Charlie Woods put himself in contention at the Junior Players Championship on Friday, firing a 1-under-par 71 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
The 17-year-old recorded five birdies and four bogeys on the par-72 Stadium Course in his lowest competitive round at the venue where his father, Tiger Woods, twice won the Players Championship.
Charlie Woods was tied for eighth when he finished shortly before 2 p.m. ET, minutes before weather halted play. After the round was completed, he was tied for ninth, four strokes behind leader Chase Bauer, who shot a 5-under 67.
Starting on the back nine, Woods overcame bogeys at Nos. 11 and 14 with consecutive birdies at Nos. 15 and 16. His most memorable escape came one hole later at the famous par-3 17th.
Woods pulled his tee shot toward the left side of the island green and initially thought the ball had gone into the water. Instead, it stayed dry on the footpath leading onto the green.
Faced with little room, Woods chipped to approximately 4 feet and converted the par putt.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” Woods said of discovering his tee shot hadn’t found the water.
He then rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt at No. 18 to make the turn at 1 under. Woods added birdies at Nos. 3 and 9 while mixing in two more bogeys over his final nine holes.
Friday’s 71 continued a steady improvement for Woods at TPC Sawgrass. He tied for 31st at the event last year after rounds of 76, 75 and 72.
Tiger Woods won the Players Championship at the Stadium Course in 2001 and again in 2013. His first victory featured the famous 60-foot birdie putt at No. 17 in the third round.
Charlie Woods is scheduled to begin the second round from the first tee Saturday morning.
