Charlie Woods delivered the low round of the day and powered Benjamin School (Palm Beach, Fla.) to its second FHSAA Class 1A state title in three years, with his father, Tiger Woods, quietly following along only a month after back surgery.
Playing at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, the 16-year-old junior fired a four-under-par 68 on Saturday to lead the Bucs to a five-shot victory in the two-day championship. The performance continued a strong run of junior golf results for Woods, who currently ranks No. 9 in the AJGA rankings and fourth nationally in the Class of 2027. He was recently named a first-team Rolex Junior All-American.
Woods’ 68 tied First Academy senior and USC commit Mingbo Jiang for the day’s best round. Jiang went on to win the individual state title by three shots over Benjamin’s Andrew Tsar. Woods finished two under for the championship and tied for fourth individually.
The victory adds another milestone to Benjamin’s recent run of success; the program also won the state championship during Woods’ freshman season.
Tiger Woods’ appearance at the state tournament was notable as the 15-time major champion continues recovering from lumbar disk replacement surgery performed on October 10 at the L4/L5 vertebrae. While he previously said the procedure was the right move for his long-term health, no formal update has been given regarding a return to competitive golf. Still, his ability to walk the course to support Charlie was an encouraging sign.
