A few scorecards capture both promise and frustration in equal measure. That’s what happened with Charlie Woods at his latest outing at the Terra Cotta Invitational 2026. The numbers told a story that is starting to feel familiar – a story where there are a few glimpses of promise, but costly lapses overshadowed them. His T42 finish in a field of 72 young athletes at the Naples National Golf Club reflected the same.

Charlie Woods carded rounds of 79-71-69 to finish 3-over par and tied at 42nd alongside Will Davenport. Now, these numbers show an immensely poor opening round, with an ability to take control later.

The 17-year-old started on the back nine and quickly got into trouble. He shot three consecutive bogeys on holes 16 to 18, taking the total tally to 5 in the first nine holes. The front nine also included four bogeys on holes 2, 5, 6, and 8. But he covered half of them with birdies on holes 4 and 9. At the end of day 1, he was only above Kaden Latreille and Ryan Hooker, who had hit 80 in the opening round.

The Benjamin School junior then hit a round of 1-under 71 on the second day. His Friday round had 4 bogeys coming on holes 1, 9, 11, and 16. However, his five birdies on holes 2, 4, 8, 12, and 14 saved his day. Thanks to that, he jumped from being at 70th to 57th on the leaderboard.

Charlie Woods’ game further improved in the last round, which was the most impressive of the Terra Cotta Invitational. He opened with a bogey on No. 1, but gained back control with birdies on No. 6, 7, and 9 in the front nine. Tiger Woods‘s son then added one more birdie on the 18th. This helped him move up the leaderboard and finish T42, jumping 15 positions on the final day.

While his rounds show how steadily he gained momentum in the last two rounds to regain control, the overall story suggests that he was struggling.

This is not an isolated event. The entire 2026 season has been the same for Woods. His appearance at the Junior Invitational was even worse. Touted to be the Junior Masters, the event featured a competitive field of 36 young golfers, and Woods finished last among them.

He carded rounds of 75‑76‑83‑80 for 26‑over par at the Junior Invitational. It’s not only about finishing last. Tim Brohl, the golfer who finished just above him managed a score of 16-over 304, a striking difference of 10 strokes. That shows how much worse he performed than the rest of the field.

The same goes for the other two events in 2026. At the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship, Woods finished 68 (81‑80‑74). And at the Junior Orange Bowl International, he was 19th on the leaderboard (73‑72‑71‑72).

After his win at the Team TaylorMade Invitational 2025, he has finished in the top 10 only once. With rounds of 70-66-66-74, he grabbed a T9 at the Boys’ Junior PGA Championship 2025. Interestingly, he was in contention to win the event only to drop off to 9th place in the final round. The numbers clearly show that he is struggling. The chaos of father’s DUI arrest would have only affected his game negatively.

Despite the poor performances, there are a few who still back Woods.

Justin Thomas wants to help Charlie Woods

During his appearance on the Smylie Show, Justin Thomas revealed he wants to be there for Charlie Woods. Thomas and Tiger Woods are good friends. They share many practice rounds and even quality family time together. Therefore, the 16x PGA Tour winner wants to be there for Woods as a brotherly figure.

“I wanna be if he wants me to be,” the 32-year-old said. “I wanna help in any way I can. The shots that he can hit, a lot of guys on Tour can’t hit. He’s very, very impressive and I’m rooting for the best.”

The professional golfer made these comments shortly after Woods’ horrendous Junior Invitational performance at Sage Valley.

Thomas has himself won the Terra Cotta Invitational in 2010. As a PGA Tour pro, he could certainly help Woods by sharing his wealth of experience and guidance.

Support from players like Thomas highlights that Woods still has the faith of others to turn things around. However, until he strings together consistent rounds, performances like the Terra Cotta Invitational will continue to reflect a player caught between potential and execution.