Charlie Woods Bounces Back From US Junior Amateur Disappointment With Under-Par Round At Junior PGA Championship

After struggling at the US Junior Amateur Championship, Woods fired a one-under 70 first round at the Junior PGA Championships to sit inside the top 50 of the 72-hole event

Charlie Woods hits an iron shot
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Update: Charlie Woods shoots 66 to climb Junior PGA leaderboard

Charlie Woods is one of the many elite juniors teeing it up in the Junior PGA Championships and, after round one, the American finds himself in a share of 46th place.

Son of 15-time Major winner, Tiger Woods, Charlie carded a one-under-par round of 70 at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in Indiana to sit six shots back of leader, Chase Yenser, with Woods currently one shot inside the cutline.

Charlie Woods on his backswing

Woods during the first round of the Junior PGA Championship

(Image credit: Ryan Lochhead/PGA of America)

The one-under round of 70 will be a welcome sight for Woods, who struggled at last week's US Junior Amateur Championship, where he carded rounds of 81 and 74 to finish 14-over-par, 11 shots outside of the three-over cutline.

Opting to tee it up at the Junior PGA Championships instead of the South Florida PGA Junior Cup, a tournament Woods won last year, the 16-year-old started strongly in Indiana.

Birdieing the fourth and sixth holes, a bogey at the eighth and a birdie at the ninth meant he went out in a two-under 34.

From there, another birdie at the 11th got Woods to three-under, but he would stumble home over the par-71 layout, bogeying both the par 3 13th and 17th to drop two shots, finishing one-under-par for the first day.

Charlie Woods at the US Junior Amateur

Woods struggled during the US Junior Amateur, finishing well back of the cutline

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Getting underway at 7.41am (local time) on Wednesday, Woods starts six back of fellow countryman Yenser, who produced a seven-under blemish free round of 64 to lead by two from Raghav Gulati.

Comprised of both a girls and boys event, the Junior PGA Championship is one of golf's Major championships for juniors, with the tournament featuring both a 36-hole and 54-hole cut.

Taking place at both Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex's courses - the Ackerman-Allen and the Kampen-Cosler - the top 60, plus ties, make it through to the third round, while a second cut then takes place where the top 30, plus ties, make it through to the final day.

Among the notable past champions include Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park, Yuka Saso, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson in the girls division, while Pat Perez, Trevor Immelman, Denny McCarthy, Sam Burns, Akshay Bhatia, Caleb Surratt and Miles Russell have all claimed victories in the boys division.

Such is the prestige of the championship, the winner and runner-up will also secure a spot on the Junior Ryder Cup team in September, which takes place at Nassau Country Club for the first two days and Bethpage Black for the final round singles.

Matt Cradock
Staff Writer

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover news and social media.

Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. His favorite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.

Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?

Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°

Fairway Wood: Ping G430 LST 15°, 19°

Irons: TaylorMade P.7CB

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°

Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

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