Tiger Woods’ comments speak volumes after son Charlie rejects following in his footsteps

Golf icon Tiger Woods is pleased to see son Charlie forging his own path after the teenager chose a different university to his famous father. Charlie, 17, has turned down a chance to follow in Tiger’s footsteps after rejecting the opportunity to study at Stanford University.

Tiger opted for Stanford after thriving in amateur tournaments before turning 18. He was still a student and an amateur when he took part in the 1995 Masters but ultimately dropped out after two years to focus on his professional career.

Charlie, the son of Woods and the 50-year-old’s ex-wife Elin Nordegren, has been making waves on the course himself. He took part in the Junior PGA Championship last year after winning the South Florida PGA Junior Cup in 2024.

The youngster faced a big decision over his future with a number of colleges keen to bring him on board. He ended up staying close to home to attend Florida State and his old man approves.

Charlie confirmed his decision this week. “Excited to announce my commitment to play golf at Florida State University — go Noles!” he wrote on Instagram.

Tiger himself was among those to share a message of support, writing: “Congratulations Charlie. I’m so proud of you on entering this next chapter of your life.”

Florida State already counts a number of professional golfers on a long list of famous alumni. They include five-time major winner Brooks Koepka and former United States Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger.

Tiger’s daughter Sam attends Stanford but the golfer showed his support for Charlie’s personal approach before the decision was announced. “”It’s fun to be a part of the process with Charlie and go through it and see the opportunities he has that he has created for himself by playing better, places he could play, wants to play, ultimately will decide where he wants to go play,” he said ahead of December’s Hero World Challenge.

“It’s been very different. The recruiting process now, you have cell phones, we didn’t have cell phones. We had written letters that would show up in the mail box. It was like, ‘Oh my God, I got a letter.’

“It’s just very different how fast coaches can communicate with the family members and the players they’re trying to recruit, it’s just a different world. Not saying it’s good or bad, it’s just different.”