Charlie Woods is commanding attention at the Junior PGA Championship in West Lafayette, Indiana. At Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, he’s rising on the leaderboard heading into Thursday after delivering his ninth birdie of the day on the 15th hole.

Nine birdies in each of his previous two rounds in the 49th Junior PGA Championships put Charlie Woods in contention for a U.S. Junior Ryder Cup spot. But just an ordinary round on Friday knocked him down the board on the final day.

WEST LAFAYETTE — Charlie Woods entered the Junior PGA Championship and started slow, just cracking the top 50 on Tuesday at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette. Woods would prove to doubters, if there were any, that he could hold his own on the big stage just over a week after being cut in the U.S. Amateur Championship in Dallas.

The FedEx St. Jude Championship will have a very notable absence next week. Rory McIlroy to skip the FedEx Cup event at TPC Southwind.

The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs begin next week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy won't be a part of it. The reigning Masters champion wasn't in the St. Jude field released by the PGA Tour on Friday.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy is not in the field for the opening play-off event of the PGA Tour season next week.