WEST LAFAYETTE — Lines of golf fans filled the usually concrete golf cart paths at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex with the arrival of 16-year-old Charlie Woods.
The appearance of Woods, the son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, heightened the competitive atmosphere of the Junior PGA Championship that’s being hosted in West Lafayette for the first time.
Over 200 fans lined up to see the arrival of Woods.
Woods displayed consistency with his drives landing flush on the fairways consistently in a course at Ackerman-Allen that provided challenges for the Jupiter, Florida native with its tight fairways.
Woods finished at 1-under par 70 for his first round to be tied for 43rd out of 156 golfers competing from around the world including players from South Africa, China, Qatar, India, Morocco, Australia, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates.
After the round, Woods wasn’t able to speak to media following the first round citing the need for rest after temperatures reached 91 degrees with 61% humidity in the late afternoon.
Woods will tee off at 7:41 a.m. Wednesday from Kampen-Cosler Course.
Among the fans in attendance was Joe Couch of West Lafayette.
Couch’s affinity for Woods’ legacy dates back to the first golf tournaments he attended in his hometown of Canton, Ohio where he saw Tiger win the WGC Invitational eight times.
That joy of watching Tiger has carried over to watching his son at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex where he’s a member.
“Tiger was the reason why I played golf and it’s a cool experience to see everything and see Charlie play,” Couch said. “It’s surreal watching Charlie play at a course I play at every day.”
Taking in the Junior PGA Championships was Ryan Eli of Frankfort who took his sons Ryker and Cole to the course.
“It’s just great seeing all this amazing talent and being a lifelong fan, getting to share this experience with my boys is something I’ll treasure,” Eli said.
Woods remains in contention and will have his fans back out Wednesday morning as he attempts to make the cut and advance to Thursday’s third round.
Chase Yenser of Douglassville, Pennsylvania holds the tournament lead at 7-under while Mason Howell, Liam Moloney, Ryder Huish and Raghav Gulati hold a four-way tie for second at 5-under.
Couch hopes to see Woods advance and put himself in contention to win the Junior PGA Championship, a tournament Tiger Woods was runner-up in 1990.
“There’s a couple of shots I think he’d want back but I also feel like he’s playing well,” Couch said. “He’s handling his emotions and there was a lot of commotion but I thought he was playing well.”
