Although Tiger Woods may be temporarily away from professional golf tournaments, his son is following in his father's footsteps in youth tournaments.
Charlie Woods is quite close to the 2026 Junior Players Championship championship, when he finished only a few strokes ahead of the winner.
Although missing the championship opportunity is certainly regrettable for this young golfer, this is Charlie's best achievement in the 2026 season.
The 17-year-old golfer finished the tournament at TPC Sawgrass in 8th place (T-8) with a score of 71 strokes (1 under par - 1-under-par). Meanwhile, the winner, JP Lynch, achieved a score of 8 under par, enough to win the 2026 Junior Players Championship.
Charlie started the tournament with 71 strokes in round 1, followed by 73 strokes in round 2 and reached 71 strokes again in the final round, thereby entering the top 10. He scored a total of 14 birdie points and 13 bogey points throughout the tournament.
This is Charlie's best achievement at a national junior golf tournament since winning the Team TaylorMade Invitational in 2025.
Earlier this week, he also attracted attention when signing a contract with TaylorMade golf equipment company - a brand that is associated with Tiger's name.
Mentioning Tiger Woods, this legendary golfer has many memorable moments at TPC Sawgrass. Although he has never played at the Junior Players Championship for young players, he has twice won this tournament at the professional level in 2001 and 2013.
Woods' Best Round at TPC Sawgrass took place in 2018, when he achieved a record of 65 strokes (7 strokes below par).
Although Charlie still has a lot of time to learn from his father, it cannot be denied that following Tiger's footsteps is always a big challenge.
It is still unclear whether this father-son duo will participate in the PNC Championship at the end of this year, as Tiger is trying to recover from injuries.
