:37 p.m. but resumed at 3:56 pm, long after Woods had completed his round. He might have welcomed a bit of a respite, though, during his frustrating day as he finished 12-over 82. He hurried from the scoring tent and left on the back of a golf cart without speaking to reporters. Tiger Woods, a three-time winner this event, also declined requests for interviews.
Woods played with Chase Kyes, the No. 8-ranked boys junior according to The Universal Golf Rankings, and Davis Ovard, a sophomore at Baylor who last month won the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst. Woods birdied the two par-5 holes but had five double bogeys and four bogeys. Tiger Woods, who walked with a small group, including one police officer, and was separated from the gallery by a cord held by tournament personnel, did not show much emotion as he watched his son.
“He’s super young,” Ovard, who finished 3-over, said of Charlie Woods. “He’s got a ton of time to develop. He’s obviously got a great swing and a good game, and he’s definitely got time to improve and just learn. The amount of pressure he has on him is unbelievable. I can’t imagine being in his shoes. He’s a good player. I’m sure he’ll improve (Tuesday).”
They will play the challenging South Course on Tuesday.
Ovard said it was a thrill on Sunday to have Tiger Woods accompany them for a practice round, and that experience kept him from being overwhelmed by the gallery size. Although he dealt with a large group following at the North & South championship because he faced Pinehurst native Jackson Van Paris, he said said it was “cool” having Woods watching his shots.
“It’s so special,” Ovard said. “(Sunday) was so much fun. Today he was a little more off to the side, so I didn’t see him as much, but yesterday he was walking down the middle of the fairway with us and was on the greens with us and we were talking about the course. It was like, is this real? It was crazy. Playing with Charlie is super fun. The crowd and everything is a lot of fun.”
He quickly adjusted to the crowd, although he admitted to being distracted the first few holes.
“The first few holes, yeah, I wasn’t used to it,” Ovard said. “There’s a few distractions when someone makes noise, but it felt pretty normal.”
Connor Fox, a rising senior at Lake Orion High and Michigan State commit, attracted some local attention and had some followers during his round.
He went out on the South Course and started with three straight pars and had birdies on Nos. 4 and 9, but bogeyed No. 5. Fox, the Michigan Junior Amateur champion, began the back nine with five straight pars but then had a bogey. After a par on No 16, he had double bogeys on the final two holes. Fox was the first golfer to tee off on Monday at 7 a.m. and admitted to some nerves the first few holes.
“It was a great experience hitting the first shot of the tournament,” Fox said. “I’m just really happy to be here, regardless of what I shoot or how I play.”
He described the course as very fair.
“You’ve really just got to hit good shots,” Fox said. “You can’t really get away with bad shots at all.”
Ieuan Jones of Ann Arbor had two birdies and four bogeys during his round and was 2-over.
Watts, who had six birdies during his round, was pleased with his round, especially his putting.
“Putter decided to cooperate today,” he said, smiling. “It hasn’t been working for the past couple months. Out of nowhere today.”
He played the North Course and could see the large gallery following Woods and his group. While he was able to joke that they weren’t there to watch him, Watts said all of the golfers benefit.
“It’s really important for us. It’s really cool, actually,’” Watts said. “We want it, and I think the best players will definitely thrive with more people watching. It’s pretty cool to see.”
achengelis@detroitnews.com
@chengelis
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