When Charlie Woods’s tee shot rattled off a tree root and popped straight back toward his face, the gallery collectively winced, and Tiger Woods, watching nearby, couldn’t help but grin. “Hell of a shot,” the 82x Tour winner muttered afterward, and it sure was!

The Biltmore Golf Course turned into a gathering of luminaries in the presence of Tiger Woods and Charlie Woods’ mother, Elin Nordegren, who attended to watch their talented son perform in the 62nd Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship. The troubling moment happened on the 11th hole when Charlie pushed his tee shot far right.

The golf ball landed right next to a hard tree root. Most golfers would play it safe, but Charlie chose to attack the green with power. His club hit the root and sent the ball flying straight up toward his own face. It nearly struck him in the face, making him cover his eyes in fear after dropping his club. Spectacularly, Woods Jr. then played a great wedge shot and sank a long, impressive putt for par. Woods’ reaction comes after that wild par. And the par save showed a ‘fire in the belly’ mindset that reminds everyone of his father’s greatness.

But despite that amazing comeback, Woods Junior finished his first day with a two-over-par score of 73. He started the morning fast with two birdies. But later he made three tough bogeys on the 7th, 8th, and par-3 14th holes.

And the four-day tournament is far from over because this special event has no cut for the players. Charlie has three more rounds to bring home the trophy. With his current form and 13th on the Rolex AJGA ranking after a breakthrough 2025 season, where he tied for 9th at the 2025 Junior PGA Championship at 9‑under 276 and fired a 4‑under 68 to lead The Benjamin School to the FHSAA Class 1A state title, Charlie will be a player to see in the final Tuesday round on January 6th.

Plus, Woods, for what it’s worth, still holds the record for the largest margin of victory in Junior Orange Bowl history

Back in 1991, young Tiger Woods won with the largest margin of victory in the 62-year history of the event, by a massive fourteen strokes. Woods returned in subsequent years and nearly added a second title, leading into the final round before being edged out by Zimbabwe’s Lewis Chitengwa.

Still, the title will not be easy because the field features many other incredible young players. Cameron Kuchar, the son of Matt Kuchar, who recently won the PNC Championship with his father, is another famous player in the field who wants to win the Orange Bowl trophy. Other international players such as Giovanni Daniele and Nina Choe are also playing in the field. Giovanni shot a great 62 in the first round to take an early lead.

Charlie must play perfectly to leapfrog these talented golfers. But even if it doesn’t happen, it will not be an exaggeration to say every eye will still be glued to the young Woods during this big week because of his famous surname.

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Butch Harmon and the Growing Legacy of the Woods Name

A famous voice from Woods’s most dominant years, Butch Harmon, saw a clip of Charlie and felt a lot of curiosity about his swing. Harmon spoke with Rickie Fowler about how much the boy has grown during the last year. Fowler told him that the teenager is getting bigger and hits the ball very far now.

“I’ve never had the opportunity to see Charlie play. I was talking to Rickie about it a couple of weeks ago, and we were playing down in Florida, and he’s played with him, and he says he’s gotten bigger and hits the ball really far now, and he’s going to be a good player,” Harmon shared.

“So yeah, I would love to have an opportunity to see it up close and personal. And I’d like Tiger to be there when it happened, because we could have some fun with that. I’d like to needle Tiger and say, you know, when you were that young, you couldn’t do it like he’s doing it. You know what his answer would be to me. I can’t say it on the phone.”

This increasing power helps the teenager turn his high junior hype into real and tangible results just before the major question around his future looms large. Florida State head coach Trey Jones was seen talking to the senior Woods during a recent match. Now, if Woods Junior joined the “Seminoles,” it would put him in a lineup that was already filled with other talented juniors, such as Miles Russell, who is the number one junior golfer in the entire world right now.