Slow the roll on Charlie Woods as golf is not kind to sons of greats

Will Charlie Woods be the next Tiger Woods? Dare we ask if he’ll ever win as many major championships as dear ol’ dad?

Charlie hits it a mile and employs an athletic and fundamentally sound swing, as well as many of his father’s on-course mannerisms.

But if you know golf and know its history, well, let’s just say Charlie will most likely win as many major championships as your ol’ man.

Maybe that’s a bit harsh. It’s not like second-generation golfers haven’t succeeded at the highest levels. Come on, it was just 130-some years ago that Willie Park Jr. won his second British Open and ran the combined total for father and son to six.

That was just 15 years after another second-generation champ, Young Tom Morris, won his fourth.

So, yes, we’re saying there’s a chance.

Charlie Woods has drawn plenty of praise for his golf game over the past few years, most recently at the annual silly seaseon tournament, the PNC Championship in Orlando, where he and his dad tied for fifth in a field of 20 teams.

This came a month after Charlie’s high school team won the Class 1A state championship. Charlie tied for 19th individually with rounds of 78-76.

At 14, he’s a quality high school golfer. But at this stage there’s no way to know if that’ll eventually translate to a professional career in golf or, say, professional life as a lawyer or banker with a single-digit handicap and occasional use of the “Reserved for Club Champion” parking spot down at the club.

Jack Nicklaus is the standard by which Tiger Woods has long been measured. Of Jack’s four sons and one daughter, Gary was the best golfer. When he was just 16 and playing for the same school Charlie Woods now attends, Sports Illustrated put him on the cover with the headline, “The Next Nicklaus.”

Given how prominent that magazine was back in the day, you think this put any pressure on young Gary?

Not quite. Gary did reach the PGA Tour and stayed a few years, which is no small feat, but the closest he came to becoming the “Next Nicklaus” was a playoff loss to Phil Mickelson at the 2000 BellSouth Classic.

Just ten father-son combos have won PGA Tour tournaments: Julius and Guy Boros, Al and Brent Geiberger, Craig and Kevin Stadler, Bob and Kevin Tway, Joe Kirkwood Sr. and Jr., Jack Burke Sr. and Jr., Clayton and Vance Heafner, Jay and Bill Haas, Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris and Willie Park and Willie Park, Jr.

The number of second-generation tournament winners seems a bit…