Tiger Woods made a brief return to PGA Tour action at last week's Genesis Invitational before withdrawing because of flu, and now his son Charlie is about to embark on his own bid for an appearance on the circuit.
Woods Jr will compete in a Thursday pre-qualifier for the Cognizant Classic (formerly the Honda Classic), which takes place between 29 February and 3 March. The 15-year-old will tee it up at Lost Lake Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida – one of four pre-qualifying venues.
Woods will begin his round at 7.39am ET in a group featuring Olin Browne Jr, whose dad won three times on the PGA Tour, and Irishman Ruaidhri McGee. Ultimately, around 25 players and ties will make it to Monday qualifying, with four places available for the tournament at PGA National.
Charlie’s ability first caught the attention of the public when he was aged just 11 at a local junior event in Florida, before he came to prominence alongside Tiger - who has a record-equalling 82 PGA Tour wins - in his first PNC Championship appearance in 2020, with the pair finishing seventh.
A year later, at the same tournament, Tiger and Charlie finished runner-up in a performance that included 11 straight birdies in the second round. They have since finished T8 at the tournament in 2022 and T5 in 2023.
Charlie has also forged an impressive junior career, competing predominantly on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour and Junior PGA South Florida Tour. In 2022, he cruised to victory by eight shots at the Major Championship at Village Golf Course.
Last year, he shot a 66 in the Last Chance Regional to close out another win and qualify for the 2023 Notah Begay III Boys' Jr Golf National Championship. At the event, he finished T17 in the Boys 14-15 Division with his dad caddying for him. Also in 2023, he helped his team to the Florida High School Athletic Association Class A state championship.
While there’s still a way to go until Woods Jr books his spot in his first PGA Tour event, his appearance at the pre-qualifier is one of the surest signs yet that he is ready to try take a promising junior career to another level.
As well as Woods Jr, there is another 15-year-old taking part in pre-qualifying for the tournament. Per the Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine, Miles Russell, who is currently 76th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is also hoping for a maiden PGA Tour appearance.
Charlie Woods isn't the only 15-year-old in a Cognizant pre-q.Miles Russell surpassed Charlie's dad last year as youngest-ever AJGA Rolex Junior POY. How Miles' ranks compare to Charlie:RussellWAGR : 76AJGA: 1JGS: 4GW: 1WoodsWAGR: NRAJGA: NRJGS: 1,300GW: 1,148 pic.twitter.com/zg4cM7YwmLFebruary 21, 2024
The American youngster became the youngest-ever AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year in 2023. The man whose record he beat? Tiger Woods.
