Charlie Woods began the defense of his biggest junior golf tournament victory on Friday, May 22 in Belleair, Florida.
Woods, a rising senior at the Benjamin School and son of legendary golfer Tiger Woods, shot 68 (2 under) and entered the clubhouse tied for seventh after the first round of the Team TaylorMade Invitational at Pelican Golf Club.
He opened the round well with birdies on three of his first seven holes but suffered a setback with a double bogey on No. 9. He closed the round with five total birdies, one bogey and the double bogey. He is seven shots back of Georgia’s Brodie Brumlow, who fired a 61 (9 under) in the first round.
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More notable first round scores include: Palm Beach Gardens’ Ryan Nana Tanke is in second (-7); former Jupiter High golfer Cameron Kuchar is in fifth (-4); Port St. Lucie’s Jessy Huebner is tied for seventh (-2); Miles Russell, the No. 1 player in the AJGA rankings, is tied for 17th (-1); Royal Palm Beach’s Giuseppe Puebla, No. 2 in the AJGA rankings, is tied for 24th (E).
Woods is the defending champion at the Team TaylorMade Invitational. He won last year’s event after shooting 15-under across the three-day event at Streamsong Resort’s Black course, besting some of the nation’s top junior golfers like Miles Russell.
The victory was a personal breakthrough for Woods, who entered the event ranked No. 604 in the American Junior Golf Association rankings with no career AJGA tournament victories. He surged hundreds of places in the AJGA golf rankings after the win and is currently ranked No. 13 overall.
Charlie Woods hole-by-hole scorecard
Hole — Score (Strokes)
-
No. 9 — Double Bogey (5)
-
Final: Out 34, In 34, Total 68 (-2)
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What is the Team TaylorMade Invitational?
The Team TaylorMade Invitational hosted its first tournament in 2021.
The 2022 event was hosted at the Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta and the 2023 event was hosted at The Country Club at Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens.
Charlie Woods is the tournament’s reigning champion after winning last year at Streamsong Resort’s Black Course in Bowling Green, Florida.
What is the American Junior Golf Association?
Founded in the 1970s, the AJGA is a nonprofit organization that hosts hundreds of elite-level junior golf competitions annually in the United States and abroad for boys and girls golfers.
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It focuses on cultivating a competitive environment for junior golfers with collegiate or professional ambitions while also giving collegiate coaches opportunities to accurately assess potential recruits.
Its alumni list touts such major champions as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and many more current players on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Charlie Woods shoots 2 under in golf tournament
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