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以為常的那位。這一次，老虎?伍茲為14歲的兒子查理當球童，孩子打出了他初出茅廬的職業生涯中最好的一輪，奪得諾塔?貝蓋三世全美青少年高爾夫錦標賽該年齡組地區預選賽冠軍。 男孩以低于標準桿1桿的71桿開局，隨后連抓9只小鳥球，在佛羅里達州奧蘭多市的Mission Inn度假村打出了職業生涯最低桿數66桿，獲得了11月在路易斯安那州庫沙塔市Koasati Pines舉行的錦標賽決賽入場券。 對手在最后關頭即將追上比分時，小伍茲表現出壓力之下的冷靜，接連抓到小鳥球，以一桿優勢奪冠。同樣的冷靜曾助力老虎贏得15個大滿貫賽的冠軍。 14歲的查理對賽事組織者說：“并列第一出現的概率很小，你必須打出一輪低桿數才能贏。所以就一桿一桿地打，不想太多。繼續努力就行了。” 當然，能夠請教一位曾82次獲得 PGA 巡回賽冠軍的球童是得天獨厚的資源。查理的比賽搭檔切斯的父親謝恩?克羅夫特在Instagram上發布了一張伍茲父子的合影。 談到與父親的合作時查理說：“這很棒，我們在自己的小世界里，一次一桿。他幫我調整狀態。我想討論下一桿時，他會提醒，‘不。集中精力在這一桿’。” 這不是兩人第一次在球場上合作。去年在同一場地舉行的地區預選賽上，47歲的老虎?伍茲也擔任了兒子的球童，查理當時打出了職業生涯最佳的 68 桿，獲得并列第四。 去年12月，在奧蘭多舉行的PNC錦標賽上，這對父子穿著同款球衣，在20名參賽選手中贏得并列第八。PNC錦標賽是一項由20位大滿貫、球員錦標賽冠軍和親人一起參加的親子賽。 然而，受2021年2月車禍造成的長期傷勢影響，這位15次大滿貫賽冠軍得主此后很少出現在賽場上。 老虎?伍茲參加了美國大師賽，卻提前退賽，隨后錯過了2023年的三場大滿貫賽，并在4月份接受了成功的腳踝手術。這使得他第九次參加周五在羅馬舉行的第44屆萊德杯的機會渺茫。 (Translated by Debra) | 