Santa Clara 11-Year-Old Ryan Lind Wins World Golf Title

Santa Clara's Ryan Lind beat out more than 125 other golfers to win the U.S. Kids 2025 Boys 11 World Champion title in North Carolina.

Ryan Lind might not be a household name yet, but if all goes well, you could see the 11-year-old’s name atop the PGA leaderboard in the near future. At least, that’s what the Santa Claran is hoping for, and he’s on the right track. In August, Lind won the U.S. Kids 2025 Boys 11 World Champion title, beating more than 125 of the world’s best golfers of his age group.

Lind had a good second round at Talamore Golf Resort in North Carolina. He shot a 64.

“After the second round, I went to the dinner, and then I just see three of my friends, and they’re like, ‘You better win. Good luck. You might win.’ So that’s probably when I first actually thought I had a chance of winning,” he recalled. “But then it was really a wild final round, to be honest. Well, a lot of nerves, lot of stressful … it was a tricky … it was a hard course.”

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Lind walked off the course with a three-day total of 206, a minus-10, and he wasn’t sure he had it in the bag. It was only when Lind talked to a few other people that he realized what he had done.

“It was a shock, and then it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I actually did it.’ And then it was like, just one of those where you’re just not really thinking and enjoying the moment. It was a really surreal experience,” said Lind.

While he’s enjoyed the win, it’s also just one step on his plans for the future. Lind is already looking ahead to next year, when he hopes to return to play for the Boys 12 World Champion title. After that, he has a plan.

“I already have planned this out until I’m around like 30,” said Lind. “So ideally, I’d go to St. Francis. Make the varsity golf team as a freshman. Play that for four years, ideally. Then I’d go to Stanford. Play golf there, and then play on the PGA Tour.”

When asked who his golf idols are, one of them is a Stanford alum.

“There’s two main ones to be honest. It’s Tiger Woods, because he’s Tiger, he’s the GOAT. And one that you might have not heard of, their name is Maverick McNeely,” said Lind. “He was one of the first people I really watched growing up. He was one of the first people I saw at a pro golf event. I remember he hit a shot, and then I yelled, ‘Nice shot.’ Then he walked over and gave me a glove.”

Lind started golfing as a kid as a way to spend time with his mom, Lea, and dad, Reid. Then COVID hit, and he got serious. Now, they’re the ones chasing him around the course.

“It’s pretty cool to watch the things that he’s doing, and really the passion that he has for the game, and just being able to support him in his efforts,” said Reid Lind. “Frankly, it’s just kind of wild. It’s beyond expectations. It’s really cool to watch your kid just continuously surprise you and do some pretty cool, amazing things. So, it’s just fun to be along for the ride.”

Ryan golfs five to six times a week and also has a golf simulator in his garage. When he’s not golfing, he likes reading sports stories and true crime, like Sherlock Holmes. Maybe it’s that problem-solving that makes golf so appealing to Ryan.

“I’d say, probably the most challenging thing about golf is probably the mental game, because it’s very easy if you’re playing bad to just get like, ‘I hate this game. I don’t want to play it ever again,’” said Lind.

But, like many 11-year-olds, he has a pretty good perspective on how to pull himself out of a funk.

“Just by knowing that I’m out on the golf course, because it’s a lot better than having to be at home studying for your math test that you have the next day,” said Lind.