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Charlie Woods' run in the 2026 U.S. Amateur came to an end Wednesday after falling in a 14-for-2 playoff. The son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, who won the U.S. Junior a record three times from 1991-93, was trying to make his first appearance in match play in three starts at the championship. However, a bogey on the first playoff hole ended his week at Saucon Valley in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
During the playoff, Woods striped his tee shot down the fairway and had about 270 yards to the hole. He went for the green in two, but his approach shot came up short and in the left rough, and that's when an unfortunate situation happened.
With about 100 spectators lining the left side of the fairway and green, right in the middle of Woods' back swing for his third shot, trying to pitch it close to the hole, a spectator took a photo on a phone camera, and the sound happened at the worst time for a golfer.
"Really dude," Woods said, quickly glancing behind him as others in the crowd moaned. Woods dropped his club, clearly frustrated as his shot landed on the fringe short of the putting surface.
"Right in his swing," said another voice.
Woods' birdie chip ended up missing the hole, which is the score he needed to stay in the playoff, ending his run at the U.S. Junior.
Eli Wessel and Hudson Kutchma were the only golfers to advance from the playoff, which ended after two holes.
For Woods, he missed the cut in his first two appearances at the U.S. Junior and was well on his way to being out of contention early this week, starting 6 over thru 5 holes. He rebounded incredibly well, shooting 1 under over the next 31 holes to earn a spot in the playoff.
Last week, Woods missed qualifying for the U.S. Amateur next month by six shots.
Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 'Really dude': Charlie Woods frustrated by phone disruption in U.S. Junior Amateur playoff
