It seems like Charlie Woods’ latest decision was a good one as he follows in the golf footsteps of his famous father Tiger Woods.
Charlie Woods had a decision to make when laying out his summer schedule. The son of the 15-time major winner was forced between defending his South Florida PGA Junior Cup or playing in the Junior PGA Championship.
The younger Woods chose the latter, and if Round 2 was any indication, he made the right decision. Woods tore it up during the second round on the Kampen-Cosler Course at Purdue University’s Birck Boilermaker Complex in Indiana to put himself firmly in contention for the prestigious junior tournament.
Charlie Woods Goes Low at Junior PGA Championship
Woods came out of the gate firing on all cylinders in the second round, making birdie on three of his first four holes and making six birdies on the front nine to go out at 31. He added three more birdies and at one point on the back nine was 8-under for the day.
It got a little dicey on the way in, though. Woods made bogey on 16 and 17 before just missing a bounce-back birdie on 18th gave him a 6-under 66.
The 16-year-old shot up the leaderboard after posting a 1-under 70 in the opening round at the Ackerman-Allen Course. Woods’ explosive second-round performance vaulted him more than 40 spots up the board by the time his round came to an end.
He and the rest of the field was still chasing Lunden Esterline, who somehow played even better than Woods. Esterline went out in 29 and birdied two of his first three holes on the back — without making a bogey — to grab the lead over first-round leader Chase Yenser and Woods.
The performance erases any doubt Woods would miss the cut and sets him up to chase Esterline over the final two rounds.
Charlie Woods Getting Better, But What’s His Ceiling?
Regardless of how the Junior PGA turns out for Woods, it’s surely a welcomed improvement on a tough week at the U.S. Junior Amateur. An opening-round 81 doomed the youngster, and a second-round 74 wasn’t enough to get him below the cutline. The Junior Am ended up being a coming-out party for Hamilton Coleman, who took down the title at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas. The 17-year-old does have a year on Woods, and the Augusta, Ga., native has already committed to playing his college golf in his home state at the University of Georgia.
As for Woods, it’s still hard to say what his golfing future looks like. He’s certainly in a unique position as the son of Tiger Woods, a distinction that no doubt comes with plenty of advantages as well as some challenges. He definitely flashes the sort of potential that makes you wonder whether he could go into the family business. However, even at 16, the consistency simply isn’t there, at least not compared to Tiger Woods.
Of course, that’s the downside of playing the sport for Charlie Woods. It’s unfair to compare him to his father — arguably the greatest amateur golfer of all time — but it’s also hard not to do so.
Credit to Charlie Woods, though. He’s not shying away from playing competitive golf, and he has more than held his own. At just 16, it’s also hard to know for sure how he’ll physically develop. He’s one more growth spurt away from getting even bigger and stronger, which certainly could help his game.
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