Stanford III, Newsom move into top five in Junior PGA Championship
With a stunning round of 63, Ainslee Stanford III of Edmond moved into third place through two rounds of the Junior PGA Championship at PGA Frisco. At 7-under for the tournament after his 9-under 63, Stanford trails Kailer Stone of Almeda, Calif., by two shots and Theodore Snyder of Gig Harber, Wa, by a shot.
The third round is Thursday and the final round Friday.
Stanford won the OGA Junior Amateur Stroke Play and Match Play titles at KickingBird Golf Course in Edmond in June.
Jacob Newsom of Broken Arrow is also in strong contention at 6-under and tied for fourth after rounds of 71-67.
Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City is tied for 25th after rounds of 75-68. Porter Hart of Broken Arrow did not make the 36-hole cut.
Stanford jumped 36 spots up the leaderboard with the 63, the lowest round of the championship. Starting on the 9th hole, the 16-year-old’s bogey-free round was highlighted by four-straight birdies on holes 11-14, with all four putts under 10 feet.
“I knew going into the day that there were going to be birdies out there,” said Stanford. “My driver wasn’t exactly where it needed to be yesterday. I felt like if I could get that going today and make some putts, I knew I could get it going. [Those birdies] definitely got the momentum going nice, which was a lot of fun for me.”
Four players are tied for fourth at 6-under 138, including Jacob Newsom from Tulsa, Oklahoma (5-under 67); Evan Liu from Rancho Santa Fe, California (7-under 65); Spencer Harrison from Australia (5-under 67); and Matthew Marigliano from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (6-under 66).
Charlie Woods, playing in the same group with Stanford, shot a 2-under 70 Wednesday, moving into a tie for 46th at 1-over 145 to make the cut by one stroke.
“For me, I love a crowd. I think it’s super fun to have people out there and playing with Charlie is always super fun,” Stanford said. “I think a lot of people think Charlie thinks he’s too cool for people and whatever else, but he’s amazing out there. He’s one of my favorite people to play with, super fun to talk to, just a great guy to play with. I love having a crowd and I loved it out there.”
In the girls division, Lisa Herman of Jenks is tied for 29th after rounds of 69-75. She is at even-par 144 and nine shots off the lead. Juliana Hong of Norman is tied for 48th after rounds of 70-77. Not surviving the cut were Megan Kalapura of Tulsa and Dia Singh of Bixby.
Final Two Rounds to Stream Live
New for 2026, the final two rounds of the Junior PGA Championships will be streamed live on the PGA of America YouTube channel. The broadcast of the third round on Thursday, July 30, will start at 3 p.m. CDT while the final round stream on Friday, July 31, will begin at 11 a.m. CDT. The stream will run through the conclusion of play both days and the trophy presentation on Friday.
The broadcast, originating from the PGA of America Studios at the Home of the PGA of America, will be led by host Bryan Fenley, analyst Ewan Porter and analyst and on-course reporter Lauren Withrow.