I wanted to win: Charlie Woods cries after being disqualified from the US Junior Amateur after getting into a violent fight with……

I wanted to win: Charlie Woods cries after being disqualified from the US Junior Amateur after getting into a violent fight with……

Golf is in the family for Tiger Woods, and now, apparently, there’s something else: the USGA Championship. On Wednesday night, Charlie Woods, the 15-time major champion’s 15-year-old son, became the second member of the Woods family to qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. The younger Woods shot a 71 in the qualifying tournament at Eagle Trace Golf Club in Coral Springs, Fla., to earn medalist honors and claim one of 264 spots in the junior competition’s most prestigious championship. According to the USGA, Woods overcame a double bogey in qualifying to score five birdies over the final 16 holes to take a one-stroke lead on the qualifying leaderboard.

“I didn’t play very well the first two holes, but I played really well the last 16,” the younger Woods said Wednesday. “I told myself not to make any more bogeys or doubles and took advantage of some great birdie opportunities. Putting was my biggest strength today.” She made a lot of putts when she needed them.

Tiger’s only son has achieved cult fame among golf fans in the years since her debut at the PNC Father-Son Championship. As her junior golf career continues to unfold in South Florida, that fame will only grow, but she, too, is in transition. After Charlie’s dazzling (and eerily Tigeresque) debut brought his golf game into focus, the youngest Woods has shifted in the spotlight, spending the last several months as his father’s swing coach du jour.

“I trust him with my swing and my game,” Tiger said at last week’s U.S. Open. “He’s seen it more than anybody in the world. He’s seen me hit more golf balls than anybody in the world.” I especially take my input and tell him what to look for. Today he gave me some little pointers, which was great because I get so used to hitting certain shots on certain pins that I tend to forget some of the things I’m working on.

Above all, the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship will be a reminder that the young Woods’ sports career continues. Charlie has had limited opportunities in recent months, including failing to qualify Monday for a local PGA Tour event, the Cowlant Classic. Late last year, his high school coach, Toby Harbeck, spoke about his development as a player. “There are some pins you don’t want to search for, but he goes after everything. If we can break him down a little bit, he’ll be a better player,” Hrbek said, but … “He can drop 300-plus bombs in the blink of an eye.” There are different modes. Sometimes you take a nice little swing, or you can put it in ultra mode and just fly.

Now the focus will return to Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan, where the young Woods will be playing for the United States in the Junior Amateur, the same tournament his father won three times as a junior golfer. Woods’ performance will be scrutinized closely in his first major, but he says that’s just how he likes it.