Charlie Woods played this Thursday, February 22, in one of the pre-qualifying tournaments for the Cognizant Classic, which will be held February 29-March 3 at PGA National Resorts in Florida. The son of Tiger Woods needed to finish in the top 5, but fell far short of that possibility.
Woods Junior finished with a 16-over 86. He started the front nine with bogeys on the 2nd and 3rd and a double bogey on the 5th. But it was the 7th hole that took him out of contention completely. It’s a 470-yard par 4 where Charlie could only manage a 12, and that’s where his hopes of advancing ended.
Charlie Woods managed to make par on six consecutive holes, then made double bogey on the 14th and consecutive bogeys on the 15th and 16th to finish with par on the last two holes.
Charlie was the first player to arrive at the practice range, where he was seen working hard on his putting. From there he went to his tee time 15 minutes early. He was the fifth player to start the event.
There were four pre-qualifying tournaments for the Cognizant Classic. In each, the Top 5 plus ties will advance to the Monday Quilifier, from which four players will be seeded into the main event field.
At the time of this writing, the event in which Charlie Woods played has not concluded. Currently qualifying for the Monday Qualifier are Billy Basham, with a score of 5 under, Justin Allen (1 under), Garrett Barber (even par), Olin Browne (2 over) and Anton Hanson (4 over).
What’s next for Charlie Woods?
After this attempt to qualify for his first PGA Tour event, Charlie Woods will make his debut in an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) event. Specifically, he will play in the Will Lowery Junior Championship in Sanford, North Carolina from March 21-24, thanks to a sponsor exemption.
Charlie Woods has yet to make his debut in a United States Golf Association (USGA) event, so it is likely that he will be looking for an opportunity in the near future. He is also likely to play on the junior circuit in Florida, where he helped his team win the state team championship in 2023.