Charlie Woods has struggled in his attempt to defend his Team TaylorMade Invitational Championship. The 17-year-old triumphed at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Florida, in May 2025, as he beat the field by three strokes. But he has not even been able to score 3-under par in this year’s edition of the event.

Woods finished at T28 on the leaderboard at the end of Sunday evening. After registering three rounds of 68-73-73, he ended with a score of 4-over par along with eight other junior golfers. His run included 10 birdies, 7 bogeys, 2 double bogeys, and a triple bogey.

After the first round, Charlie was tied for seventh after the opening round and remained in a share of eighth as the second round got underway, four strokes off the lead. Then on the second day, he was tied for 23rd after the second round at Pelican Golf Club. He played the opening nine holes at even-par. On Sunday, he was 10 strokes behind the 2026 Team TaylorMade Invitational champion, Luke Ringkamp.

Ringkamp’s dominance was predictable, as he is ranked at Rolex AJGA #4, he has been in quite good form lately. He won the 2025 Rolex Tournament of Champions late last year. Back in March 2026, he also grabbed a T6 finish in the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. However, the same cannot be said about Woods.

Charlie has been struggling on the fairway recently, and he has also had a few narrow misses in major events. The 17-year-old nearly made the field for the 2026 U.S. Open. However, he missed a confirmed and alternate spot by just one stroke at Eagle Trace Golf Club a few days ago.

However, he has remained quite mature throughout the losses. Even after his setback in the Terra Cotta Invitational 2026, Woods didn’t shy away from expressing what he learned from the event.

After losing the tournament, Woods shared a post on Instagram saying, “Thanks to the @terracottainvitational for a great week and the chance to compete. Grateful for the experience and excited to keep building!”

That said, let’s understand what Woods will be preparing for now that he is done with Florida.

Bigger things are on the horizon for Charlie Woods

Charlie Woods may be out of form at present, and he may have failed to defend the Team TaylorMade Invitational Championship in Florida this year, but his biggest challenge on the golf course is yet to come. One that he was striving to overcome in 2025.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Woods was eager to compete and hopefully win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Tiger Woods won the tournament three consecutive times from 1991 to 1993. And this will be the last year his son will have the opportunity to win the same title.

In the 77th edition of the event last year, Woods finished at T196th on the leaderboard. This year, he would want to turn things around and hopefully be on the other side of the leaderboard. The 78th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship will be played from July 20-25, 2026, at Saucon Valley Country Club. And the qualifications for the event begin in the next few hours. That might be Woods’ biggest goal for the 2026 season.