Charlie Woods remains in title contention after Round 3 at Junior PGA Championship
Those that stayed witnessed a 16-year-old exhibit the quiet confidence, leveled ball-striking and putting of an elite level player and master of a course that only two days ago had stumped him and left him in 43rd place after the first round of the Junior PGA Championship.
Woods second shot on the 18th hole par 4 dropped firmly onto the green before he calmly putted for birdie to finish -12, placing him in second place and in the hunt for the final round on Friday.
"My round was pretty up and down and it gave me a heart attack out there," Woods said. "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."
Woods will tee off at 10:06 a.m. tomorrow joined by leader Lunden Esterline (-19) and Pennson Badget (-12) in the Junior PGA Championship final round.
Woods was in control of the Ackerman-Allen Golf Course in West Lafayette during his second time around, even after his tee time was delayed two hours because of rainstorms and soggy conditions.
Woods birdied the first hole and would stay steady throughout the round, exhibiting zero timidness after having missed the cut at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship last month in Dallas.
From round 2: Charlie Woods skyrockets up leaderboard after second round at Junior PGA Championship
The best shot of the night for Woods came on the 10th hole, spotting an iron shot two feet for a tap in birdie before outdoing himself with his finale on 18.
As he walked to finish his birdie putt, The Clubhouse Bar & Grill at Birck Boilermaker Complex was lined with fans celebrating Woods success.
He birdied, shook the hands of playing partners Sam Carraher of Crown Point, Indiana, and Ronin Banerjee of Irvine, California, before turning over his scorecard to tournament officials.
"It was so much fun," Woods said. "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."
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Charlie Woods in top 10 of Junior PGA Championship after Round 3
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