Charlie Woods came up one shot short of the match play bracket at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur, and the ending at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. had to sting.
Woods was part of a 14-player playoff on Wednesday for the final two places in the 64-man field, and the math was never exactly in his favor. Still, he had a real chance until the final hole of the playoff unraveled in frustrating fashion.
The 17-year-old son of Tiger Woods was on the par-5, 584-yard first hole knowing he needed a birdie to keep his run alive, after two players in the group ahead of him had posted fours. His second shot finished in the rough just short and left of the green, leaving him needing a simple up-and-down.
Instead, a camera could be heard going off loudly right before his third shot. Woods reacted to the distraction with a poor chip that finished on the fringe, and after missing the birdie putt he made bogey and was out.
“Really dude?,” Woods said after he dropped his club and looked back at the crowd standing behind him.
The moment was captured in a clip that showed the camera noise clearly in the backswing.
What makes the miss even more painful is how close the draw could have been. If Woods had survived the playoff in the top spot, he might have opened match play against his friend Miles Russell.
Woods caddied for Russell at a U.S. Open qualifier in June, and Russell won that event to reach Shinnecock, where he finished tied for 39th.
The two are also set to be teammates at Florida State starting in 2027.
This was Woods’s third trip to the U.S. Junior Amateur, and it was his best shot yet at reaching match play. He missed the cut two years ago with rounds of 82 and 80 at Oakland Hills, then fell short again last year after shooting 80 and 74 at Trinity Forest.
At this year’s championship, Woods opened with a 76 before bouncing back with an even-par 70 in round two.
He’ll be a senior in high school this year and is committed to Florida State beginning in 2027. And for anyone who remembers his first PNC Championship appearance in 2020, when he was 11 and making noise alongside his famous father, this latest run was another reminder of how fast time keeps moving.
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