May 28, 2025; better mark this date on your calendar. It’s the day Charlie Woods won his first Junior title. If you’re a golf fan, you might take this as a second coming of Woods (No pun intended). Tiger’s son is fighting his way through the rankings. He might be only 4 events deep, but he is already leaving an impact on the course. Woods’ win has pushed him up the 14th place on the Rolex AJGA Rankings. He has surpassed his previous best of T25 in the 2025 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and is climbing up the ladder. But it seems that the 16-year-old’s efforts have still not warranted him the attention of experts.
In a recent episode of the Golf Podcast with Rex & Lav, Ryan Lavner gave a shoutout to a junior who is breaking through the ranks. “Keep an eye out for this kid named Mason Howell. He’s a 17-year-old rising High School Senior. He’s going to Georgia in the fall of 2026. This dude is good!” Mason Howell has been absolutely prolific over the past year. He hasn’t won a title yet, unlike Woods, but what makes him stand out is that he has been far more consistent. The 17-year-old has played 10 events in the last 52 weeks and finished in the top 10 in 7 of them. This has pushed him to the 8th spot on the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
Howell’s worst finish came in the 76th United States Junior Amateur Championship, where he ended at T33. The same event where Charlie Woods finished at T240. While Lav didn’t particularly draw parallels between the two, he did continue to acknowledge the former by saying, “He’s got a ton of firepower. The kid shot bogey-free rounds of 63-63 at the age of 17.” Howell was on the field at the Piedmont Driving Club playing in the 2025 U.S. Open Final Qualifiers.
Mason Howell and Jackson Buchanan shot two rounds of 63 each to finish at the top of the table. As Lav went on to mention, there was a 7-stroke difference between them and the next best on the field, Jackson Koivun, Tyler Weaver, and Will Chandler. It’s worth noting that all 5 individuals have qualified for the major at Oakmont next week.
Continuing to speak about the amazing talents in junior golf, the Golf Channel reporter added the likes of Miles Russell, Blades Brown, and Tyler Watts to the list. That’s when he mentioned how Charlie Woods is also one of the elite junior golfers rising through the ranks right now. While Woods’ brilliant win is relatively older news than the U.S. Open Final Qualifiers, it still comes as a surprise that he was still not one of the first junior golfers mentioned by Ryan Lavner. Especially considering the name he carries with him.
17-year-old Mason Howell is going to qualify for the U.S. Open. Massively impressive.
Howell shot 63-63, currently leads the Final Qualifying site at Piedmont Driving Club.
Howell will be a freshman in TWO years at the University of Georgia. Ranked No. 8 in the AJGA rankings. pic.twitter.com/aZk7FAThmc
— Paul Hodowanic (@PaulHodowanic) June 2, 2025
Having said that, Charlie Woods still has every reason to celebrate his first win. Even if that didn’t get him a shot in the 2025 U.S. Open.
Charlie Woods celebrates a big win over Tiger Woods
No, the father-son duo didn’t battle it out for a title. Not yet, at least. Instead, Tiger Woods always had one thing over his son that always pestered the young protégé. Being the competitive golfer that he is, the legendary father teased Charlie Woods for never winning a title. That was until he grabbed the 2025 Team TaylorMade Invitational. With a win in his bag, the “naturally gifted” youngster didn’t shy away from confessing the dynamic he shares with his dad.
After winning the first title of his career, Woods gave an honest interview about how things would change between him and his father now. He said, “Now I can say I have one, and Dad can’t say I don’t; that definitely helps in the argument between him and I. Just to say I’ve done it and I can, I’ve proved it to myself. It feels so good, especially since it was an invitational.”
That ends the debate for Charlie, as Tiger would never pester him again for not being a winner. However, his next goal for his son would probably be a PGA Tour card. With the way things are going, it won’t come as a surprise if Charlie Woods reaches that target in the near future as well.
