Charlie Woods shocks top amateurs for biggest win of young career
Charlie Woods has arrived.
Tiger Woods' 16-year-old son earned the biggest win of his career Wednesday, when he surged to the top of the American Junior Golf Association's Team TaylorMade Invitational leaderboard for an unlikely victory.
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Woods, who is the 604th-ranked amateur in the field, won the event at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Fla. by three strokes over Willie Gordon, Phillip Dunham and Luke Colton.
Charlie started Wednesday tied for second, but grabbed the top spot with a 5-under in the final round.
Charlie began the tournament Monday in adventurous fashion with a round that included an eagle, eight birdies, five bogeys and a triple bogey.
The event included the world's top amateur Miles Russell, who finished in seventh place.
The hype around Charlie's career has been immense since partnering with Tiger in the PNC Championship in 2020 as an 11-year-old.
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But this is by far Charlie's most significant moment in the sport as he has yet to make the leap into the top of the amateur golf world.
'Yeah, I mean, I just am always reminding him, just be you,' Tiger said of Charlie in 2024.
'Charlie is Charlie. Yes, he's my son. He's going to have the last name and he's going to be part of the sport. But I just want him to be himself and just be your own person. That's what we will always focus on. I will always encourage it, for him to carve his own name, carve his own path and have his own journey.'
Charlie's early career has included some significant moments, from helping The Benjamin School capture a Florida state title to getting a hole-in-one at the PNC last year with Tiger watching on.
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'I think he's doing a great job. In this day and age where you have so many different — everyone is basically media with all the phones,' Tiger said when asked last year about how Charlie is handling the pressure that comes with the pressure of being his son.
'Being constantly filmed and constantly just — people watching him, that's just part of his generation, and that's part of the world that he has to maneuver through. I try and do the best job I possibly can as a parent. I'm always here for him. But at the end of the day, I just want him just to be himself and have his own life.'
Charlie is one of two kids Tiger has with ex-wife Elin Nordgren with older sister Sam.
Tiger Woods congratulates Charlie after his son made a hole-in-one at the PNC Championship on Dec. 22, 2024. Getty Images
Tiger, 49, is currently recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon that he suffered in March, adding to the long list of leg and back injuries that have derailed the latter part of his career.
Charlie could soon be ready to take the Woods family torch.
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