Who is Lunden Esterline? 16-YO dominating Charlie Woods at the Junior PGA Championship explored

Lunden Esterline and Charlie Woods are in contention for the 2025 Junior PGA Championship. They have been phenomenal with their games and secured the top spots on the leaderboard of the junior event.

Esterline is from Kansas and plays in the junior events. He is currently ranked 46th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings with a score of 164.340 points. Last year, he won the AJGA NW Arkansas Junior Championship. He played the three rounds of 69, 70, and 71 to register a win in the tournament.

Earlier this year, Lunden Esterline had a solo fourth-place finish at the K.J. Choi Foundation Texas Junior Championship and then recorded a T7 finish at the Callaway Junior at Canebrake Club. At the 2025 Junior PGA Championship, the 16-year-old started with a round of 67 and then carded 62 in the second round.

Esterline opened up about his second-round performance this week and said (via PGA.com):

"On 5, I thought I hit a hole-in-one. It was really close and was probably one of my better shots today. And then on 6, I hit a 7-wood and almost popped it up short. I had like 30 yards; I hit like 25 feet deep and then just made a long putt. On 7, I probably had my best drive of the day to about 15 feet and made that putt.” “I hit a good drive, and then I hit a 4-iron to the back right of the green, just off the green on the fringe. I hit my putt too hard, about 8 feet past, and made a good comebacker. I felt good; it was breaking left to right. That's my favorite one; it was uphill, so I knew it could be aggressive with it," he added.

Lunden Esterline took the lead in the game after firing 66 in the third round. Charlie Woods also had been impressive with his game this week, and he settled in a tie for second place with Pennson Badgett at 12-under. The tournament will conclude with its finale on August 1.

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Exploring the leaderboard of the 2025 Junior PGA Championship featuring Lunden Esterline and Charlie Woods

Lunden Esterline at the Junior PGA Championship - Round Three - Source: Getty

Here is the leaderboard of the 2025 Junior PGA Championship:

• 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
• T16. Luke Johnston: -7
• T16. Jessy Huebner: -7
• T18. Chase Hughes: -6
• T18. Austin Shelley: -6
• T18. Shiv Parmar: -6
• T18. Giuseppe Puebla: -6
• T22. Liam Moloney: -5
• T22. Kailer Stone: -5
• T22. Silas Haarer: -5
• T22. Ryder Huish: -5
• T26. Arrow Aarav Shah: -4
• T26. Chase Oberle: -4
• T26. Jackson Ormond: -4
• T26. Samuel Harris: -4
• T30. Austin Perkins: -3
• T30. Evan Liu: -3
• T30. Joshua Kim: -3
• T30. Michael Quallich: -3

Edited by Tushhita Barua