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

Golf runs in the family for Tiger Woods, and now, apparently, there’s something else: the USGA Championship.

On Wednesday night, Charlie Woods, the 15-year-old son of the 15-time major champion, became the second member of the Woods family to qualify for the US Junior Amateur Championship. The younger Woods shot a one-under score of 71 to secure medalist honors at the Eagle Trace Golf Club qualifier in Coral Springs, Fla., grabbing one of 264 spots in the field of the junior game’s most prestigious championship.

According to the USGA, Woods overcame a bogey-double start in the qualifier by recording five birdies over his last 16 holes, finishing in first place in the qualifying event by one shot. “I didn’t play very well on the first two holes, but the last 16 holes I played really well,” the younger Woods said Wednesday. “I just told myself not to make any more bogeys or doubles, and when I had some great birdshots I took advantage of them. Production was my greatest strength today. I made a lot of blows when I needed. “”

The only son of the Tiger reached the level of cult glory among golf fans during the years after his debut in the PNC-Remouse championship. That fame will only grow as her junior golf career continues to unfold in South Florida, but she, too, is in a transitional period:

After Charlie’s brilliant (and oddly Tigeresque) debut brought attention to his golf game, the younger Woods was thrust into the spotlight, spending his final months as his golf swing coach. “I trust him with my hesitation and my game,” said the Tiger at the opening of the United States last week. “He saw him more than someone else in the world. He has seen me hit the golf ball more than anyone else, and I tell him what to look out for, especially when putting. He gave me some little tips today, which was nice, 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.

At the very least, the U.S. Junior Championship will be a reminder that the younger Woods’ sports career continues. Charlie has had a tough few months playing, including failing to qualify for his hometown PGA Tour event, the Cowlan Classic, on Monday.

Late last year, his high school coach, Toby Harbeck, spoke about his development as a player: “Some icons you don’t want to chase, but he chases them all. “If we can take some of that away from him, he’ll be a much better player,” Harbeck said, but… “He can explode for 300-plus points in the blink of an eye. There are different modes to this. Sometimes you make nice little turns, but sometimes you can go into ultra mode and just fly.”

Now the focus turns to Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan, where the younger Woods will play in the U.S. Junior Amateur, the same tournament his father won three times as a junior golfer. Woods’ performance will be closely scrutinized at his first major event – and he says he loves it.

It feels amazing to qualify for my first USGA championship,” he said. “The USGA means a lot to me. I want to win a USGA championship and I’d love to win the U.S. Open one day.”