Charlie Woods had already seen the Stadium Course in tournament conditions. His 2025 trip to the Junior Players Championship ended with a 7-over total and a tie for 31st.
One year later, Woods returned with a red number and a place inside the top 10.
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Woods opened with a 71, added a 73 and closed with another 71. The 1-under total of 215 put him in a tie for eighth, 23 spots higher than he finished a year ago. He needed eight fewer shots than he did in 2025.
JP Lynch won at 8 under after a final-round 66. He finished seven shots in front of Woods, so there is no reason to stretch a top-10 into something it was not. Lynch owned the week. Woods still left Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, with a result worth keeping.
The same tournament gave him trouble a year earlier.
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This time, no round got away from him.
TPC Sawgrass scorecard
Same event. Eight fewer shots.
2025 Junior Players
76 – 75 – 72
Total: 223, 7 over
Finish: Tied for 31st
2026 Junior Players
71 – 73 – 71
Total: 215, 1 under
Finish: Tied for eighth
8fewer strokes
23positions gained
Source: Official AJGA leaderboards for the 2025 and 2026 Junior Players Championship.
Start with the three scorecards
Charlie Woods reacts to missing his birdie putt on the 14th green during the final round of the Junior Players Championship at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Sunday, September 6, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union.
It is tempting to study the finish first.
I would rather begin with 71-73-71.
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The AJGA leaderboard gives Saturday one line: 73. Woods may view that round much differently than someone reading it online. His coaches have the shot pattern, their notes and the conversations that followed. Everyone else has to work from the number.
How to read the week
The public record has limits
The leaderboard confirms
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A 71-73-71 scorecard and a 1-under total
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A closing 71 after Saturday’s 73
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A two-shot spread between his lowest and highest rounds
The leaderboard does not reveal
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The quality of Woods’ ball-striking or putting
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The shot patterns his coaches tracked
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The adjustments discussed after each round
Fair conclusion: Woods produced three closely grouped scores. Any explanation of how he produced them requires reporting beyond the leaderboard.
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All three cards stayed within two shots of each other. In a 54-hole event, that kept Woods from spending a round chasing an early mistake. He also did not need one unusually low score to rescue the week.
When I review a tournament with one of my players, the uncomfortable round usually gets most of our time. We walk back to the first rushed decision, mark the player’s normal miss and check whether one bad hole changed the club selection on the next tee. The good round is fun to revisit. The harder one usually leaves better notes.
Woods went to bed Saturday at even par for the tournament. A 71 on Sunday moved him back under par and into the tie for eighth. As a coach, that is the part of the 73 I can use: He returned the next morning and lowered his score.
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I have watched juniors leave the course angry after a 73 because every missed opportunity is still fresh. By dinner, the better conversation is usually about what remains available the next morning. Woods had another round, and he made it count with 71.
The restraint required to post 73 will never draw the attention that a closing 66 receives. It belongs in the review anyway.
Sawgrass supplied a familiar test
Year-to-year score comparisons are never exact. Weather and hole locations change, and the same course can be firm one year and soft the next. Even the draw can shape a player’s week.
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Another trip around the same tournament course is still a useful checkpoint for a junior golfer. Woods knew the sight lines, the demands around the greens and the places where the Stadium Course can make a player impatient. He also carried the memory of last year’s 76-75 start.
This visit began five shots better. After two rounds, he was seven shots ahead of his 2025 pace. He finished eight ahead.
The eight-shot swing will not settle any argument about Woods’ future. It simply records a better performance at a course that tested him the previous year. Junior schedules do not often hand a coach such a clean reference point, so this one goes in the file.
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The matching 71s catch my attention, too. Woods did not jump up the leaderboard with one outlier and spend the other two days giving shots back. He opened below par, absorbed the 73 and found 71 again on the final day.
That final round gave the week a clean finish. Young players remember how they leave a course, particularly after a middle round that cost a couple of shots. Woods answered his 73 by matching Friday’s score.
Charlie Woods tees off on No. 17 during the final round of the Junior Players Championship at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Sunday, September 6, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union
College golf is coming into view
Woods’ development is taking place with more attention than most junior golfers will ever experience. Every result invites a comparison to his father, and even a solid week can be pulled into a debate about his ceiling.
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TaylorMade announced Sept. 4 that it had signed Woods to an NIL agreement. The company described him as a rising senior at the Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Florida, and a 2027 Florida State golf commit.
Tournament context
A top-10 with room still showing
7 shots behind the winner
Champion
JP Lynch
208, 8 under
Closed with 66
Tied for eighth
Charlie Woods
215, 1 under
Closed with 71
College path
TaylorMade announced Woods’ NIL agreement Sept. 4. The company identifies him as a rising senior at the Benjamin School and a 2027 Florida State golf commit.
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Sources: Official AJGA 2026 leaderboard and TaylorMade’s Sept. 4, 2026, announcement.
College golf will bring a different kind of pressure. Public leaderboards are only part of the job. Players compete for lineup spots, manage class schedules, adjust to team expectations and learn to produce when teammates are counting every score. Woods has another high school season ahead, but the move to Tallahassee is close enough to see.
I would put Friday’s 71 beside Sunday’s 71 during the review. Matching scores can come from completely different rounds, and Woods’ team will know how he built each one. Saturday’s 73 belongs on the table with them. Three cards separated by two shots give a coach plenty to examine.
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In 2025, that card read 76-75-72 for 223 and a tie for 31st. This time it read 71-73-71 for 215 and a tie for eighth. The trophy went home with Lynch. Woods’ card goes into the file looking quite a bit better than the one already there.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on RG.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.
Related: Charlie Woods Put His First NIL Deal in Familiar Hands
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Sep 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Golf section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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