Charlie Woods, a class of 2031 Florida State commit and the son of golfing legend Tiger Woods, has been eliminated from the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
Woods shot five-over after 36 holes over Monday and Tuesday at Saucon Valley C.C. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. That left him in a tie for 63rd alongside 13 other competitors in the 264-golfer field. The top 64 golfers from the field would move on to match play beginning Wednesday.
That set up a 14-player playoff for two spots. The playoff, which was a hole-by-hole sudden death, occurred on Wednesday morning. Three players birdied the first hole, a par-five 584-yarder on Saucon Valley’s Grace Course, to move onto a second playoff hole. Woods bogeyed that first hole, ending his tournament.
Woods did an incredible job just to get to the playoff. On Monday, at Saugon Valley’s Old Course, Woods shot six-over on his first five holes, including a triple bogey on the par-four second. However, he birdied the par-five sixth and shot one-under overall on his final 13 holes to finish the first round at five-over.
He continued his strong play Tuesday, shooting an even-par 70 at the Grace Course. Woods began by shooting a two-under 33 on the back nine, including an eagle on the par-four 13th, a 332-yarder. He also got birdies on the 16th and 18th holes.
Woods made bogeys on the fourth and seventh holes down the stretch, but he parred his final two holes to give himself a chance to qualify for match play.
Woods—and all the golfers in the playoff—faced tall odds to do so. In the end, Woods did not make it, but he authored an impressive performance nonetheless on a tough course where only 18 players shot even par or better over two days. Woods shot even par on his second day and can certainly use the momentum from that success toward future competitions.
