Charlie Woods, the 16-year-old son of golfing great Tiger Woods, earned his first American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) win on Wednesday with a three-shot victory at the Team TaylorMade Invitational in Bowling Green, Florida.
Woods, playing in his fifth AJGA event, began the final round one shot behind overnight leader Luke Colton and mixed two bogeys with eight birdies for a six-under-par 66 on the Black Course at Streamsong Resort that brought him to 15 under on the week.
Willie Gordon (65), Phillip Dunham (68) and Colton (70) finished in a share of second place.
After a birdie-bogey start, Woods grabbed the solo lead late on the outward nine with four birdies over a sizzling five-hole stretch. He then built a three-shot cushion with birdies at the 11th and 12th holes, dropped a shot at the 13th but responded immediately with a birdie at the 298-yard, par-four 14th where he drove the green. He closed out his round with four consecutive pars.
Before this week, Woods’s best result on the AJGA circuit was a share of 25th place at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in March.
Woods has competed with his father in the last five editions of the PNC Championship – a 36-hole event featuring two-player teams made up of a major champion and a family member – and last December they finished runners-up for a second time.
The elder Woods has been sidelined since undergoing surgery in March to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon and is expected to miss the rest of the PGA Tour season.
