Charlie Woods stormed into contention Wednesday at the Junior PGA Championship.
A week removed from a missed cut at the U.S. Junior Amateur, the 16-year-old Woods fired a 6-under 66 at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana. He is currently solo fourth on the leaderboard at 7 under, six shots behind 2027 Auburn commit Lunden Esterline in the 72-hole event.
Playing his second round on the Kampen-Cosler Course, a Pete Dye design that hosted the 2008 NCAA Championship, Woods carded nine birdies. He had his round to 8 under after a birdie at the par-4 15th, but he proceeded to bogey the par-5 16th and par-3 17th holes before closing with par.
Woods’ Junior Ryder Cup hopes hinge on a strong performance this week. Automatic spots on the six-player team that will compete ahead of this year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage will go to the Junior PGA’s winner and runner-up. There is also one captain’s pick, though that should go to world No. 26 amateur Luke Colton, provided Colton does not finish among the top two places (Colton was 3 under through 36 holes).
Colton was a semifinalist last week at Trinity Forest, where Woods shot 81-74 to miss the match-play cut at his second straight U.S. Junior.
Woods, a 2027 recruit who has yet to commit to a school, broke out this past May with a win at the AJGA’s Team TaylorMade Invitational, which came against a field that included Colton, top-ranked Miles Russell and another top-50 amateur in Tyler Watts.
