Charlie Woods is in a strong position to earn a spot on the US Junior Ryder Cup team as he enters the final round of the Junior PGA Championships in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The 16-year-old son of Tiger Woods is tied for second place at 12-under-par 202 after shooting a 5-under 66 at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex’s Ackerman-Allen Course on Thursday.
Lunden Esterline is the runaway leader at 19 under after also carding a third- round 66.
Woods is tied with Pennson Badgett, who produced a 67 on Thursday.
The players are vying for two automatic spots on the Junior Ryder Cup team, which will go to the top two finishers this week. There is also one captain’s pick, although Woods is likely not in line to be selected for it.
The tournament’s first and third rounds were played at the par-71 Ackerman-Allen Course. The second round was played at the par-72 Kampen-Cosler Course.
Woods endured an up-and-down third round. He had three runs of back-to-back birdies and made nine birdies altogether, but he mixed in four bogeys.
A rising junior at the Benjamin School in Palm Beach, Florida, Woods won the AJGA’s Team TaylorMade Invitational in May. He has not yet made a college commitment.
Esterline, from Andover, Kansas, is a 2027 Auburn commit.
Badgett, from Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, is a 2026 Tennessee commit.
Ayden Fynaut of Fresno, California; Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island, Florida; and Zenghao Hou of China are tied for fourth place at 11 under. Sam Carraher of Crown Point, Indiana, sits alone in seventh at 10 under.
