Staff WriterCharlotte Naughton has a funny way of making a serious golf course look like it’s running out of answers. The England Golf Women’s Squad standout opened 2026 by rewriting the record book at the Junior Orange Bowl, taming Biltmore Golf Course in Florida with a four-round total that left everyone else chasing shadows.
The Longhirst Hall golfer signed for a mesmerising -10 across four days and won by an enormous seven shots—another bold line in a fast-growing CV that already includes the World Junior Girls Championship (Canada) and German Girls’ Amateur Championship titles from 2025. Her closing 69 didn’t just finish the job; it made her the first girl to reach 10-under across four rounds at the event.
“I’m very pleased with myself,” said 17-year-old Charlotte, who had to execute a dicey chip-and-putt from the base of a greenside mound for birdie at the par-5 18th.
“I didn’t know it was for a tournament record when I had that putt, but it was a nice way to finish.”
Key numbers
- Score: 274 (-10)
- Winning margin: 7 shots
- Final round: 69
- Bogey count late in the week: one bogey over her final 47 holes
If you’re keeping track at home, 274 was one shot better than fellow English winner Lily May Humphreys’ 2017 winning total. And that seven-shot margin? The largest since Humphreys’ nine-shot romp.
A win in America — and a statement to match
For a player who doesn’t live on U.S. fairways, winning there carries a particular sheen—part validation, part ambition, part “keep up if you can.”
“It was very, very, very big,” said Naughton. “I’ve only played in the U.S. twice, so it’s very cool to win in America. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of.”
And she didn’t do it with a flicker of panic golf, either. Charlotte Naughton played each of her final two rounds without a bogey, a streak that ran 37 holes in all to a bogey at No. 17 in Sunday’s second round. Go back a little farther, and she made just the one bogey over her final 47 holes—an accountant’s dream and an opponent’s nightmare.
Biltmore bites — unless you show it respect
This is not a “lash it and laugh” kind of course. Biltmore asks for restraint, discipline, and the occasional apology when you get greedy.
“This course, you have to give it some respect because it’s so challenging,” she said. “I made sure I saved myself when I could and took birdie chances when I could, but I didn’t get too aggressive.”
That mindset showed up in the stats and the scrambles. Naughton hit all but two greens in regulation and still managed par saves at both. The toughest was the par-4 16th, where she faced a fried-egg lie in a greenside bunker—one of those lies that makes golfers suddenly believe in fate.
But she blasted out to 20 feet and rolled in the uphill putt to keep the streak alive.
“That was quite big,” she said. “I just wanted to get it within the range so I could have a chance to make par.”
The chasing pack never quite landed a punch
Nobody else could manage to keep up, though there was plenty of quality in behind. Nina Choe, who held the lead until a disastrous closing hole on Monday, recovered well with a 72 to finish runner-up.
“I just didn’t have my strongest game today,” the New Yorker said. “I left a lot of putts out there all day, but she (Naughton) played great and she deserves the win.”
In the boys’ event, England’s Ben Sessions finished tied-24th with Colombia’s Tomas Restrepo landing the title.
Junior Orange Bowl royalty — and a new name on the list
The Junior Orange Bowl has a habit of spotting tomorrow before the rest of us have finished talking about today. The newly crowned champions now sit in a roll call that reads like a guided tour of modern golf: Hall of Famers Tiger Woods (1991) and Inbee Park (2002), LPGA major winners Lexi Thompson (2009) and Brooke Henderson (2013), and seven-time LIV Golf winner Joaquin Niemann (2014).
For Charlotte Naughton, that’s not just a nice bit of company—it’s a signpost. Win this, and people start watching your next start a little more closely.
A truly global field — and a festival built to last
This year’s field featured entrants from 37 different nations, including Lithuania, Bermuda, Romania, Singapore, Paraguay, Iceland, Zimbabwe and Turkey—proof that elite junior golf now travels with a passport, not a postcode.
The golf championships sit within nine athletic, artistic and cultural events that make up the Junior Orange Bowl International Youth Festival, marking its 78th edition in 2025-26 and drawing more than 7,500 youth participants to South Florida each year. For more information on the golf championships or other Junior Orange Bowl activities, visit JuniorOrangeBowl.org.
