Charlie Woods' US Junior Amateur Bid Ends Amid Crowd Noise Frustration

Charlie Woods lost out in a playoff at the US Junior Amateur Championship after someone in the crowd put him off during his backswing

Charlie Woods at the US Junior Amateur
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Charlie Woods saw his US Junior Amateur Championship bid end in a playoff on Wednesday morning - with some inconsiderate fan behavior just adding to his frustration.

Woods was one of 14 players who returned early morning on Wednesday to Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to battle it out for just two spots remaining in the matchplay portion of the competition.

Attempting a chip out of the rough on the first playoff hole, Woods chunked his effort as a clear camera shutter click was heard in the middle of his backswing, seemingly from a phone.

The 17-year-old's response of "Really, dude?" aimed towards the culprit was quite reserved considering it's not exactly ideal to have that noise go off on your backswing at the best of times - let alone in a crucial playoff.

Woods went on to make bogey on the par five and was therefore eliminated from the playoff on the opening hole - when just three went through with birdies.

Two players then made par to grab the final matchplay spots - Hudson Kutchma of Westfield and Cincinnati freshman Eli Wessel, who will now face top-ranked junior star Miles Russell in the last 64.

There was a larger crowd than you'd expect usually for such an early start - no doubt having the son of 15-time Major champion Tiger Woods in action played a big part in that.

But extra crowds and extra attention can bring their own problems, as Charlie experienced firsthand when a spectator showing they were either not a regular at golf events or simply forgot to mute their phone caused the disturbance.

It's a huge no-no clicking on a backswing and the pros have down the years been furious with fans or indeed actual on-course photographers for making noise before the ball is struck.

Woods took it pretty well considering, and even though he didn't make the matchplay this was by far his best effort in the US Junior Amateur so far.

He made a bad start dropping four shots in three holes, but was just one over for his remaining 33 holes and finished with rounds of 76-70 - a massive improvement on returns of 82-80 and 80-74 in the last two years.

It was not all plain sailing though, and during his second round Woods was caught on camera dropping an F-bomb expletive on the 11th after a poor tee shot. It all just adds to the learning experience for Tiger's son.

Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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