Charlotte Naughton kicked off 2026 in style with a record-breaking victory at the Junior Orange Bowl at Biltmore Golf Course in Florida.
Longhirst Hall-based Charlotte, who is part of the England Women’s Squad, shot a 10 under-par total over four days to win by seven shots. The title adds to her World Junior Girls Championship win in Canada and German Girls’ Amateur Championship victories in 2025. Her final round of 69 in Florida was enough to see her become the first girl to finish at 10 under-par across four rounds at the event.
“I’m very pleased with myself,” said 17-year-old Charlotte, who got up and down from the base of a greenside mound for birdie at the par five 18th on the final day. “I didn’t know it was for a tour-nament record when I hit that putt, but it was a nice way to finish.”
Charlotte’s total of 274 was one shot better than fellow English winner Lily May Humphreys – who won the event in 2017. Charlotte’s seven-shot margin of victory was also the largest since Lily’s nine-shot victory.
In the boys’ event, Colombia’s Tomas Restrepo won the title.
The new champions join a roster of Junior Orange Bowl winners that includes Tiger Woods (1991) and Inbee Park (2002) along with LPGA major winners Lexi Thompson (2009) and Brooke Hen-derson (2013), and seven-time LIV Golf winner Joaquin Niemann (2014).
“It was very, very, very big,” said Charlotte. “I’ve only played in the US twice, so it’s very cool to win in America. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of.”
Charlotte played both of her final rounds without a bogey – a streak that ran 37 holes from the 17th in Sunday’s second round.
“You have to give this course some respect because it’s so challenging,” she added. “I made sure I saved myself when I could and took birdie chances when I could, but I didn’t get too aggres-sive.”
Charlotte hit all but two greens in regulation, managing par saves at both. Her toughest came at the par four 16th hole – left with a fried-egg lie in a greenside bunker, she blasted out to 20ft then holed the uphill putt to keep her streak going.
“That was quite big,” she added. “I just wanted to get it within the range so I could have a chance to make par.”
Nobody could manage to keep up with Charlotte’s scoring in Florida. Nina Choe, who held the lead until a disastrous closing hole on Monday, bounced back with a solid 72 to claim a runner-up finish.
“I just didn’t have my strongest game today,” said New York-based Nina. “I left a lot of putts out there all day, but Charlotte played great and she deserves the win.”
This year’s field featured entrants from 37 different nations – including Lithuania, Bermuda, Ro-mania, Singapore, Paraguay, Iceland, Zimbabwe and Turkey. The golf championships are among nine athletic, artistic and cultural events that make up the Junior Orange Bowl International Youth Festival, which marks its 78th edition in 2025-26. The festival draws more than 7,500 youth partic-ipants to South Florida’s community each year.
