Tiger Sighting At The US Junior Amateur

I am not one for celebrity culture, but I would be remiss if I did not note (for the first and last time) the presence of Tiger Woods at the US Junior Amateur.

Tiger is here, of course, to support his son Charlie, an aspiring junior golfer. Good for him. But his presence means an entourage and body guards.

Charlie opened the tournament on the North Course at Oakland Hills. I arrived at the course later than I intended and well after his tee time, but it was not hard to find him on the course: he was the only one with a large crowd following him from hole to hole.

In the photo below, you can see the large crowd in the background. I knew immediately where Charlie was playing.

The USGA was prepared for the crowds around Charlie. They had security (although I don’t know if it was the USGA’s security or Tigers’) and a large number of volunteers schlepping around a movable rope line. As the kids moved down the hole, the volunteers followed behind with the ropes keeping the fans away.

There are no ropes anywhere else on the course, aside from some twine marking the areas around greens and the tee boxes.

Indeed, every other player had perhaps a half dozen people following them — I assume friends and family. That’s too bad, because I saw a lot of really good golf shots as I wandered the course far away from the Woods group.

In some ways, I feel sorry for the kids who played with Charlie Woods. Dealing with a large crowd and security is probably not what they signed up for. Honestly, it is probably not even fair, as they had to deal with conditions that no other player faced.

Chase Kyles, who played with the Woods group, finished the day at even par. Davis Orvard finished +3.

Charlie Woods finished +12.