15-time major champion Tiger Woods has credited his late father, Earl Woods, for instilling his mental toughness and the former World No. 1 is using the same tactical mind games to develop his son Charlie‘s mentality. Although little Charlie, born Feb. 8, 2009 is 13-years-old and has yet to beat his father Tiger, Todd Lewis of Golf Channel said last year that Charlie could hit his driver “around 240 yards,” but not quite 250 yet.
Army Veteran Earl Woods was the hero behind the rise of golfing great Tiger Woods. was his father Earl and the American fondly remembers when he first beat his dad on the golf course at the age of 11 – and then never lost to him again.
Earl, a former U.S. Army infantry officer passed away on May 3, 2006, at age 74. Earl was a tough soldier and bravely served two tours in the Vietnam War. He introduced his son Tiger to golf at 2-years-old. By the time Tiger turned 11, Earl played at a handicap of one and Tiger was challenged in each round they played together.
But playing capacity of his father clearly didn’t faze the golfing prodigy. Despite his father’s best efforts, Tiger remarkably tasted success against Earl with a tight match ending with a putt on the 18th separating them, prompting the first appearance of the star’s fist pump celebration.
Tiger says, “The first time I beat my dad I was 11; I was one over through 15 and he was even. I birdied the 16th, we both pared 17 so we were both even par playing on the 18th.”
“We got to the 18th which is a par five. I hit my ball to about 18 to 20 feet (from the hole), he’s about 15 feet. I hoop it and he missed it. People think that I did the fist pump when I make my putt. When he missed his is when I did my first fist pump.”
“I just ran off the green, that’s the kind of battles my dad and I used to have when I was little.”
The following year Tiger broke the score of 70 on a regulation golf course and went on to win the Junior World Championships six times – including on four consecutive occasions between 1988 and 1991.
Woods Jr. burst onto the professional scene winning his first Major, the US Masters, at Augusta in 1997.
