The new era of golf is not very far away. The future stars of the sport are already honing their skills to take over the pro golf greens. Among them, a few are ready to carry forward the legacy of their parents. Probably the most famous of them all would be Charlie Woods. Another prodigal teenager, Kris Kim, whose mother, Ji-Hyun Suh, graced the LPGA circuit back in the 90s, has been the talk of the golf town.

The two amateur golfers’ journeys to the PGA Tour differ a bit. On the one hand, Charlie Woods’s attempts to make his PGA Tour debut haven’t been fruitful, whereas Kris Kim is ready to tee up along with 156 players at TPC Craig Ranch. So who among the two young talents has faired better on the golf course?

Who played it better: Woods or Kim?

In February, Charlie Woods took his first step towards making his PGA Tour debut possible. The 15-year-old participated in the pre-qualifier for the Cognizant Classic. He shot par on 11 of the 18 holes but managed to card four bogeys and three double bogeys, going without a birdie, and ended with a score of 16-over-86,  Jr. Woods could not qualify for the event and his performance was also heavily scrutinized by the audience.

Woods made another attempt by competing at the U.S. Open qualifier. The 15-year-old once again met with disappointment as he failed to qualify. Woods carded one birdie, which was followed by four bogeys and three double bogeys in Florida, and finished with a score of 9 over 81 carded. Where only the top 5 players were to qualify for the championship, he was ranked 61 among a field of 74 golfers. According to the PGA Tour, he has a +3 handicap with the Florida State Golf Association

When it comes to Kris Kim, the 16-year-old has quite an impressive record on the greens. In 2023, Kim won the MacGregor Trophy and the Boys’ Amateur Championship. One other glorious win that grabbed the headlines was his outstanding debut performance at the Junior Ryder Cup 2023, which helped his team triumph over the US team that consisted of Miles Russell, another young talent to look out for.

Three years ago, his handicap score was +3.1. Now Kim will be getting a chance to test himself against other Pros at the CJ Cup with Byron Nelson. Kim also shared his feelings ahead of his PGA Tour debut and revealed what has got him excited about the Texas event.

Kris Kim shares excitement about making it on the PGA Tour

The 16-year-old Kris Kim became the first amateur to be sponsored by the CJ Group last year, in May. After a year, he has now gotten the privilege of receiving an invitation to play in Texas at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson ahead of his GCSE exams. He is all geared up to play with the pros. “I’m so excited to tee it up in Texas. It’s what you work towards all the time and it’s an amazing opportunity,” said Kim.

Kris Kim’s constant support has been his former LPGA Pro mother, Ji-Hyun Suh. After retiring, she took up teaching golf at a driving range in England and, of course, imparted her knowledge to her son as well. Now Kim is walking in her footsteps. She is the backbone of his strategic gameplay; as the Walton Heath player said, “She’s my coach and we talk about everything from dealing with nerves, taking one shot at a time, leaving bad shots behind, and keeping it simple right through to course strategy.” 

Kris Kim will be living his dream, not just playing on the PGA Tour but also getting an opportunity to play with the clubs that were signed by his heroes. “I’m a huge Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy fan so when they signed I desperately wanted to use their clubs too!” Now the question is, will the 16-year-old be able to keep up with the PGA Tour pros on the TPC Craig Ranch?  Stay tuned to find out!

On Thursday, 15-year-old Charlie Woods failed to qualify for the U.S Open. During a local qualifying event, Charlie shot over-par 81 which ended his chances of qualification. Charlie finished at the bottom of the leaderboard and required a top-5 finish if he was to qualify for the prestigious tournament.

However, now that Charlie Woods hasn’t qualified for the U.S. Open, there are questions about whether he can attempt to qualify for The Open Championship 2024. To understand the same, it’s important to understand how golfers can qualify for The Open Championship.

The ways golfers can qualify for the prestigious tournament is through performance-based exemptions, rankings, and tour-based exemptions. Unfortunately, Charlie does not seem to tick mark any of the above-mentioned criteria yet.

Apart from that, Charlie’s age is another important factor that one has to take into consideration. While the Open Championship does not necessarily mention age criteria, given Charlie is just 15, it might be too much pressure for him to handle the rigorous demands of the Open Championship.

Hence, given all these conditions, the possibility of Charlie Woods competing at the Open Championship is extremely bleak. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how he progresses in his career.

Charlie Woods had a rough start to his American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) debut last weekend at the Will Lowery Junior Championship.

Woods shot 21-over-par and finished in a three-way tie for 32^nd place with Jack Michael and Spencer Mills while the winner of the event, Patmon Malcom, finished at -7.

Woods turned in rounds of 78, 81 and 78 in the three-round event held at the Carolina Trace Country Club in Sanford, North Carolina.

Charlie made his AJGA debut on a sponsor’s exemption, according to TW Legion, and his father, Tiger, was spotted at the event, according to reports.

Earlier this week, Tiger Woods and his ex-wife Elin Nordegren attended a ceremony for the Benjamin School golf team, which featured their son Charlie, as team members received state championship rings, according to Golfweek.

Sherlon Christie is a social media editor for USA TODAY Sports. Contact Sherlon at schristie@usatoday.com or on X @sherlonchristie

In the vast green expanse, the young sapling Charlie Woods is still struggling to reach the heights of his father’s legacy. While Tiger Woods grapples with his challenges after his car accident in 2021. The 15 YO in an attempt to follow his father’s shadow into the golf world, has been stern on the dream of qualifying for the 2024 US Open.

After failing to qualify for the Cognizant Classic in February, the high schooler still managed to garner attention to his round in Florida. He then played in his first U.S. Open 18-hole local qualifier on Thursday in Port St. Lucie. But, it looks like Tiger Woods’ cursed game has been cast upon Charlie Woods too, as he failed to qualify, yet again!

Charlie Woods’ performance at the pre-tournament qualifier

Charlie Woods underwent severe competition in the field. added with the disadvantage of an exceptionally difficult course. He shot a nine-over 81 at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club, and well, with this score, he lost his chance to earn a spot at the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club No. 2 in North Carolina in June. Flushing It Golf took to their official X (formerly Twitter) account and shared a snap from the greens with Charlie Woods aiming for his putt, and Tiger Woods stayed behind as his caddie. Breaking the news, they wrote, “Charlie Woods shot a 9 over 81 today in his attempt to qualify for the US Open at Pinehurst. This comes on the back of an 86 at pre-qualifying for the Cognizant Classic on the PGA Tour back in February.”

He started with a disappointing start, carding off with a bogey on his opening hole, the par-4 first, followed by a double bogey on the second hole. However, he slowly started catching up, as he carded two pars, which were followed by his only birdie, on the front nine at the 195-yard par-3 fifth. But bad luck followed right after, as he got another double bogey, which had already brought him down to 4-over 40. Although he finished off with three double bogeys and four bogeys for the entire round, on the sunny side, he did manage to record 10 par holes.

Tiger Woods’ teenage son Charlie was made to wait for his first appearance in a major. 

The 15-year-old failed to advance out of local qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Open that will be played at Pinehurst No. 2.

Unsurprisingly, there was a huge amount of media and fan interest as the son of the golf legend teed it up.

Charlie was in a field of 84 players and only the top five players punched their ticket to a 36-hole qualifier in June.

Another noteworthy name in the field included Cameron Kuchar, the son of PGA Tour journeyman Matt.

Charlie’s scorecard included one birdie, four bogeys and three double bogeys.

He went out in 40 and came in on 41 strokes on the back nine, ultimately finishing 61st in the field.

Charlie was spotted alongside his father in practice rounds at the Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.

But his father Tiger was not there during yesterday’s qualifier, according to the Palm Beach Post.

It has been another busy week for Tiger, 48, as he learned he was given a $100m equity payment from the PGA Tour for ‘staying loyal’ to the North American circuit and not joining LIV Golf.

It has also been a very busy stretch for Charlie.

Over the winter, he won a state high school championship with his team in Florida.

It was a feat that even his father never achieved during his illustrious junior years.

In February, Charlie attempted to qualify for his first PGA Tour event.

He came up short in a pre-qualifier for the Cognizant Classic.

His appearance was marred by ‘unruly’ behaviour from those who turned up to watch.

The 2024 U.S. Open will take place at Pinehurst No. 2 over 13-16 June.

For the first time since 1996, Tiger is not exempt to play in the major.

His exemption from his 2019 Masters win ran out last year.

Tiger previously said he ‘did not know’ whether he had to officially ask the USGA for an exemption.

It’s highly likely the governing body will soon offer Tiger an invite, given he is a three-time U.S. Open champion.

Tiger won the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2002.

Undoubtedly, the 2008 U.S. Open was his most memorable victory.

Tiger secured victory on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff against Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines.

A few notable sons tried to make their way out of U.S. Open local qualifying on Thursday but none were successful.

Charlie Woods, the 15-year-old son of three-time U.S. Open winner Tiger Woods, shot 9-over 81 in the 18-hole qualifier at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, with three double bogeys, four bogeys and a birdie.

The field had 74 players complete the full round. The top five advanced to the final stage of qualifying, which begins May 20.

Cameron Kuchar, son of nine-time PGA Tour winner Matt Kuchar, made it to finals last year but didn’t get through locals this time around. The 17-year-old shot 82 with six bogeys and two doubles at The Legacy.

Michael Buttacavoli was medalist with a 3-under 69. Austin Lemieux, the 28-year-old son of hockey legend Mario Lemiuex, was 3 under par through seven holes but finished with a 1-over 73. He bogeyed his last hole to miss out on a playoff for the final spot.

There are 109 local qualifying sites, held from April 22 – May 20. Final qualifying will be contested over 13 sites, including three international and 10 in the U.S. The U.S. Open will be held June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Tiger Woods is not yet qualified for the men’s third major of the year after his exemption from winning the 2019 Masters expired. The 2000, ’02 and ’08 champion is, however, expected to be given a special invitation. Matt Kuchar isn’t yet qualified, either.

Tiger Woods’s son will play 18 holes Thursday in an attempt to advance to 36-hole final qualifying.

Charlie Woods, the son of three-time U.S. Open champion Tiger Woods, will attempt the first stage of qualifying for this year’s tournament at Pinehurst No. 2 when he competes in an 18-hole local event on Thursday in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Woods, 15, who unsuccessfully attempted to qualify for the Cognizant Classic in February in an 18-hole pre-qualifying round, has an 8:18 a.m. ET tee time at the Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.

The field consists of 84 players with five expected to advance to 36-hole qualifying in June.

From there, approximately 90 to 100 players—based on those who are already exempt into the field for the tournament—will advance to the 124th Open, to be played for the fourth time at famed Pinehurst No. 2.

Past major champions, those who are among the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking and the top 30 from last year’s PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings are among the players who are exempt.

The United States Golf Association said it accepted more than 10,000 entries for this year’s championship, the third time it has surpassed the 10,000 barrier. There are local sites in 44 states and Canada that are conducting 18-hole qualifiers through May 20.

From there, those who advance will go to one of 10 U.S sites—there are also three international sites—for the 36-hole final qualifying.

Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open in 2000, 2002 and 2008—after also winning three U.S. Juniors and three U.S. Amateurs. The 15-time major champion has not competed in the U.S. Open since missing the cut in 2020 at Winged Foot.

He is also not exempt for this year’s U.S. Open as his five-year exemption for winning the 2019 Masters expired last year, but is in line to receive a special exemption from the USGA in the coming weeks.