I can only tell you what I saw - I watched him for about 18 total holes over the course of the tournament.
The kid is good, very good. He suffered from inconsistent putting the 1st 2 days, but put it together on the final day. He can hit the ball a mile. He drove the green on our par 4 16 (310 yards) with a 3 wood into the wind.
Where I think he was at a disadvantage was that he got less than half of his practice round. Tiger was flying back from Mexico to Florida, picked up Charlie and they flew in to Lake Charles, landing at almost noon on the practice round day. It was at least another 2 hours until they got on the course - I know, I was the one who had to privately escort them to their room.
Once they got out there, they only got through 9 holes. I really believe that hurt him, as most of the holes that he missed scoring chances on were on the 9 he did not get to play. The one thing about Koasati Pines is that the greens can be tricky, and they were metering at a 13, very fast. You really have to know them, or it is easy to over read the holes. Also remember that Charlie had security all around him at all times. There were a minimum of 4 golf carts not allowing people within 40 ft of him or his group. And Charlie's group was the only one that had people following it, generally about 25-30 people - that pressure cant be easy for a 14 year old. And he still managed to put it together on the last day. A final note about Charlie is that he has grown quite a bit since last year, and is obviously hitting the weight room (as has his dad). I expect that this will soon translate to better play.
Something that was really cool to watch, was how close Tiger and Charlie were. Tiger looks like he is really taking on the coaching role, and was patient with Charlie; I have to imagine that being Caddy and Dad as the GOAT cant be easy, but Tiger was working hard at it. Something tells me that Charlie is going to get good quickly, he is already MUCH better than last year.
All in all, the kids playing this tournament are extremely good. Lucky Cruz, who won, had an amazing tournament. He is 15, and last year did not finish well himself, but this year dominated. You never know what will happen from one year to the next. The girls are playing now, and 2 of the divisions, the expected girls are well on pace to victory, but in two others, total unknowns have emerged. It's really a fun tournament to watch.
