Golf is always searching for future stars and, at the Junior Invitational, two familiar names are set to feature in the prestigious under-18 event.
Being held on the 19th - 22nd March at Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, South Carolina, Golf Channel's Brentley Romine reported that both Charlie Woods and Kai Trump are in the field for the tournament, which comprises of 36 of the highest-ranked boys and 24 highest-ranked girls in the world.
Charlie, who is son of World Golf Hall of Famer and 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods, is reportedly set to feature, as is Kai, who is the granddaughter of President Donald Trump.
In terms of ability, Charlie has played the PNC Championship alongside Tiger the past five years, with the duo registering two runner-up finishes. Losing out in a playoff in the last edition, Charlie made his first ever hole-in-one during the final round at the par 3 fourth hole.
Regarding Kai, the 17-year-old announced an endorsement deal with TaylorMade just a week ago, as well as a verbal agreement to the University of Miami. Trump was also spotted alongside Tiger during the Genesis Invitational a week ago and also played alongside Rory McIlroy in the event's pro-am.
Looking at the qualifying criteria, the top six players on the the Junior Golf Scoreboard's rankings are in the field. As of writing, Woods sits 714th in those rankings and 1,022nd in the American Junior Golf Association standings, whilst Trump ranks 2,346th on the Junior Golf Scoreboard.
Along with Woods and Trump, the boys event features the likes of Miles Russell, who in April 2024 became the youngest player to ever make a cut on the Korn Ferry Tour. He will be joined by another history maker in Kartik Singh who, at 15 years of age, made the cut at the recent International Series India event in January.
In the girls tournament, defending champion Asterisk Talley returns, as does current World Amateur No.10 Soomin Oh.
Among the previous winners of the Junior Invitational include World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who claimed victory in 2014. Current PGA Tour players Akshay Bhatia, Austin Eckroat and Aldrich Potgieter have also won the trophy, as have LIV Golf's Joaquin Niemann, Tom McKibbin and Caleb Surratt.
In the girls section, former Augusta National Women's Amateur winner, Anna Davis, won in 2023, whilst Ladies European Tour player, Amalie Leth-Nissen, claimed the inaugural event in 2022.
