Charlie Woods will undoubtedly seize tons of headlines getting into this week’s U.S. Junior Novice at Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
However expectations for the 15-year-old son of nine-time USGA champion Tiger Woods needs to be tempered.
Whereas Tiger Woods captured three straight U.S. Junior titles, from 1991 to 1993, and reached the semifinals in his debut as a 14-year-old in 1990, Charlie is teeing it up in his first USGA championship – and the most important match of his younger profession by far.
Charlie, a 2027 recruit, is ranked No. 817 within the Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings, which might point out that the youthful Woods qualifying for the 64-player match-play portion, which begins Wednesday following two rounds of stroke play, can be a tall job. But, Charlie is definitely to compete below the biggest of microscopes.
“Among the issues that occurred to this poor child, generally it’s simply unfair,” Charlie’s high-school coach, Toby Harbeck of The Benjamin College, informed the Detroit Free Press final week.
Harbeck added, “In the event you’ve watched Tiger play, you already know the throngs of those that comply with him. In the event you have been standing on a tall porch or deck, and you can see the entire golf course, you may all the time inform the place Tiger was precisely by the quantity of individuals. Charlie’s the very same manner. You’ll be able to inform the place Charlie is as a result of he’ll have 30 or 40 individuals following him.”
With Tiger already at Oakland Hills to observe Charlie play – he can’t caddie due to USGA guidelines; as an alternative, Charlie’s teammate Luke Smart will deal with bag duties – and hundreds of spectators anticipated on the ticketless occasion, Charlie’s USGA debut will undoubtedly produce his largest gallery thus far. The Free Press reported that there have been already large crowds following Charlie’s Saturday apply spherical, and that the USGA needed to broaden off-site parking and merchandise orders after Charlie certified.
“I imply, in the event you didn’t understand it was Charlie Woods, he simply appeared like every regular child,” competitor Jaxon Bandelier, who practiced with Charlie on Saturday, informed the Free Press. “He’s obtained a very nice swing, simply didn’t actually strike the ball too properly immediately. However, I imply, clearly, you’ve obtained a ton of individuals out right here watching him, even within the apply spherical.”
Whereas Charlie should cope with the additional consideration as soon as once more, he’ll draw extra eyes to one of many world’s high junior championships, which options high contenders similar to Miles Russell and Blades Brown, each of whom have already made PGA Tour begins.
Listed below are the ten largest names to observe this week at Oakland Hills, listed in alphabetical order:
Kihei Akina, 18, Highland, Utah: A local of Hawaii and 2025 recruit, Akina spurned a few of the nation’s blue-bloods in committing to BYU. He’s practically cracked the highest 300 in WAGR due to a powerful 12 months that’s included two junior wins, top-5s at Sage Valley and the Terra Cotta, and a T-15 on the Sunnehanna Novice.
Joshua Bai, 18, New Zealand: Final 12 months’s runner-up to Bryan Kim, Bai has performed principally professional occasions in his native nation and Australia previously 12 months. He lately made the Spherical of 16 on the North and South Novice and earlier this 12 months was third at Sage Valley. This can probably be one in all his remaining newbie occasions as he’s set to eschew school golf and switch professional within the coming months.
Blades Brown, 17, Nashville, Tennessee: The highest participant within the Class of 2026, Brown lately switched to full-time on-line courses to focus extra on his budding golf profession. He stays uncommitted, although he can begin taking visits on Aug. 1. Brown has no wins this 12 months, although he did publish a top-5 on the Jones Cup, tied for twenty sixth in his PGA Tour debut on the Myrtle Seashore Traditional and lately was T-15 on the Northeast Novice. His mother, Rhonda, performed in WNBA and was the league’s first participant to make a 3-point basket. His dad, Parke, was recognized with furry cell leukemia in December 2022.
TK Chantananuwat, 17, Thailand: GolfChannel.com’s top-ranked incoming school freshmen, Chantananuwat will look to deliver a U.S. Junior title with him to Stanford subsequent month. He’s been ranked as excessive as No. 10 in WAGR, although enters this week ranked No. 57. He’s additionally not performed an newbie occasion for the reason that U.S. Novice, as an alternative teeing it up in 12 professional occasions, totally on developmental excursions, since – his notable finishes included a T-4 on the Asian Tour’s Saudi Open and T-40 on the DPWT’s Malaysian Open.
Luke Colton, 17, Frisco, Texas: The 2026 lefty has arguably had the most effective 12 months of any junior. He received the Terra Cotta Invitational and two begins later captured the Byron Nelson Junior. He has 5 different top-5s, together with a runner-up on the Texas State Novice, and most lately tied for twelfth on the Northeast Novice and made the Spherical of 16 on the North and South. His dad, Jim, began the Hundred Gap Hike in 2011 to initially increase cash for a caddie at his membership that had been paralyzed in a snowboarding accident; the thought has since advanced, being picked up by Youth on Course in 2016 to lift cash for youth golf initiatives.
Billy Davis, 18, Spring Valley, California: The dual brother of Auburn’s Anna Davis, Billy can also be headed to The Plains this fall to affix his sister. Final summer season, Davis was a semifinalist on the U.S. Junior and a runner-up on the Boys Junior PGA. This 12 months has been highlighted by top-5s on the Terra Cotta, AJGA Simplify Boys Championship and Toyota Junior World Cup.
Nicholas Gross, 17, Downingtown, Pennsylvania: The incoming Alabama freshman was a quarterfinalist on the 2022 U.S. Novice, and although he hasn’t had the most effective of senior years, he did attain the quarters of the North and South final month. His mother and father are each school professors – dad, Shawn, at Villanova College (civil and environmental engineering) and mother, Jennifer, at Lehigh College (structural engineering).
Will Hartman, 17, Charlotte, North Carolina: One other reigning U.S. Junior semifinalist, Hartman was additionally third eventually summer season’s AJGA Junior Gamers. He’s a rising high-school senior and is verbally dedicated to Vanderbilt.
Miles Russell, 15, Jacksonville Seashore, Florida: Talking of Tiger, Russell broke Woods’ report because the youngest Rolex Junior Participant of the 12 months in AJGA historical past. He didn’t play the U.S. Junior final 12 months, although he did make match play in his debut two years in the past. Final summer season, Russell reached as excessive as No. 69 in WAGR whereas notching large wins on the Boys Junior PGA and AJGA Junior Gamers. Along with his T-20 end on the Korn Ferry Tour’s Lecom Suncoast Traditional earlier this 12 months, not solely did Russell turn out to be the youngest participant to make the lower in a KFT occasion (at 15 years, 5 months and 18 days outdated he surpassed the earlier mark held by Gipper Finau, Tony’s youthful brother, who did so on the 2006 Utah Championship), however two days later he secured a T-20 end, turning into the youngest on the KFT or PGA Tour (not less than since 1983) to publish a top-25.
Tyler Watts, 16, Huntsville, Alabama: One other sturdy 2026 recruit, Watts received the Jones Cup Junior final 12 months and this 12 months has posted top-4 finishes on the Alabama State Novice (he turned the youngest winner of that occasion final 12 months), Terra Cotta, Dustin Johnson World Junior and AJGA Mayakoba Invitational.
