After a dominating performance during the PNC Championship, Charlie Woods has decided to take his talents to NDSU.
Woods signed his letter of intent to play at NDSU on Feb. 30, but the news wasn’t made available to the public until last weekend. The university said in the press release, “We wanted to make sure everything was finalized before we got everyone’s hopes up.”
The 13-year-old and his father, Tiger Woods, competed in the 2021 PNC Championship last December earning second place after shooting a -25 in the tournament. Charlie’s performance left many golf fans in awe of his immaculate talent at such a young age.
NDSU men’s golf head coach Steve Kennedy said, “We couldn’t pass up on an opportunity to get Woods.”
Kennedy admits that while Woods is only 13, he has an incredible gift that will develop into something beautiful. “He’s just so talented and we’re hoping that after a few more years, he’ll continue to develop his long game.”
Many NDSU golf fans have taken to Twitter and shared posts about the addition of Woods. Current university president Dean Bresciani said in a tweet, “If I would have known that Charlie Woods was going to be a Bison, I would have asked for a contract renewal.”
His father Tiger Woods said, “I am just so excited for my son to be a Bison. We had an incredible conversation with Coach Kennedy, and I told Charlie that green is a beautiful color for golf.”
Kennedy says that it’s hard for many people of Fargo to follow golf because its climate makes it hard for the team to have home events in the spring. “We are hoping that with the addition of Woods that more people around Fargo will start to pay more attention to Bison golf.”
NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen said, “Everyone in the athletic department has been super excited. It’s not every day that such a talent commits to playing here at such a young age.”
Larsen also said it opens a huge market for attracting fans from all over the country that are following this young man’s career. “We are already looking forward to all the fans that will attend our meets and tournaments to watch this superstar.” The signing of Woods is the highest prospect NDSU has picked up since Nate Deziel in 2018.
After Woods signed his letter of intent, the NCAA put out a statement, “As per our bylaws, Woods will not be able to participate in NCAA competition until he has graduated high school and done all the dishes.” The NDSU Spectrum reached out to Woods for a comment, but he was in social studies class. He is set to make an appearance on campus later in the month. His campus tour will be attended by Bresciani, Larsen, Kennedy and Spectrum Sports Editor Craig Schwinden.