Charlie Woods wins playoff to qualify for U.S. Junior Amateur

Field Level Media|published: Tue 2nd June, 02:03 2026

Benjamin golfer Charlie Woods chips the ball into the green during play at the Junior Orange Bowl on Jan. 3, 2026.

Charlie Woods, the 17-year-old son of Tiger Woods, qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur by winning a 3-for-1 playoff on Monday.

The younger Woods competed in the qualifier at Heathrow Country Club, in Lake Mary, Fla., where five players would advance. Woods, from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., tied for fifth place with Canada's Eric Zhao and Orlando's Nathan Erickson before winning a playoff.

The result sends Woods to Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa., for the U.S. Junior Amateur from July 20-25. He failed to make the cut in the 2024 event at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich., and in the 2025 tournament at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.

Tiger Woods won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1991, 1992 and 1993, the event's only three-time champion. Jordan Spieth (2009, 2011) won twice, and no other player is a two-time champ in the event that began in 1948. Other notable past winners include Johnny Miller (1964), David Duval (1989) and Scottie Scheffler (2013).

At Heathrow on Monday, David Kim of Marriottsville, Md.; Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; and Alexander Pendry of Orlando shared medalist honors at 5-under-par 66. Arnold Pouncy of St. Cloud, Fla., came in fourth at 67.

--Field Level Media

Latest