TPC Sawgrass carries meaning for Charlie Woods. It’s not just because his father, Tiger Woods, won two Players Championships here, first in 2001 and next in 2013. Sawgrass is where Woods Jr. carded an ace in a truly competitive setup for the first time in his fledgling career. The 17-year-old returned this year on a sponsor exemption and showed promise in the first round. However, the second round threw his title hopes into uncertainty.
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Charlie Woods opened the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass with a solid 1-under 71, leaving him tied for ninth and four strokes behind leader Chase Bauer. In the second round, the youngster hoped to erase that gap and climb the leaderboard to have a shot at his first title of the 2026 season. However, the dip set in during the second round, as he posted a 1-over 73, drastically changing things for the 17-year-old son of legendary golfer Tiger Woods.
Starting on the front nine, he birdied the second and third holes before mixing in bogeys at the fourth and sixth. On the eighth, the teenager missed a birdie chance and was shocked at his own mistake. On the 9th, his tee shot veered left. After three back-to-back par-saves, Woods Jr. made the turn at even par. More drama was to come on the back nine.
He quickly made a birdie on the 10th hole, but consecutive bogeys on the par-5 11th and par-4 12th once again dragged him down. On the 15th, Charlie’s shot went into the woods. The ball appeared to be lost, and his mother, Elin Nordegren, came to help him find the ball, ignoring the light drizzle.
The ball was located amid the bark lying on the ground in between two trees. The 17-year-old hit a recovery shot reminiscent of Tiger’s shot on the 16th hole at the 2018 Valspar Championship. Tiger’s club smacked the tree on the follow-through and slipped from his hand at that time.
Although not so severe, Charlie hit the tree on his follow-through and almost fell down from the impact. However, he braced himself while mom Elin Nordegren gave a thumbs up after watching the teenager’s heroic shot. Woods Jr. eventually saved par on the hole and clenched his fist. The brutal three-hole closing stretch (16-17-18) at Sawgrass almost gave him the same trouble as it did in the first round.
In the opening round, Charlie’s tee shot on the Island Green almost found water after bouncing off the footpath. Although it stayed dry, Woods Jr. had to conjure some short-game magic to save par. On the 18th, Woods took a drop from a sprinkler head. He made a birdie.
This time, Woods added one more square on his scorecard on the par-5 16th. The 17th, however, was relatively easy, as he saved par and moved to the 18th. On the last hole, he finally carded a birdie to finish at 1-over 73. After two rounds, he is tied for 14th at even par overall.
He is four shots behind co-leaders Sam Carraher, Giuseppe Puebla, and Dawson Lew, who are all 4-under-par. So, if he wants to secure his first win this season, he will have to step up his game.
However, it’s the same story that’s dogged him all year: last at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, a playoff loss that kept him out of match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur, and a missed cut at the Junior PGA Championship after rounds of 75-70-77. His strong performance was undone by surprise bogeys and doubles.
Woods Jr. needs to cut down significantly on those to have any chance of breaking that pattern this season. Whether Tiger Woods’ son can finally turn things around will be decided on Sunday. The timing is notable, coming just days after TaylorMade announced on Friday that it had signed him to an NIL deal.
Charlie Woods joined some of the biggest names in the sport, including his father, Tiger, along with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who are all partnered with the popular golf brand.
The achievement at just 17 made it especially remarkable, even though, given his last name and the hype around him, it shouldn’t really have been much of a surprise for most.
Despite that, the deal quickly faced backlash online from critics, who felt that he didn’t deserve it. That backlash adds another layer to Sunday, where Woods will try to close out the tournament without the late bogeys that have marked his first two rounds and his season more broadly after Sage Valley, the U.S. Junior Amateur, and the Junior PGA Championship.