Alongside Benjamin coach Toby Harbeck (left), 14-year-old Charlie Woods (middle) shows off his trophy haul after shooting a 102 to be the individual champ of the SFPGA’s West Coast High School tournament at Cypress Woods Golf and Country Club in Naples on Sept. 30, 2023. Golf fans who have been following the growth of Charlie Woods, the son of Tiger Woods, may have been wondering where and if the golf star-in-the-making would play at the high school level. The Benjamin School, located in Palm Beach Gardens, was the lucky winner and has reaped benefits from his prowess already. After clinching the West Coast High School Tournament, hosted by the South Florida PGA Junior Tour, on Saturday afternoon, the Buccaneer boys golf team is well on its way to what it hopes will be a fourth state championship with the 14-year-old freshman prodigy. Charlie was the two-day tournament’s champ at Cypress Woods Golf and Country Club in Naples. Seniors Aiden Miller and Tyler Bruneau tied for second, as Luke Wise came in fourth. Travis Robertson, another Benjamin senior, shot two over before withdrawing. Charlie’s performance marks his second low-round outing since the weekend prior at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship Last Chance Florida Regional, held at the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, where Benjamin will head for the high school state championship tournament this fall. With Tiger caddying and final scores of 71 and 66 − a second round highlighted by nine birdies to tie his career-best − Charlie won the junior regional qualifier in the boys 14-15 age division to advance to the national championship in Coushatta, Louisiana. The event, set to begin on Nov. 4, will conclude on Nov. 6, which is the same day Florida High School Athletic Association golf state championships kick off before teams and individual champions are determined on Nov. 15. Last Sunday in a post-match interview, after shaving two strokes from his 2022 tournament scorecard of 68, Charlie only had positive reviews of Mission Inn Resort’s El Campeon course. Woods told tournament host Ryan Burr: “This course is great for me.”High school rules and regulations may keep Dad off the bag when Charlie’s inaugural run at a varsity state championship comes in November. However, the Bucs can feel confident with a well-tenured “rookie” in the lineup. With Tiger Woods as his caddie, Charlie Woods sinks a putt on 18 to win the Notah Begay event Leonard saw a lot of Tiger Woods in Charlie during a recent Florida junior golf club championship.
