Charlie Woods' F-bomb moment goes viral during U.S. Junior Amateur as Tiger's son falls short in playoff

Charlie Woods was caught on camera venting his frustration after a tee shot during the second round of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Saucon Valley Country Club.

The 17-year-old, son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, dropped an F-bomb after hitting his tee shot on the par-3 11th hole during Tuesday’s stroke play.

Moments after making contact with his 175-yard tee shot, Woods dropped his club, shouted “Oh f*** you,” and kicked the club away in frustration.

Watch his reaction here: 

The incident, which was shared on social media, quickly became one of the talking points from Woods’ second round — but the teenager responded in impressive fashion and did not allow the moment to derail his performance.

Starting on the 10th tee, the par-3 11th was only Woods’ second hole of the day. He went on to make a bogey on the hole, but recovered the dropped shot and more just two holes later with a stunning eagle-two on the par-4 13th.

The hole-out eagle helped the Florida State commit settle into his round, and he eventually carded a level-par 70 on the Grace Course — his lowest-ever score in three appearances at the U.S. Junior Amateur.

That result was enough to put him into a mammoth 14-for-2 playoff for the final match play places, but Woods’ championship ultimately came to an end in heartbreaking fashion on Wednesday morning.

The 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur began with a 264-player field competing over 36 holes of stroke play across Saucon Valley’s Old and Grace Courses. 

The leading 64 players advanced to the knockout match play stages, but 14 players finished tied for the final two qualifying spots at 5-over par in a logjam tie for 63rd, forcing a huge playoff.

Woods teed off at 7:24am local time in the third playoff group and needed a birdie on the opening par-5 hole of the Grace Course to keep his hopes alive.

According to Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine, Woods faced a lengthy birdie putt from the fringe but was unable to convert. 

With three other players already having made birdie, his chances of advancing were over, and he eventually made a bogey-six.

Eli Wessel and Hudson Kutchma claimed the final two match play places.

Had Woods’ on-course reaction occurred at last week’s Open Championship, it could have resulted in a warning from officials. 

Jon Rahm and Bob MacIntyre were both spoken to at Royal Birkdale after separate incidents involving tantrums during the tournament.

The Tour and governing bodies are coming down harder and harder on strops in a bid to cut it out of the sport, as frustrating as we all know the game can be. 

Despite missing out on the knockout match play stage, Woods can take plenty of positives from his week. 

His tie for 63rd marked his best finish in three U.S. Junior Amateur appearances, with his level-par 70 representing another encouraging step in his development.

The U.S. Junior Amateur has long been a proving ground for future stars of the game, with former champions including Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Brian Harman, David Duval, Johnny Miller and Will Zalatoris.

Tiger Woods remains the championship’s most successful player after winning three consecutive titles from 1991 to 1993, an achievement later recognised when the trophy was recently renamed the Tiger Woods Trophy.