Tiger Woods will be in gallery to watch son play at Oakland Hills; admission is free

DETROIT — There's going to be at least one VIP spectator at next week's U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills.

While widely expected, the United States Golf Association has confirmed that Tiger Woods will be in the gallery at the storied club in Bloomfield Township to watch his 15-year-old son, Charlie, who is among the 264 players competing in the tournament.

A USGA spokesman said Thursday that Woods is expected to travel to Metro Detroit after his time at the British Open in Scotland comes to an end. That might be after Friday's round. After an 8-over 79 in Thursday's opening round at Royal Troon, Woods currently sits well outside the cut line.

Charlie Woods, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., became the headliner of the U.S. Junior Amateur field after he earned his spot in an 18-hole qualifier in Florida on June 19. After starting with a bogey and double-bogey, the rising high school sophomore shot a 1-under 71 to earn medalist honors at his qualifier.

While he's played in the father-son PGA Tour event during what's often called "silly season," this is the biggest tournament of Charlie Woods' golfing career.

Tiger Woods won the U.S. Junior Amateur three consecutive times, and then won three consecutive U.S. Amateurs. He also won three U.S. Opens, for nine total USGA championships. He's won 15 majors, the last coming at the 2019 Masters. He plays a limited schedule, mostly majors, these days, as he's transitioned to doting father.

Tiger has caddied in tournaments for Charlie, but not at Oakland Hills. The USGA doesn't allow parents to caddie in the U.S. Junior Amateur.

Charlie is expected to play two practice rounds at Oakland Hills, one on the famous South Course and one on the North, on Saturday and Sunday. He's expected to tee off in the morning Monday and in the afternoon Tuesday. Admission to the U.S. Junior Amateur is free to fans, as is parking, and crowds are expected to swell, with Woods scheduled to attend. Club officials scrambled after Charlie qualified to order more branded merchandise.

Tiger Woods' last official golf business in Michigan was at the 2009 Buick Open; it was the last playing of the tournament, and Woods won it for the third time.

The U.S. Junior Amateur starts with two days of stroke play, Monday and Tuesday, on both the South and North courses. The top 64 scores move on to match play, with the championship match set for Saturday, July 27.

Also in the field is 15-year-old Miles Russell, also from Florida, who is fresh off his first appearance on the PGA Tour, at last month's Rocket Mortgage Classic, where he missed the cut by two strokes at Detroit Golf Club. Two Michigan players are in the field: Lake Orion's Connor Fox, who won the Michigan Junior Amateur, and Ann Arbor's Ieuan Jones.

The U.S. Junior Amateur, whose past champions also include the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth, is the first in a wave of marquee USGA championships to be hosted by Oakland Hills, which recently renovated its South Course and now is building a clubhouse to replace the one lost to a massive fire in 2022. Oakland Hills also is set to host two U.S. Opens and two U.S. Women's Opens in the coming decades.