Why is Charlie Woods not playing at the Junior Golf Tour's Major Championship?

Charlie Woods is back in action just a week after missing the cut at the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in Dallas, where he struggled through stroke play. Instead of defending his title at the Junior Golf Tour's Major Championship in Florida, July Woods is opting to compete elsewhere.

This week, he is in West Lafayette, Indiana, set to play in the Junior PGA Championship at Purdue University, starting on July 29. It’s one of the top junior tournaments in the country, hosting both boys' and girls' events. This marks Charlie Woods’ debut in the competition—an event where his father, Tiger Woods, finished second in 1990.

The boys’ tournament will take place on Purdue’s Ackerman-Allen Course and features a 156-player field. Standout names include top-ranked juniors Miles Russell and Luke Colton. Hamilton Coleman, who recently won the U.S. Junior Amateur, is not participating.

The championship follows a 72-hole stroke-play format. After two rounds, only the top 60 players and ties will advance to the final 36 holes. Last year’s winner, Baylor Larrabee, claimed the title at Congressional Country Club but will not return this year due to age ineligibility. Larrabee now competes for UCLA at the collegiate level.

Simultaneously, the girls’ division will be contested at Purdue’s Kampen-Cosler Course under the same structure as the boys. Among the top contenders is Asterisk Talley, currently ranked No. 2 in the nation.

Charlie Woods missed the cut at the 2025 US Junior Amateur

Charlie Woods showed improvement in the second round of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to keep him in the tournament in Texas last week.

Playing at Trinity Forest Golf Club, the 16-year-old golfer experienced a rollercoaster round. He opened with a bogey on the first hole but quickly bounced back with a birdie on the second. Between holes four and seven, he alternated between birdies and bogeys, reaching the turn at even par.

His challenges continued on the back nine. A bogey on the 11th was followed by another streak of birdie-bogey swings, this time between the 14th and 17th holes. He stood at 1-over for the day and 12-over overall as he approached the 18th tee.

Unfortunately, the final hole proved costly. A double bogey brought his round to a disappointing close, leaving him at 14-over for the tournament and outside the cut line of 3-over par..

Charlie Woods’ chances of advancing in the U.S. Junior Amateur were all but decided after his opening round, where he shot 11-over at Brook Hollow Golf Club. He needed a significantly under-par score in the second round at Trinity Forest.

This marked his second appearance in the championship. He had also failed to make the cut the previous year at Oakland Hills Country Club, where he recorded rounds of 82 and 80.