Lunden Esterline destroyed the Junior PGA field and outshined Charlie Woods, then praised the golf prodigy of Tiger Woods with a positive message

Lunden Esterline had positive words for Charlie Woods

Lunden Esterline took home the Junior PGA Championship with a comfortable six-stroke lead, tearing away from the field and never looking back, similar to Scottie Sheffler’s dominant win at The Open Championship.

Charlie Woods was in the field whom Esterline was sure to talk about after the win. Esterline closed out a dominant performance at 19-under, earning the trophy and an automatic berth on the Junior Ryder Cup team. And he had a better day than Charlie, the 16-year-old son of Tiger Woods, who entered Friday’s final round tied for second.

Three straight rounds of 70, 66, and 66 had the young Woods in a good position with work to do, but instead of recapturing the iconic essence of his dad’s clutch genes in black and red attire like he did during U.S Junior Amateur Championship qualifiers, Woods posted his worst round of the week with a 74.

The slide took him out of contention just after missing the cut during the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship a week prior.

Woods finished hole 18 at even par, but a bogey on No. 14 and a double bogey on No. 15 ended any opportunity for a comeback. Esterline, who was playing alongside him, remained respectful and composed in his post-game comments.

“I had fun playing with him and Pennson [Badgett],” Esterline said. “They were both good guys.” Esterline will be continuing his golf career at Auburn as a member of the Class of 2027.

Woods opened the week with a 70 at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex before shooting back-to-back 66s that had the marking of a comeback written all over it. On Wednesday, he torched the front nine with a 31 that featured birdies on six of the first nine holes.

On Thursday, he matched that effort with another 66 and dominated holes 6 and 12 throughout the entire competition. He came into Friday at 12 under, just one swing off the lead.

Charlie Woods finished the competition T-9

Charlie looked sharp early, but missed opportunities began to pile up starting at the back 9. He carded three bogeys and one double in a round, including hole 15, which he buried the previous two days.

Following the result, Charlie remains the No. 20-ranked golfer in the American Junior Golf Association. Esterline is the No. 46 golfer by the same metrics.

To qualify for the Junior Ryder Cup, Charlie needed to finish in the Top two during the event, win the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur, or be ranked among the top two on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup list.

Currently, the top two spots are held by boys Miles Russell and Tyler Mawhinney, and girls Asterisk Talley and Gianna Clemente.

Charlie can still qualify for the team should he end up being the single captain’s pick for Team USA.