Russell, the 2023 Junior Players winner and Woods, the son of two-time Players champion Tiger Woods played a practice round together before the first round of the Junior Players Championship
Junior Players: Charlie Woods and Miles Russell team up in Junior-Am
It’s the day before the first round of the Junior Players Championship and there was one powerful duo in the same cart: world No. 1 amateur Miles Russell and Charlie Woods.
- Top-ranked junior golfer Miles Russell and Charlie Woods, son of Tiger Woods, played a practice round together at TPC Sawgrass.
- The pair played the round before the Junior Players Championship, a prestigious junior golf tournament.
- Woods is aiming to be the first son of a Players Champion to win the Junior Players.
It was a lot of talent in one golf cart at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on Aug. 28.
The eve of any American Junior Golf Association tournament is traditionally reserved for the “Junior Am,” in which two junior contestants play a practice round with two local players, usually businessmen or members of the host golf club.
Playing in the Junior Am is voluntary, and two players who stepped up on the day before the first round of the Junior Players Championship were Miles Russell, the AJGA’s No. 1 player on its Rolex Rankings, and Charlie Woods, ranked 13th and the son of Tiger Woods, who won twice on the Stadium Course, in 2001 and 2013.
They were grouped with AJGA Executive Director Stephen Hamblin and TaylorMade Vice President of Sports Marketing Eddie Erkmanis. Because there were two juniors in the same group (as opposed to one), they didn’t compete in the Junior Am competition.
The day before, the AJGA and TaylorMade announced a renewal of their partnership, in which TaylorMade is a Global Sponsor of the youth golf organization.
Round a first for Charlie Woods, Miles Russell
Russell and Woods also rode in the same cart together (with Russell driving). The two 16-year-olds chatted away like they were old golf buddies as they got a look at the Stadium Course on the eve of the 54-hole tournament that in 19 years has become perhaps the most prestigious of the AJGA’s invitationals.
Russell said it was the first time the two had played golf together and he had a promising scouting report for how Woods might play.
“He’s been playing great,” Russell said of Woods. “He’s doing everything really well.”
The AJGA is not allowing Charlie Woods to be interviewed, as per a request from his family.
Russell and Woods have had good summers
Russell and Woods are coming into the tournament with recent success.
Russell made the quarterfinals in the U.S. Junior in Dallas and the U.S. Amateur in San Francisco. Woods qualified for the Junior Players by winning an AJGA tournament at the Streamsong Resort and tied for ninth in the Junior PGA after contending for the lead most of the week.
“I’ve been doing everything kind of well,” Russell said of his game. “I’m starting to make a few more putts and just keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
Russell tied for 16th in the Junior Players last year, after his victory in 2023.
“If you play well you can go low or shoot about even par,” he said. “If you’re playing poorly or hitting it poorly, it’s going to be a tough day. You just have to grind.”
Woods will be trying to become the first son of a past Players Champion to win the Junior Players. Two have attempted in the past, Tyler McCumber and Dru Love, but neither contended.
Another player in the field is the son of a past Players Champion, Cameron Kuchar. His father, Matt, won in 2012.
When will Charlie Woods and Miles Russell play?
Woods will start at 9:20 a.m. at No. 1 in the first round at No. 1 on Aug. 29. He will be in the first group off No. 10 in the second round, beginning at 8:10 a.m.
Russell, the 2023 Junior Players champion will start at 9 a.m. on Aug. 29 at the Stadium Course first tee. He will play with defending champion Hamilton Coleman of Augusta, Ga., and Giuseppe Publa of Royal Palm Beach, who respectively are the Nos. 2 and 3 AJGA players.
That group will play in the second round at 10 a.m.
Tee times will be grouped by score for the final round on Aug. 31.
When do other First Coast players start?
- Tyler Mawhinney, Fleming Island: 9:10 a.m., No. 1; 10:10 a.m., No. 10.
- Lucas Gimenez, Jacksonville: 8:20 a.m., No. 1; 9:10 a.m., No. 10.
- Ambrose Kinnare, St. Augustine: 9 a.m., No. 10; 10 a.m., No. 1.
- Phillip Dunham, Ponte Vedra Beach: 9:40 a.m., No. 1; 8:30 a.m., No. 10.
Junior Players Championship tee times, Rounds one and two
TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course
Round one, Aug. 29
No. 1 tee
8:10 a.m.: Jaden Peterson, Port St. Lucie; William Lisle, Bradenton; Mark Cadden, Ireland.
8:20 a.m.: Lucas Gimenez, Jacksonville; Grayson Baucom, Hickory, N.C.; John Doyle, Ireland.
8:30 a.m.: Brady Barnum, Dublin, Ohio; Chase Bauer, Gotha; Guus Lafeber, Netherlands.
8:40 a.m.: Alexander Zhang, Plano, Texas; Graham Christopher, Westlake Village, Calif.; Calllixte Alzas, France.
8:50 a.m.: Kaden Chang, Carlsbad, Calif.; Braeden Nelson, W. Des Moines, Iowa; Tom De Herrypon, France.
9 a.m.: Miles Russell, Jacksonville Beach; Hamilton Coleman, Augusta, Ga.; Giuseppe Puebla, Royal Palm Beach.
9:10 a.m.: Jessy Huebner, Port St. Lucie; Tyler Mawhinney, Fleming Island; Lunden Esterline, Andover, Kan.
9:20 a.m.: Charlie Woods, Jupiter; Chase Hughes, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Ronin Banerjee, Irvin, Calif.
9:30 a.m.: Cameron Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Dawson Lew, Canada; Ayden Fynaut, Fresno, Calif.
9:40 a.m.: Luke Ringkamp, Palm Desert, Calif.; Sohan Patel, Weston; Phillip Dunham, Ponte Vedra Beach.
9:50 a.m.: Drake Harvey, Las Vegas; Sam Carraher, Crown Point, Ind.; Preston Hage, Raleigh, N.C.
10 a.m.: Bailey Sutter, Cullman, Ala.; Arrow Aarav Shah, Australia; Asher Vargas, Spring, Texas.
10:10 a.m.: Edan Cui, Atherton, Calif.; William Chang, Danville, Calif.; Tomas Restrepo Jaramillo, Colombia.
No. 10 tee
8:10 a.m.: Aadi Parmer, Selma, Texas; Duff McKay, Dallas; Aidan Lawson, Scotland.
8:20 a.m.: Brooks Colton, Riviera Beach; Tucker Gutierrez, Madison, Miss.; Gudjon Halldorsson, Iceland.
8:30 a.m.: Duke Heise, Spring, Texas; Noah Maclauchlan, Mosely, Va.; Edwin Askefors, Swede.
8:40 a.m.: Blake Brown, Cypress, Texas; Austin Le, Houston; Edwin Sjodin, Sweden.
8:50 a.m.: Aaron Cummins, Trophy Club, Texas; Brady Rapp, Leawood, Kan.; Lucca Mateo Buenrostro, Ennis, Texas.
9 a.m.: Peyton Smith, Lees Summit, Mo.; Ambrose Kinnare, St. Augustine; Frank Cabeza, Howey-in-the-Hills.
9:10 a.m.: Kuan Zhou, England; Wylie Inman, N. Palm Beach; Spencer Harrison, Australia.
9:20 a.m.: Jackson Ormond, Webster, N.Y.; Nicholas Logis, Austin, Texas; Charlie Rusbridge, England.
9:30 a.m.: Kailer Stone, Alameda, Calif; Coltrane Mittag, Ashland, Neb.; Jack Swift, England.
9:40 a.m.: Nicholas Canitano, Milton, Ga.; Drew Woolworth, Lake Oswego, Ore.; Raul Gomez, Montalva, Spain.
9:50 a.m.: Macaulay Myers, Whitestown, Ind.; Davis Wotnosky, Wake Forest, N.C.; Bryan Newman, South Africa.
10 a.m.: Jager Pain, Canada; Andrew Rodriguez, Whittier, Calif.; Alexandre El Khomri, France.
10:10 a.m.: Connor Herrera, San Diego; Sterling Hurd, Austin, Texas; Miles Wennestam, Switzerland.
Round 2, Aug. 30
No. 1 tee
8:10 a.m.: Jackson Ormond, Webster, N.Y.; Nicholas Logis, Austin, Texas; Charlie Rusbridge, England.
8:20 a.m.: Kailer Stone, Alameda, Calif; Coltrane Mittag, Ashland, Neb.; Jack Swift, England.
8:30 a.m.: Nicholas Canitano, Milton, Ga.; Drew Woolworth, Lake Oswego, Ore.; Raul Gomez, Montalva, Spain.
8:40 a.m.: Macaulay Myers, Whitestown, Ind.; Davis Wotnosky, Wake Forest, N.C.; Bryan Newman, South Africa.
8:50 a.m.: Jager Pain, Canada; Andrew Rodriguez, Whittier, Calif.; Alexandre El Khomri, France.
9 a.m.: Connor Herrera, San Diego; Sterling Hurd, Austin, Texas; Miles Wennestam, Switzerland.
9:10 a.m.: Aadi Parmer, Selma, Texas; Duff McKay, Dallas; Aidan Lawson, Scotland.
9:20 a.m.: Brooks Colton, Riviera Beach; Tucker Gutierrez, Madison, Miss.’ Gudjon Halldorsson, Iceland.
9:30 a.m.: Duke Heise, Spring, Texas; Noah Maclauchlan, Mosely, Va.; Edwin Askefors, Swede.
9:40 a.m.: Blake Brown, Cypress, Texas; Austin Le, Houston; Edwin Sjodin, Sweden.
9:50 a.m.: Aaron Cummins, Trophy Club, Texas; Brady Rapp, Leawood, Kan.; Lucca Mateo Buenrostro, Ennis, Texas.
10 a.m.: Peyton Smith, Lees Summit, Mo.; Ambrose Kinnare, St. Augustine; Frank Cabeza, Howey-in-the-Hills.
10:10 a.m.: Kuan Zhou, England; Wylie Inman, N. Palm Beach; Spencer Harrison, Australia.
No. 10 tee
8:10 a.m.: Charlie Woods, Jupiter; Chase Hughes, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Ronin Banerjee, Irvin, Calif.
8:20 a.m.: Cameron Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Dawson Lew, Canada; Ayden Fynaut, Fresno, Calif.
8:30 a.m.: Luke Ringkamp, Palm Desert, Calif.; Sohan Patel, Weston; Phillip Dunham, Ponte Vedra Beach.
8:40 a.m.: Drake Harvey, Las Vegas; Sam Carraher, Crown Point, Ind.; Preston Hage, Raleigh, N.C.
8:50 a.m.: Bailey Sutter, Cullman, Ala.; Arrow Aarav Shah, Australia; Asher Vargas, Spring, Texas.
9 a.m.: Edan Cui, Atherton, Calif.; William Chang, Danville, Calif.; Tomas Restrepo Jaramillo, Colombia.
9:10 a.m.: Jaden Peterson, Port St. Lucie; William Lisle, Bradenton; Mark Cadden, Ireland.
9:20 a.m.: Lucas Gimenez, Jacksonville; Grayson Baucom, Hickory, N.C.; John Doyle, Ireland.
9:30 a.m.: Brady Barnum, Dublin, Ohio; Chase Bauer, Gotha; Guus Lafeber, Netherlands.
9:40 a.m.: Alexander Zhang, Plano, Texas; Graham Christopher, Westlake Village, Calif.; Calllixte Alzas, France.
9:50 a.m.: Kaden Chang, Carlsbad, Calif.; Braeden Nelson, W. Des Moines, Iowa; Tom De Herrypon, France.
10 a.m.: Miles Russell, Jacksonville Beach; Hamilton Coleman, Augusta, Ga.; Giuseppe Puebla, Royal Palm Beach.
10:10 a.m.: Jessy Huebner, Port St. Lucie; Tyler Mawhinney, Fleming Island; Lunden Esterline, Andover, Kan.
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