Charlie Woods can be a danger to his rivals once again, despite the teenage sensation enduring a tough start to the Junior Players Championship in Florida
Charlie Woods got off to a slow start at the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass(Image: Ryan Lochhead/PGA of America, Getty Images)
Charlie Woods has another opportunity to showcase his top-tier mentality after a difficult first day at the Junior Players Championship. Charlie, the son of golfing icon Tiger Woods, is currently competing in one of the most esteemed tournaments on the junior calendar at TPC Sawgrass.
But the 16-year-old finds himself trailing by eight shots after Friday’s opening round. The teenage golfer had a day to forget, finishing with a four-over 76, which placed him tied for 38th.
Charlie started with two bogeys but a birdie at the fourth hole steadied the ship, before he made three more bogeys in a four-hole stretch, which meant he made the turn in a four-over-par 40.
Despite making two birdies and a bogey over the next eight holes, a final bogey at the challenging 18th hole meant he was left with a lot of ground to make up to catch leaders Miles Russell and Nicholas Logis.
Russell, who became the youngest champion of the 54-hole tournament in 2023, carded seven birdies and three bogeys, finishing with a four-under 68 to share the lead with Logis.
However, Woods’ rivals will be all too well aware of the danger he poses, even while being behind. Woods, who is ranked 13th in the AJGA, has been in this position before and still managed to emerge victorious, most recently at the Team TaylorMade Invitational.
He secured the biggest win of his blossoming career despite a shaky start on the Black Course at Streamsong Resort, Florida, in May.
Woods carded a six-under 66 in his third and final round of the event to finish 15 under for the tournament, winning by three over Ponte Vedra Beach’s Phillip Dunham, Arkansas’ Willie Gordon and Luke Colton of Texas.
Charlie Woods has fought back from adversity before(Image: Ryan Lochhead/PGA of America via Getty Images)
His first victory on the prestigious junior golf circuit came after earlier rounds of 70 and 65, which saw him sharing the lead with another rising star of the game, Russell, as they headed into the final round.
The impressive win was in stark contrast to just over a year prior, when he had a tough time at his AJGA debut at the Will Lowery Junior Championship, finishing 21-over for the tournament and tying for 32nd place.
Since then, he’s been making waves on a regular basis, most notably alongside Tiger in December’s PNC Championship, where he made a hole-in-one in the final round before the duo finished as runners-up.
His triumph at the Team TaylorMade Invitational came just three weeks after he narrowly missed out in US Open qualifying, shooting a three-over-par 75 at Florida’s Wellington Golf Club.
