Can Charlie Woods qualify for the Junior Ryder Cup team? Position explored

Charlie Woods is in contention to secure his spot in the Junior Ryder Cup team after his impressive performance at the 2025 Junior PGA Championship. The 16-year-old son of Tiger Woods settled in a tie for second place at this week's event. The tournament is heading to its finale, which is scheduled to take place on August 1.

The top finishers qualify for the Junior Ryder Cup, and Woods has a good chance to secure the spot. NUCLR Golf shared an update on Charlie Woods' chance for the event on its Instagram account with a caption:

"🚨🐯👀 #UPDATE — Charlie Woods birdies the 18th to shoot -5, 66 in the 3rd round of the Jr. PGA Championship. He currently sits T2 (7 back) and will have a legitimate opportunity to compete for a spot on the Jr. Ryder Cup team. Top 2 finishers qualify"

Charlie Woods won the Team Taylormade Invitational earlier this year and was tied for T25 at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. However, he struggled with his game at the 77th US Junior Amateur Championship and missed the cut after playing two rounds of 81 and 74. Woods is ranked 20th in the Rolex AJGA rankings.

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Charlie Woods reflects on his performance at the Junior PGA Championship 2025

Charlie Woods started his campaign with an opening round of 70 at the Junior PGA Championship 2025. After his struggle, he bounced back on Wednesday and played a round of 66.

Woods fired another round of 66 on Thursday and jumped five spots on the leaderboard to settle in a tie for second place. He opened up about his third-round performance and said, via ESPN:

"It was so much fun. 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. "My round was pretty up and down, and it gave me a heart attack out there. 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," he added.

Meanwhile, Lunden Esterline has been pretty impressive with his game this week. He played three rounds of 67, 62, and 66 to take a seven-stroke lead in the game ahead of the finale.

Here are the top 15 players after the third round of the Junior PGA Championship 2025:

• 1. Lunden Esterline: -19
• T2. Charlie Woods: -12
• T2. Pennson Badgett: -12
• T4. Ayden Fynaut: -11
• T4. Tyler Mawhinney: -11
• T4. Zenghao Hou: -11
• 2. Sam Carraher: -10
• T8. William Chang: -9
• T8. Max VanderMolen: -9
• T8. Luke Balaskiewicz: -9
• T8. Ronin Banerjee: -9
• T12. Spencer Harrison: -8
• T12. Drew Woolworth: -8
• T12. Chase Yenser: -8
• T12. Mason Howell: -8

Edited by Hitesh Nigam