Golf fans have watched Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie Woods, grow up as the two have played in the PNC Championship for the past few years. Over that time we’ve seen the younger Woods show some impressive talents of his own, albeit not quite in the same prodigious manner as his father.
This week, Charlie Woods competed in his first AJGA invitational event at the Team TaylorMade Invitational at Streamsong resort in Bowling Green, Florida, which featured a field with six of the top-10 ranked junior players in the country — including No. 1 Miles Russell. There were modest expectations for Woods in one of his first starts in a major junior tournament, as he entered the week ranked 606th in the Rolex AJGA rankings, but he made quite the statement as he ends his sophomore year in high school by not only being competitive, but winning the tournament with a three-day total of 15 under.
All three rounds were played at Streamsong Black, and Woods opened his tournament Monday with an adventurous 2-under 70, making just three pars on the round, to get off to a solid start in T12. Tuesday saw him make a huge move with a 7-under 65 that included nine birdies and was the best round of the day, moving him to 9 under for the tournament and into a tie for second, just one off the lead of Luke Colton (No. 5 in the AJGA rankings).
On Wednesday, Woods continued to pile up the birdies with eight on his round as he shot a 6-under 66 to win by three shots, giving him his first big junior tournament win.
Woods showed his talents and ability to score all week with 25 birdies and an eagle across 54 holes of play. There were some bogeys and a triple in there, as can happen with an aggressive style, but it’s a wildly impressive result for the 16-year-old who was facing some of the top juniors in the country — some of whom are two years older and will head off to college next year.
As Woods starts to consider his future path in golf, with college coaches able to contact him beginning this summer, this is the kind of result that can boost his confidence and let the golf world know he is much more than just the son of the GOAT.