Charlie Woods Claims Maiden AJGA Title At Team TaylorMade Invitational

Charlie Woods has won the AJGA’s Team TaylorMade Invitational at Streamsong Resort's Black Course in Florida.

The son of 15-time Major winner Tiger, who attends Florida’s Benjamin School, carded a six-under 66 in his third and final round of the event to finish 15 under for the tournament to win by three over Ponte Vedra Beach's Phillip Dunham, Arkansas' Willie Gordon and Luke Colton of Texas.

Woods’ maiden victory on the prestigious junior golf circuit came after earlier rounds of 70 and 65, which left him heading into the final round sharing the lead with another of the game’s rising stars, Miles Russell.

The victory capped an eventful week for Woods. The 16-year-old’s challenge began with an extraordinary opening round where he finished on two under despite just three pars on a day where he also produced eight birdies, one eagle, five bogeys and a triple bogey.

He found more consistency on Tuesday with a spectacular round featuring just two bogeys and nine birdies as he moved firmly in contention for victory, and in his final round, he largely continued where he left off on Wednesday.

Woods had a mixed start with an opening-hole birdie followed by a bogey, but by the turn, he was four under for the day. Successive birdies followed on the 11^th and 12^th before his second bogey on the 13^th. However, he wasn’t to be denied, with another birdie on the 14^th giving him the luxury of finishing with four successive pars and still cruising home with considerable room to spare.

As for 2023 AJGA Player of the Year Russell, it was a more frustrating occasion as three birdies were offset by the same number of bogeys in a finish of seventh, six behind Woods.

The victory is arguably the most eye-catching of Woods’ early career and comes as a marked contrast to a little over a year ago, when he struggled in his AJGA debut at the Will Lowery Junior Championship, finishing 21-over four the tournament and in a tie for 32^nd.

Since then, he has regularly made the headlines, notably alongside Tiger in December’s PNC Championship, where he made a hole-in-one in the final round before the pair placed runner-up.

The victory also comes just three weeks after he fell short in US Open qualifying when he shot a three-over-par 75 at Florida's Wellington Golf Club. Charlie's proud dad will also be absent from the Oakmont Major as he recovers from surgery on his Achilles.