Despite their less-than-stellar performances at the Sage Valley Junior Invitational last week, Charlie Woods and Kai Trump have seen a significant rise in their American Junior Golf Association rankings.
Woods, son of 82-time PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods, and Trump, granddaughter of President Donald Trump, were undoubtedly the main attractions at the Sage Valley event. Their participation, coupled with the recent off-course romance story, drew considerable attention to the tournament.
Unfortunately, both young golfers struggled to find their best form. Woods, who has been seen at events with his 15-time major-winning father in recent years, finished 25th out of 36 players at Sage Valley.
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Despite appearing poised for a top-20 finish in the final round, the high school star lost five shots over his last five holes in what turned out to be a challenging finish. Trump also had a difficult time, finishing last out of 24 in her draw.
The teenager ended the week 52-over-par with rounds of 79-89-83, leaving her 22 shots behind at the bottom of the leaderboard. However, despite their struggles at one of golf’s most prestigious junior events, there was a silver lining for Woods and Trump.
Woods, the son of arguably the greatest golfer of all time, saw his ranking in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) skyrocket from 838th to 603rd in the boys’ list, a leap of 235 places. The President’s grandchild, Trump, also experienced a significant rise in her ranking, moving from 815th to 530th in the girls’ list despite finishing last.
This was due to the high-ranking Sage Valley tournament, which awarded maximum points despite not being an official AJGA event. Sage Valley has seen many big names as past champions, including Joaquin Niemann and current world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Joining their ranks is teenage sensation Miles Russell, who clinched the boys’ event at just 16 years old.
Russell, now topping the AJGA rankings, opened with a three-under-par 69 and followed up with three straight 70s to secure the title. His performance caught the attention of fellow left-hander and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson.
Mickelson, who departed the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in 2022, took to social media earlier this week to highlight Russell as a future star. “It’s going to be fun watching this young lefty’s career!” the HyFlyers captain told his followers on X.
