Birdwell Tied for Junior PGA Lead

BETHESDA, Md. -- Jake Birdwell is known for his length off the tee, most notably the 390-yard drive he hit to within 20 feet of the cup on the 36th hole of the 2023 Minnesota state high school tournament. His two-putt birdie on that hole (No. 9 West at Bunker Hills GC) secured the Class AAA individual championship for the then junior at Spring Lake Park.

Length almost always helps in golf, but that wasn't what distinguished Birdwell's third round Thursday in the U.S. Junior PGA Championships. The long-hitting University of Illinois recruit didn't birdie any of the four par-5 holes on the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club, yet he still managed to shoot a 2-under-par 70 on the course that Ben Hogan famously called "The Monster," and with that, he moved up from a tie for fourth into a tie for first. His 54-hole total is 209 (minus 6), but the leaderboard is crowded.

There are three other players at 209 -- Asher Vargas, Adam Villanueva and Giovanni Binaghi. Villanueva got there with a 66, Binaghi with a 70, and Vargas, who was tied for first when the day began, with a 71. And there are another five players one shot behind in a tie for fifth at 210. In all, there are 17 players within five strokes of the lead.

Birdwell, who birdied the first hole in Wednesday's second round, which was played at Congressional's Gold Course, birdied the 400-yard, par-4 first on the Blue Course Thursday, and he followed it with a birdie at the 215-yard, par-3 second. Bogeys at the short, par-4 eighth hole (320 yards) and the par-3 10th put him back at even par for the day, but he made two more birdies on the way in, at the 400-yard, par-4 12th and the 460-yard, par-4 17th.

The other Minnesotans in the tournament, Nate Stevens and Gunnar Broin, both missed the 36-hole cut (60 players and ties), and there was another cut Thursday, this time to 30 and ties. They will play the final round Friday on the Gold Course.

In the Girls Division, not much changed Thursday. Kinsley Ni, the 16-year-old from China who was the medalist in the U.S. Girls Junior two weeks ago, is still in first. But she has been joiined there by Alice Zhao, a 15-year-old from China whose residence these days is listed as Irvine, Calif. Both are at 208, Zhao after a 71 on the Blue Course, and Ni after a 72. They are two clear of third-place Avery McCrery, who got to 210 by virtue of a 68.


U.S. Junior PGA Championships

At Congressional Country Club

Bethesda, Md.

Boys Division

Blue Course -- par 72, 7,227 yards

Gold Course -- par 71, 6,826 yards

Third-round results (the boys played the first round on the Blue Course, the second on Gold, and both the third and fourth will be on Blue again)

For boys and for girls, the top 60 players and ties made the 36-hole cut; the top 30 and ties then made the 54-hole cut

T1. Jake Birdwell, Spriing Lake Park 71-68-70--209

T1. Giovanni Binaghi, Italy 71-68-70--209

T1. Asher Vargas, Spring, Texas 73-65-71--209

T1. Adam Villanueva, Austin, Texas 73-70-66--209

T5. Will Hartman, Marvin, N.C. 73-69-68--210

T5. Talon Dingledine, No. Chesterfield, Va. 70-71-69--210

T5. Clark Goboy, Chesapeake, Va. 73-65-72--210

T5. Baylor Larraabee, Ferndale, Wash. 72-71-67--210

T5. Jake Albert, Blacksburg, Va. 73-69-68--210

T10. Colin Salema, Matthews, N.C. 70-71-70--211

T10. Lev Grinberg, Ukraine 73-72-66--211

What it took to make the 54-hole cut -- 216 (4-way tie for 28th)

What it took to make the 36-hole cut -- 147 (11-way tie for 56th)

Failed to make the 36-hole cut

Sam Udovich, Inver Grove Heights 77-72--149

Joe Honsa, Mendota Heights 80-76--156


Girls Division

Blue Course -- par 72, 6,259 yards

Gold Course -- par 71, 6,110 yards

Third-round results (the girls played the first round on the Gold Course, but the second, third and fourth will all be on Blue )

The top 60 players made the cut

T1. Kinsley Ni, China 67-69-72--208

T1. Alice Zhao, Irvine, Calif. 68-69-71--208

3. Alice McCrery, Wilmington, Del. 70-72-68--210

4. Elizabeth Rudisill, Charlotte, N.C. 71-73-67--211

T5. Helen Yeung, Clarksville, Md. 71-68-73--212

T5. Madison Messimer, Myrtle Beachm, S.C. 67-71-74--212

7. GaEun Athena Yoo, Alpharetta, Ga. 71-72-70--213

What it took to make the 54-hole cut -- 219 (4-way tie for 27th)

What it took to make the 36-hole cut -- 149 (4-way tie for 57th)

Failed to make the 36-hole cut

Reese McCauley, Inver Grove Heights 75-77-152

Amelia Mlorton, Maple Grove 72-81--153

Jordana Windhorst-Knudsen, Lake City 74-81--155