Charlie Woods rose up the leaderboard while Kai Trump steadied her performance on the second day of the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in South Carolina.
Trump, the granddaughter of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, and Woods, the son of legendary golfer Tiger Woods, are competing in a tournament billed as “the most prestigious event in junior golf” this week.
Woods shot 73 (1-over) in a rollercoaster second round to rise into 27th place (7-over) in a field of 36 boys golfers.
He eagled the day’s opening hole but also bogeyed three straight holes to finish his opening nine at 1-over par. Woods rallied with four birdies on the back nine but gave it all back with two bogeys and then a double bogey on his final hole.
Trump was much better in her second round at the Sage Valley Golf Club, carding four birdies and improving by 10 strokes overall to shoot 79 (7-over). She remains in last place (24-over) in a field of 24 girls golfers.
Junior Invitational at Sage Valley: How did Charlie Woods, Kai Trump fare in first round?
Thailand’s Pimpisa Rubrong fired 69 (3-under) in the second round and leads the girls competition by three strokes at 5-under overall.
American Luke Colton also shot 69 (3-under) in the second round and is tied for the boys competition lead with New Zealand’s Joshua Rai at 6-under overall.
Woods played on Benjamin’s No. 2 line last fall and finished his sophomore campaign as the No. 11 boys golfer in Florida per iWanamaker. In 2023, Woods was part of Benjamin boys golf’s state championship team.
Trump was an All-County selection for Benjamin last fall and finished her junior campaign as the No. 151 ranked girls golfer in Florida. She is committed to play collegiate golf at the University of Miami.
Mar 19, 2025; Graniteville, South Carolina, USA; Kai Trump tees off No. four during the first round of the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club. Trump is the granddaughter of President Donald Trump. She finished at +17. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale – Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY NETWORK
The Junior Invitational at Sage Valley held its first tournament in 2011 and has quickly become a destination event for junior golf’s top names from around the globe. It crowned its first girls champion in 2022.
Past winners include current professional golf stars like Scottie Scheffler, Akshay Bhatia, Joaquín Niemann and Austin Eckroat, the 2024 champion of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Charlie Woods, Kai Trump improve in Junior Invitational at Sage Valley
