U.S. Junior storylines: Charlie Woods among several PGA Tour sons; Lefty takeover at the top

NBC Sports

5 days ago

Yes, you're getting old.
Competing in this week's U.S. Junior Amateur at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas are four sons of current or former PGA Tour players – Jackson Byrd, Trevor Gutschewski, Cameron Kuchar and Charlie Woods.
Byrd is the 18-year-old son of Jonathan Byrd, who won five times on the PGA Tour and was rookie of the year in 2022. He was runner-up to Russell at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley earlier this year. He starts this fall at Clemson, where his uncle, Jordan Byrd, is the head coach.
Gutschewski, 18 and the oldest son of three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Scott Gutschewski, returns to defend his title, marking the first U.S. Junior champion to get that opportunity since Nick Dunlap in 2022 (Dunlap made the semifinals that year). Gutschewski missed the cut at last month's U.S. Open at Oakmont, though he rebounded quickly to win the Western Junior. He'll begin his college career at Florida this fall.
Kuchar, 17, makes his USGA debut after recently finishing runner-up to Gutschewski at the Western Junior and verbally committing to TCU. His dad, Matt Kuchar, is a nine-time PGA Tour winner, nine-time Ryder and Presidents Cupper, Olympic bronze medalist and USGA champion (1997 U.S. Amateur).
And then there's Woods, the 16-year-old son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods. Woods qualified for his second straight U.S. Junior, a tournament his dad won three times among his nine USGA titles. Woods is a rising junior at the Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Florida, and the Class of 2027 recruit can officially talk to college coaches as of last month. He's also shot up the AJGA rankings, cracking the top 20 after winning the Team TaylorMade Invitational in May, beating top-ranked junior Miles Russell by six shots in the process.
Woods shot 22 over in last year's U.S. Junior debut at Oakland Hills, tying for 240th in the 264-player field.
This year's field is also 264 players deep with 38 states and 33 countries represented. The top 64 players after 36 holes of stroke play will advance to Wednesday's first round of match play. The 36-hole final is slated for Saturday.
Here are the other big storylines entering the 77th edition of the U.S. Junior:
Lefty takeover
Not only are the top three players in this field – Miles Russell, Luke Colton and Tyler Watts – all ranked in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, but all three are lefthanded.
Russell, 16, is the highest ranked of the trio, at No. 18. The Class of 2027 star recently gave his verbal commitment to Florida State and owns victories this year at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and AJGA Simplify Boys Championship, plus a runner-up at the Northeast Amateur. He also has won the Boys Junior PGA and AJGA Junior Players, so the U.S. Junior is the last major junior title still eluding him.
Colton, an 18-year-old Vanderbilt commit from Frisco, Texas, is ranked No. 25 in the world. He's already playing his fifth USGA championship and has twice reached match play at the U.S. Junior. He's the two-time defending champion of the Terra Cotta Amateur.
No. 45 Watts, 17, is arguably having the best summer of the three. He won the Sunnehanna Amateur in June with a record 18-under score and a few weeks later reached the final of the North and South Amateur. He also lost to Trevor Gutschewski is last year's U.S. Junior final at Oakland Hills. He's verbally committed to Tennessee.
Can he Mawhinney?
It's hard to believe this is Tyler Mawhinney's U.S. Junior debut.
The 17-year-old from Fleming Island, Florida, already has a USGA title under his belt, teaming with future Vanderbilt teammate Will Hartman, who is also in this week's field, to win this year's U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Mawhinney also won last year's Canadian Men's Amateur and then took advantage of his exemption into the PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open last month, tying for 65th.
Mawhinney also reached the Round of 16 at last summer's U.S. Amateur.
Qatar, not a drawer
At 14 years old, Daniil Sokolov is one of the youngest players in the field. Only 13-year-olds Luka Tiger Peterman Castillo and Salem Alabdallat are younger.
Sokolov is also the first player from Qatar ever to play a USGA championship.
Sokolov was born in South Korea to Russian parents and moved to Qatar when he was 5 years old. He was a bronze medalist at the 2024 Arab Junior Championship and has twice played in the DP World Tour's Qatar Masters, missing the cut both times.
Home cooking
There are 17 Texans teeing it up this week, second most of any state behind only California (24). Among them is 18-year-old Reese Roberts of Dallas.
Roberts is a Missouri signee and attended the same high school as two-time U.S. Junior champion Jordan Spieth, Jesuit College Prep in Dallas. Roberts has won Spieth's AJGA event, doing so last year, the same year that he won the Texas State Amateur at Trinity Forest.