Charlie Woods was in a strong position on Thursday, earning a spot on the US Junior Rider Cup team.
Tiger Woods’ 16-year-old son came in second in the Junior PGA Championship after shooting a 5-under 66 in the rainy third round at the Ackerman Allen course of the Birk Boyle Maker’s golf complex in West Lafayette, Indiana.
He is standing at 12 under 202 that week.
The players are competing for two automatic spots for the Junior Rider Cup team. This will face Team Europe at Nassau Country Club in New York on September 23-25th at Beth Page Black. One of the captain picks is also one, but Woods, ranked 20th in the latest American Junior Golf Association rankings, is unlikely to be selected for it.
Woods has never competed in this event.
He said he wants to control his destiny with a strong finish on Friday.
Woods spoke about the third round, according to the Lafayette Journal and Courier. “I had a pretty fun tip at 16, but I just stayed there, have fun and enjoyment and hopefully have a chance to win tomorrow.”
Woods endured a mixed round on Thursday. He has three consecutive birdies and has made nine birdies perfectly, but he’s mixed in with four bogeys.
“My round was pretty up and down, and it gave me a heart attack there,” Woods said according to the Journal and Courier. “But the nine birdies are pretty good. A few three putts, I made some mistakes today, but overall I did a pretty solid round. I have a pretty good position tomorrow.”
Woods, a rising junior at Benjamin School in Palm Beach, Florida, won AJGA’s team Taylormade Invitational in May. He missed the cut in the recent US Junior Amateur. He has not yet made any university commitments.
Lunden Esterline is 66 in the third round from Andover, Kansas. After turning Esterline into a card, he led the junior PGA at the age of 19.
Penson Badgit is second to tie with Woods after shooting 67 on Thursday. Buddette, originally from Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, is a 2026 Tennessee commit.
This report used information from field-level media.
