After opening with a 76, Woods delivers his lowest-ever round in the championship and now needs one more big performance to reach the knockout matchplay stage.

The 17-year-old American, son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, bounced back impressively after a difficult opening round, recording his lowest ever score at the U.S. Junior Amateur and showing the resilience needed to remain in contention at one of amateur golf’s most prestigious events.

Charlie began the week with a 5-over 76 on Monday at Saucon Valley’s Old Course, leaving himself with work to do outside the top 125 heading into the second round. He even started the first round bogey-triple, just to make his achievement all the more impressive.

But he responded in style on Tuesday, producing a memorable round that included an eagle, two birdies and four bogeys to finish at 5-over par for the championship.

His composed level-par 70 left him tied for 63rd alongside 13 other players, meaning Charlie has earned a place in a dramatic 14-for-2 playoff that will take place bright and early on Wednesday morning.

Charlie will now need to produce another big performance when he returns to Saucon Valley, with just two spots available from a packed playoff group, which you can check out below.

U.S. Junior Amateur 2026: 14-for-2 Playoff – Wednesday 22 July (AM)

Player	Total Score
Eli Wessel	+5 (146)
Carson Andreoni	+5 (146)
Oscar Couilleau	+5 (146)
Hudson Kutchma	+5 (146)
Evan Menges	+5 (146)
Kanichiro Katano	+5 (146)
Aiden Tiet	+5 (146)
Oliver Mayson	+5 (146)
Mateo Hidalgo	+5 (146)
Zilin Gao	+5 (146)
Charlie Woods	+5 (146)
Ryan Mosher	+5 (146)
Sevren Quinn	+5 (146)
Rich Davis	+5 (146)

The reward is a place in the championship’s matchplay stages, where the remaining players will battle through to Saturday’s 36-hole final.

Woods responds under pressure with impressive second round

Starting his second round on the 10th hole of the Grace Course, Charlie showed early signs of settling into the challenge after his opening-round disappointment.

A bogey on the 11th briefly stalled his progress, but he immediately responded with one of the highlights of his tournament so far. On the par-4 13th, Charlie produced a stunning eagle-two to kick-start his round and put himself firmly back in the mix.

He followed that with another bogey on the 14th but recovered brilliantly, making birdies on the 16th and 18th holes to close out his opening nine in 2-under 33.

The momentum gave Charlie a valuable cushion heading into the back nine, although the pressure understandably increased as he approached the finish. He made two further bogeys on holes four and seven but remained composed enough to sign for a level-par round and secure his playoff opportunity.

For a player competing against the best junior golfers in the world, it was a significant step forward and a reminder of the competitive qualities that have seen him emerge as one of the most closely followed young players in the game.

Charlie Woods’ 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur round-by-round

Round	Course	Score	Total
Round 1	Old Course	76 (+5)	+5
Round 2	Grace Course	70 (E)	+5
Championship position	—	T62	Playoff

Miles Russell steals the spotlight with stunning 66

While Woods’ fightback was one of the major talking points of day two, his close friend Miles Russell delivered the standout performance of the round.

The 17-year-old American fired a brilliant 5-under 66 on the Old Course – one of the lowest rounds of the day – to surge into a share of the lead at 6-under par.

Russell finished 36 holes of strokeplay at the top of the leaderboard alongside Brayden Jones and Sohan Patel, who both posted second rounds of 69.

Ranked seventh in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and recently selected for the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team, Russell arrived at Saucon Valley with significant expectations.

After opening with a steady 1-under 69 on the Grace Course, he delivered a statement round on Tuesday.

Starting from the 10th tee, the Florida State University commit looked completely in control, attacking the course with confidence and making the move many predicted from one of the leading contenders.

Like Woods, Russell also produced an eagle-two on the 338-yard par-4 13th, highlighting the quality of golf being played by the championship’s leading players.

Article originally appeared on: Golfmagic.com