The U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team is nearly set, even as the senior team’s picture remains in flux.
Lunden Esterline dominated the Junior PGA Championship, winning by six shots on Friday at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex’s Ackerman-Allen Course. The 2027 Auburn commit from Andover, Kansas, fired a second-round 62 to take control and finished the 72-hole tournament at an impressive 19 under after closing with an even-par 71.
“I’m still trying to comprehend the whole thing, but it feels amazing,” Esterline said. “It means a ton. It gives me a lot of confidence going into bigger tournaments after this that I can do it, and I proved to myself this week that I’m just as good as anybody else out there.”
Tyler Mawhinney, a 2026 Vanderbilt commit, and 2027 recruit Guiseppe Puebla tied for second at 13 under. Mawhinney double-bogeyed the par-3 17th before salvaging his round with a closing birdie for a 69. Puebla surged up the leaderboard with the day’s best round by three shots, a sizzling 64.
Since Mawhinney had already qualified for the Junior Ryder Cup team through points (alongside top-ranked Miles Russell), Puebla secured the automatic berth given to the runner-up.
The Junior Ryder Cup is set for September 23-25 at Nassau Country Club and Bethpage Black, with singles matches exclusively at Bethpage. The U.S. team now features Esterline, Puebla, Mawhinney, Russell, and U.S. Junior Amateur champion Hamilton Coleman. One captain’s pick remains, to be announced Tuesday.
Ayden Fynaut of Fresno, California, was on track for solo second until a double bogey at the par-4 18th dropped him into a tie for fourth at 12 under with China’s Zenghao Hou, who stumbled through his final five holes at 4 over.
Charlie Woods, who started Friday in the final group with Esterline after back-to-back 66s, couldn’t maintain his momentum. He shot 74 to finish T-9 at 9 under, his round derailed by going bogey-double at Nos. 14 and 15 after reaching 12 under for the tournament.
Woods likely won’t receive the captain’s pick for the Junior Ryder Cup. That honor should go to 2026 Vanderbilt commit Luke Colton, who ranks No. 24 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking—second highest among eligible juniors behind only Russell (16th). Colton, fresh off making the semifinals at the U.S. Junior, skipped the Western Amateur to pursue a Junior Ryder Cup spot, unlike Tyler Watts (ranked 40th), who chose to play the Western instead of the Junior PGA.
In the girls division, Asterisk Talley claimed a narrow victory, birdieing two of her last three holes to offset three bogeys in her final five. She edged Zoe Cusack by one shot after Cusack stumbled with a bogey-double finish to her final round.
