A Woods was back in the winner’s circle last weekend — but not the one golf fans grew accustomed to seeing. This time, Tiger Woods played caddie to his son Charlie as the 14-year-old shot the best round of his fledgling career to win his age group’s regional qualifier for the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championships. After opening with a one-under 71, the youngster rattled off nine birdies to post a career-low 66 at Mission Inn Resort in Orlando, Florida and stamp his ticket to the championship finale at Koasati Pines in Coushatta, Louisiana in November. With rivals closing in down the final stretch, Woods displayed the type of calmness under pressure that saw his father amass 15 major championships, finishing with back-to-back birdies to triumph by a single stroke. “It’s hard to think, ‘You’re tied for the lead, you have to go shoot a low round to win this thing,’” the 14-year-old Woods told tournament organizers. “So just take it one shot at a time, don’t think too far ahead. Just gotta keep eating.” And naturally, being able to call on the advice of a caddie with 82 PGA Tour triumphs was a useful resource. The pair was pictured together in an Instagram post from Shane Croft, the father of Woods’ tournament playing partner Chase. “It’s great, we just stay in our own little world and take it one shot at a time,” Woods said of his partnership with his dad. “He puts me in my place. I’ll talk about the next tee shot and he’s like, ‘No. This is the shot we’re gonna focus on. Focus up, this is what we’re gonna do.’” It’s not the first time the duo have teamed up on the course. The 47-year-old Woods was also on bag duty at last year’s regional qualifier, held at the same venue, where a then-career-best 68 round saw his son finish tied-fourth. A few months later in December, the pair donned matching outfits at the PNC Championship in Orlando to tie for eighth in a star-studded 20-player field made up exclusively of players to have won a major or The Players, plus their relatives. Yet the 15-time major winner’s course appearances have been few and far between since, as the long-term effects of his February 2021 car accident injuries continue to hamper his playing time. Woods competed at The Masters only to withdraw early, then proceeded to miss the subsequent three majors in 2023, undergoing “successful” ankle surgery in April. It left him with a scant chance of making a ninth Ryder Cup appearance at the 44th edition of the tournament in Rome on Friday. (SD-Agencies) Words to Learn 相關(guān)詞匯 【球童】qiútóng caddie one who assists a golfer especially by carrying the clubs 【罕見的】hǎnjiàn de few and far between not happening or existing very often 上周末,伍茲又回到了勝利者的行列 —— 但不是高爾夫球迷習(xí)以為常的那位。這一次,老虎?伍茲為14歲的兒子查理當(dāng)球童,孩子打出了他初出茅廬的職業(yè)生涯中最好的一輪,奪得諾塔?貝蓋三世全美青少年高爾夫錦標(biāo)賽該年齡組地區(qū)預(yù)選賽冠軍。 男孩以低于標(biāo)準(zhǔn)桿1桿的71桿開局,隨后連抓9只小鳥球,在佛羅里達(dá)州奧蘭多市的Mission Inn度假村打出了職業(yè)生涯最低桿數(shù)66桿,獲得了11月在路易斯安那州庫(kù)沙塔市Koasati Pines舉行的錦標(biāo)賽決賽入場(chǎng)券。 對(duì)手在最后關(guān)頭即將追上比分時(shí),小伍茲表現(xiàn)出壓力之下的冷靜,接連抓到小鳥球,以一桿優(yōu)勢(shì)奪冠。同樣的冷靜曾助力老虎贏得15個(gè)大滿貫賽的冠軍。 14歲的查理對(duì)賽事組織者說:“并列第一出現(xiàn)的概率很小,你必須打出一輪低桿數(shù)才能贏。所以就一桿一桿地打,不想太多。繼續(xù)努力就行了。” 當(dāng)然,能夠請(qǐng)教一位曾82次獲得 PGA 巡回賽冠軍的球童是得天獨(dú)厚的資源。查理的比賽搭檔切斯的父親謝恩?克羅夫特在Instagram上發(fā)布了一張伍茲父子的合影。 談到與父親的合作時(shí)查理說:“這很棒,我們?cè)谧约旱男∈澜缋铮淮我粭U。他幫我調(diào)整狀態(tài)。我想討論下一桿時(shí),他會(huì)提醒,‘不。集中精力在這一桿’。” 這不是兩人第一次在球場(chǎng)上合作。去年在同一場(chǎng)地舉行的地區(qū)預(yù)選賽上,47歲的老虎?伍茲也擔(dān)任了兒子的球童,查理當(dāng)時(shí)打出了職業(yè)生涯最佳的 68 桿,獲得并列第四。 去年12月,在奧蘭多舉行的PNC錦標(biāo)賽上,這對(duì)父子穿著同款球衣,在20名參賽選手中贏得并列第八。PNC錦標(biāo)賽是一項(xiàng)由20位大滿貫、球員錦標(biāo)賽冠軍和親人一起參加的親子賽。 然而,受2021年2月車禍造成的長(zhǎng)期傷勢(shì)影響,這位15次大滿貫賽冠軍得主此后很少出現(xiàn)在賽場(chǎng)上。 老虎?伍茲參加了美國(guó)大師賽,卻提前退賽,隨后錯(cuò)過了2023年的三場(chǎng)大滿貫賽,并在4月份接受了成功的腳踝手術(shù)。這使得他第九次參加周五在羅馬舉行的第44屆萊德杯的機(jī)會(huì)渺茫。 (Translated by Debra) |