Charlie Woods’ U.S. Junior run ends with bogey in playoff

Charlie Woods’ U.S. Junior Amateur run has come to an end.

Woods was eliminated as he bogeyed the first hole of a 14-for-2 playoff for the final pair of match-play berths on Wednesday morning at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

In front of a relatively large crowd that made the early commute to Saucon Valley’s Grace Course, Woods was part of the 7:24 a.m. threesome, the third of four groups in the playoff. With two birdies already made by competitors in previous groups, Woods went for the green in two from 270 yards out at the par-5 first hole but tugged his shot into the left rough and about 25 yards short of the green.

From there, Woods left his pitch on the front fringe, then couldn’t convert the 35-foot chip for birdie.

All things considered, it was a successful week for the Florida State commit and 174th-ranked player in the AJGA rankings. Woods, 17, began his championship bogey-triple before playing his final 33 holes of stroke play in 1 over. His rounds of 76-70 blew away his previous performances – 82-80 in 2024, 80-74 last year.

Surprisingly, only three of the 14 players birdied the first hole of the playoff. Incoming Cincinnati freshman Eli Wessel of Indianapolis and Hudson Kutchma of Westfield, Indiana, then parred the par-3 fifth hole to advance and eliminate China’s Zilin Gao, a UCF signee.

Wessel’s prize for being one of two players to survive the playoff? A date with top-ranked junior and second-seeded Miles Russell in the Round of 64, which is already underway on the Old Course.