Tiger Woods' teenage son Charlie bounces back from US Junior Amateur disappointment

Tiger Woods teenage son Charlie bounced back from a disappointing performance at the US Junior Amateur with an encouraging first round at another prestigious junior event. 

Charlie, 16, is among the 156-man field at this week's Junior PGA Championships at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana. 

Hundreds of spectators reportedly turned up to watch Charlie card an opening round of one-under 70 on Tuesday. 

His card featured four birdies and three bogeys. 

Dad Tiger is frequently spotted watching his son inside the ropes, but the 15-time major winner wasn't by Charlie's side yesterday. 

According to the Palm Beach Post, Charlie was accurate off the tee and hitting his irons crisp. He was also spotted using an L.A.B putter. 

He declined to speak to reporters after his first round, according to the Post, citing the fact he wanted to rest after playing in scorching heat. 

Charlie sits in T46 on the overall leaderboard after 18 holes. The tournament features a 36 and 54-hole cut. 

The top 60 and ties make it through to the third round, with only the top 30 advancing to the final day.

Notable past champions of the Junior PGA Championships include Pat Perez, Trevor Immelman, Denny McCarthy, Sam Burns, Akshay Bhatia, Caleb Surratt and Miles Russell. 

Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park, Yuka Saso, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson are previous winners in the girls division.

Such is the prestige of the event, the champion in each category will also book their spot in the Junior Ryder Cup team, which will take place in Nassau two days before the biennial showpiece at Bethpage Black this September. 

Charlie is looking to bounce back from another frustrating performance at the US Junior Amateur. 

Last week, Charlie's bid to win a tournament his father won three times fell short.

He opened with a round of 11-over 81 at Brook Hollow Golf Club and, whilst he carded a 74 in round two, it wasn't enough to make the cut. 

Charlie also qualified for the US Junior Amateur in 2024, but shot rounds of 82-80 and didn't reach the match play. 

Whilst Charlie will be frustrated with that result, he has been making a marked improvement. 

In May, he won his first American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) title. 

Charlie won the Team TaylorMade Invitational in Florida by three strokes. Tiger played in 13 AJGA tournaments from 1991 to 1993 and won eight of them. 

Phil Mickelson holds the record for most AJGA wins. 

Charlie reacted to that victory by saying: ""It means so much because I haven't really performed at the highest level yet. 

"And to finally do it after all the work I have put in and not playing well in big events in the past. 

"Even though, I know I am so much better than that and for it all to finally come together is such a great feeling."

He added: "Just being able to say to myself that I have won an absolutely amazing event and say that I have performed under high pressure situations is huge going forward. 

"I haven't been able to say that I have done that and now that I can it is a big thing for my mental game going forward."