Junior PGA Championship Reaches Fever Pitch as Charlie Woods Powers Through Final Round — Live Coverage

While the PGA Championship is a major held in May, the Jr. PGA Championship is held at the end of July or the beginning of August. While winning the event is already an accomplishment, the bigger prize is that the golfers who finish in the top two, automatically qualify for the Junior Ryder Cup Team.

The 16-year-old Charlie Woods is competing at the 2025 Jr. PGA Championship. Through the first three rounds, Woods is sitting in second place with a 12-under. He trails Lunden Esterline, who takes a 19-under into the final round of the tournament. Woods will play one final round on Friday at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana, to try to notch his first junior major win, as well as qualify for the Jr. Ryder Cup team.

Charlie Woods live score updates from Jr. PGA Championship

All times ET. 

2:08 p.m. — A disastrous result for Woods on No. 15 as he double bogeys. He moves to a tie for ninth place at 9-under.

READ MORE : Charlie Woods Hopes Soar on the Verge of Something Big After

1:45 p.m. — Woods tallied a bogey on No. 14. He moves to 11-under for the tournament. Still, a very good score, but with four holes left and four strokes to make up to join the junior Ryder Cup team, time is running out.

1:15 p.m. — Woods picks up a birdie on No. 12. He has plenty more work to do in the last six holes, but it’s a positive step.

12:53 p.m. — Woods opens the back frame with a bogey on No. 10. He is still at 12-under and in sole possession of sixth place on the leaderboard. Second place has moved to 16-under.

12:27 p.m. — Woods bogeyed the ninth hole. He drops into a tie for sixth place heading into the back nine. The leader is at 20-under, and second place is at 15-under. Woods has work to do on the final nine of the tournament.

12:11 p.m. — Woods saved par on No. 8 with an impressive shot out of the trees. He is still tied for fourth at 13-under.

11:45 a.m. — Woods picked up a much-needed birdie on the fifth hole, his first of the day.

Charlie Woods Hopes Soar on the Verge of Something Big After Junior PGA Surge

Charlie Woods remained in strong position Thursday to earn a spot on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team.

The 16-year-old son of Tiger Woods is tied for second place at the Junior PGA Championship after shooting a 5-under 66 in a rain-delayed third round at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex’s Ackerman-Allen Course in West Lafayette, Indiana.

He stands at 12-under 202 for the week.

Charlie Woods remained in strong position Thursday to earn a spot on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team.

The 16-year-old son of Tiger Woods is tied for second place at the Junior PGA Championship after shooting a 5-under 66 in a rain-delayed third round at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex’s Ackerman-Allen Course in West Lafayette, Indiana.

He stands at 12-under 202 for the week.

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Woods has never competed in the event.

He said after his round that he’s hoping to control his own destiny with a strong finish Friday.

“It was so much fun,” Woods said of his third round, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier. “I had a pretty fun chip on 16, but I just enjoyed being out there, having fun and hopefully I have a good chance of winning tomorrow.”

Woods endured a mixed round Thursday. He had three runs of back-to-back birdies and made nine birdies altogether, but he mixed in four bogeys.

“My round was pretty up and down, and it gave me a heart attack out there,” Woods said, per the Journal & Courier. “But nine birdies is pretty good. A couple of three-putts, I made a few mistakes today but overall pretty solid round. Pretty good position going into tomorrow.”

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A rising junior at the Benjamin School in Palm Beach, Florida, Woods won the AJGA’s Team TaylorMade Invitational in May. He missed the cut at the recent U.S. Junior Amateur. He has not yet made a college commitment.

Lunden Esterline leads the Junior PGA at 19 under after carding a third-round 66. Esterline, from Andover, Kansas, is a 2027 Auburn commit.

Pennson Badgett is tied with Woods in second after shooting a 67 on Thursday. Badgett, from Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, is a 2026 Tennessee commit.

Charlie Woods Turns Down Title Defense for Shot at Bigger Spotlight

Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, had little time to recover from the bruises he sustained at the US Junior Amateur. Just a week after missing the cut in Dallas, the younger Woods is back in another top-rated event.

Curiously, Charlie Woods should have been defending his title in the South Florida PGA Junior Cup, the 2025 edition of which starts this Monday. However, the youngest son of the 18-time major winner will not be present at that tournament.

The reason for his absence? Charlie is in Indiana to play in the Junior PGA Championship, beginning Tuesday at the Purdue University golf facilities. This is one of the premier junior golf events in the country, featuring tournaments for boys and girls simultaneously.

This will be Charlie’s first appearance in this event, where his legendary father finished runner-up once during his illustrious junior golf career.

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The boys’ Junior PGA Championship tournament will be played on Purdue University’s Ackerman-Allen Course. The field features 156 players, including top-ranked golfers Miles Russell and Luke Colton. Recent US Junior Amateur champion Hamilton Coleman will not be present.

The tournament will have a stroke-play format, similar to most professional events. The top 60 players plus ties will make the cut after 36 holes and play the final two rounds to determine the champion.

A year ago, Baylor Larrabee won the event at the Congressional Country Club. He is currently on the UCLA golf team and cannot defend his title at Purdue because he is no longer age eligible.

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The girls’ event will be played simultaneously on Purdue University’s Kampen-Cosler Course. It will feature the same characteristics as the boys’ tournament, and the No. 2-ranked player in the country, Asterisk Talley, leads the field.

Charlie missed the cut in the US Junior Amateur after carding a terrible first-round 81 at Brook Hollow Golf Club. A day later, he improved significantly and carded a 74 at Trinity Forest, but his fate was already sealed, and he couldn’t advance beyond the stroke-play phase.