Charlie Woods off to slow start at Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass

Junior Players Championship Leaderboard: Charlie Woods, the son of golf legend Tiger Woods, slumps to slow start at TPC Sawgrass.

Andy Roberts

29 Aug 2025

The Junior Players Championship
T1	Miles Russell	-4	68
T1	Nicholas Logis	-4	68
T3	Grayson Baucom	-3	69
T3	Phillip Dunham	-3	69
Selected Other
T36	Charlie Woods	+4	76
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Tiger Woods' son Charlie Woods opened with a 4-over 76 in the first round of The Junior Players Championship at famed TPC Sawgrass.

Woods, 16, finds himself eight shots off the pace set by AJGA-ranked No.1 Miles Russell and Nicholas Logis.

Russell won this 54-hole tournament in 2023 when he became the youngest-ever winner aged 14.

Woods, ranked 13th in the AJGA, went out in a 4-over 40 but fared better coming home with a level-par 36.

He was making his first start at TPC Sawgrass, scene of where his father Tiger Woods won The Players Championship on the PGA Tour in 2001 and 2013.

Woods made a par on the famous par-3 Island Green 17th during the first round.

The Island Green 17th at Sawgrass is one of the most feared holes in world golf.

Woods will tee off at 8.10am local time off the 10th in Saturday's second round.

Matt Kuchar's son Cameron fared a shot worse than Woods in the opening round with a 5-over 77.

But he did record a stunning hole-in-one on the par-3 3rd.

He reportedly used a 9-iron from 178 yards.

Cameron's father won The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in 2012.

Playing where their dads were champions.

Charlie Woods and Cameron Kuchar are competing in their first Junior PLAYERS Championship @TPCSawgrass. pic.twitter.com/DPhuJYXFQc
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 29, 2025

Woods, who represents Benjamin School, was reportedly followed round the course by his mother Elin Nordegren.

There was apparently no sign of his father and 15-time major champion Woods.

Charlie, who won his first AJGA event earlier this season at the Team TaylorMade Invitational. will graduate in 2027.

That is the same year as Russell, whose rise in the junior ranks has been phenomenal having already appeared on the PGA Tour.

Russell made his debut at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic and later played in the 2025 ISCO Championship.

But he would miss the cut both times.

The Junior Players Championship has been contested for amateur players under the age of 19 at TPC Sawgrass ever since 2007.

Past winners of the tournament include Morgan Hoffmann (2007), Sam Horsfield (2014), Kevin Yu (2015) and Jeffrey Guan (2022), the latter who returned to golf this week just 11 months after a devastating eye injury that threatened to end his career.

Junior Players Championship:
Charlie Woods R1 Scorecard
Hole	Score	Strokes
1	Bogey	5
2	Bogey	6
3	Par	3
4	Birdie	3
5	Bogey	5
6	Par	4
7	Bogey	5
8	Bogey	4
9	Par	4
Out	—	40
10	Par	4
11	Birdie	4
12	Par	4
13	Par	3
14	Bogey	5
15	Birdie	3
16	Par	5
17	Par	3
18	Bogey	5
In	—	36
Total	—	76
One-day Total	—	40-36—76 (T43)

Past winners of The Junior Players Championship

Year	Winner	Country/State	Score	To Par
2024	Hamilton Coleman	United States (Georgia)	72-68-70=210	−6
2023	Miles Russell	United States (Florida)	70-66-71=207	−9
2022	Jeffrey Guan	Australia	67-69-64=200	−16
2021	Benjamin James	United States (Connecticut)	69-71-68=208	−8
2020	David Ford	United States (Georgia)	72-73-66=211	−5
2019	Jayden Schaper	South Africa	69-71-70=210	−6
2018	Travis Vick	United States (Texas)	70-68-70=208	−8
2017	Shuai Ming Wong	Hong Kong	71-71-70=212	−4
2016	Khavish Varadan	Malaysia	73-65-68=206	−10
2015	Kevin Yu	Taiwan	73-71-67=211	−5
2014	Sam Horsfield	England	71-69-73=213	−3
2013	Austen Truslow	United States (Florida)	71-67-75=213	−3
2012	Robby Shelton IV	United States (Alabama)	70-67-72=209	−7
2011	Gavin Hall	United States (New York)	72-64-75=211	−5
2010	Michael Johnson	United States (Alabama)	68-72-72=212	−4
2009	Bobby Wyatt	United States (Alabama)	66-73-71=210	−6
2008	Evan Beck	United States (Virginia)	70-69-70=209	−7
2007	Morgan Hoffmann	United States (New Jersey)	71-67-71=209	−7