Charlie Woods and the rest of The Benjamin School boys golf team have earned the chance to defend their state championship title after making it through the Class 1A Region 4 tournament at Miami Shores Country Club on Monday.
The Benjamin School boys made it to the high-school regional event after triumphing at their respective district competition late last month, with Woods ending sixth.
In wet and windy conditions on Florida's east coast this week, Benjamin finished four strokes behind winners, Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest, who put together a team score of 277 - seven-under.
Woods and co. took the second and final automatic qualification spot for the state championships at Mission Resort & Club in Howey-In-The-Hills by four strokes ahead of third-place Oxbridge Academy (285) and fourth-place St Andrew's (305).
Benjamin's Pavel Tsar - who is heading to Notre Dame next year - came in second in the individual standings thanks to a superb four-under 67, two strokes behind Pine Crest's Alexander Weinberg, while Tsar's younger brother Andrew ended fourth after a one-under 70.
Woods made bogey on two, three, and eight but responded with birdies on holes six, 12, and 13 to become one of five players who carded a level-par total in sixth, two shots ahead of teammates Brooks Colton and Jake Valentine.
According to The Palm Beach Post, Woods was watched by dad Tiger and mom, Elin Nordegren on Monday, with the 15-time Major champion riding in a golf cart and only briefly speaking to his son "a few times" - including after a birdie on the 12th.
Tiger and Elin's last public appearance together was when they were pictured at Charlie's medal ceremony after The Benjamin School claimed state honors in 2023.
The Post also noted that the 48-year-old Woods was wearing a polo shirt and navy shorts with a black compression sleeve on his right leg.
Meanwhile, Nordegren rode with her ex-husband for part of the way round and was reportedly the first person to greet Charlie Woods after the final putt had dropped.
Speaking to The Palm Beach Post about Woods' display at regionals, Benjamin coach Toby Harbeck said: “He’s tough on himself. If he could just relax and play, store some of that energy, it’s good. He’s just young. He’s got a lot of Dad in him.”
The Benjamin School will compete at the Florida State Championships on Tuesday, November 12-13 at Mission Resort & Club looking for their second consecutive title and fifth overall.
Reflecting on their progress at regionals and looking ahead to the ultimate end goal, Harbeck said: “We got off to a terrible start. I don’t know if it was nerves or what. We were like four or five-over-par after two holes. I was like, ‘What in the world?’
“But you know, this group, they battle back. They’ve done it all year. They did it last year. So, they know how to fight back when things aren’t going the way they want. I’m really proud of them. To shoot three-under par on this golf course is great. We don’t know it. It’s wet. It’s long. It’s windy.
“The thing is, you’re trying to get [to state champs]. That was the main objective today – to finish first or second. We wanted to obviously win, but we want to defend our title. We’re going to get that chance, and I like our chances.”
After the upcoming high-school state championships, Charlie and Tiger may end up competing together at December's PNC Championship - should the pro be fit enough to play in the two-day event at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 21-22.
The pair have become regular entrants into the family tournament, but Tiger's status for 2024 remains up in the air following his latest back surgery.
A leading back surgeon told Golf Monthly that Woods is only likely to start being able to play golf again three months after his surgery, which occurred on September 13, leaving a very short gap until the PNC starts and an even tighter period to the Hero World Challenge - which Woods hosts and could yet feature in.
While a spot at the Hero World Challenge could be a stretch for Woods, he would be able to use a cart at the PNC Championship, thus easing the strain on his body.
