Few players this summer have been hotter than Jay Leng Jr. Winner of the Western Amateur. Runner-up in the Northeast Amateur. A tie for fifth in the Southern Amateur. All are elite competitions against top-flight talent.<\/p>\n
After his performance on Thursday, the San Diego, Calif., resident and rising Stanford University junior could add the biggest prize of his fledgling career: the Havemeyer Trophy.<\/p>\n
Leng, 20, took out second-seeded Tyler Watts, 1 up, in the Round of 16 of the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club to reach the quarterfinals of a USGA championship for a second time.<\/p>\n
He is joined in the final eight by Brandon Knight, 21, of Pleasanton, Calif.; Carter Loflin, 22, of Duluth, Ga.; Adam Bresnu, 22, of Morocco; Jack Whaley, 22, of England; Jack Turner, 22, of Orlando, Fla.; local favourite Michael Lugiano, of Jackson Township, Pa.; and Logan Reilly, 19, of Lovettsville, Va.<\/p>\n
Just how impressive has Leng been the past couple of months?<\/p>\n
En route to winning the Western Amateur at Beverly Country Club, in Chicago, he defeated the world\u2019s best 17-year-old, Miles Russell, in the semifinals, and then he beat Watts. The two phenomenal left-handers, who were named to the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team last month, are ranked 3 (Watts) and 4 (Russell) in the World Amateur Golf Ranking\u00ae\/WAGR\u00ae.<\/p>\n
At the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur held at historic Oakland Hills Country Club, Leng beat Russell in the quarterfinals before losing to Watts, the eventual runner-up, in the semis.<\/p>\n
Leng, who is No. 23 in WAGR, overcame an early 2-down deficit to Watts, thanks in part to a brilliant 140-yard bunker shot on the par-4 seventh with a 50-degree wedge to set up a long birdie putt to win the hole. That tied the match and he would use that momentum to win Nos. 9 and 10 with birdies for a 2-up advantage.<\/p>\n
Watts answered by claiming 11 and 15 with birdies, but Leng offset those two 3s with a 2 on the short 13th. Leng managed to tie Watts on 17 as both players three-putted for bogeys. On 18, the two combatants missed the fairway left and their approach shots were just left of the putting surface in the rough. Watts deftly pitched to 4 feet and holed the par putt, while Leng lagged his putt from a comfortable lie in the rough inches from the green to 2 feet to seal the victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it was going to be a battle out there from the beginning,\u201d said Leng, who hopes to be one of the last six selections to the USA Walker Cup Team, but a victory on Sunday would guarantee him a spot. \u201cI\u2019ve played with Tyler enough to know how good he is and what he\u2019s capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the Walker Cup spot, he added: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to play for in the U.S. Am in general. There\u2019s no need to add any extra pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lugiano is having a run like Northern Californian Niall Sheils Donegan did a year ago at The Olympic Club and the University of Michigan\u2019s Nick Carlson produced at Oakland Hills a decade ago. Crowds have flocked out to see the \u201clocal\u201d favourite, who resides 90 minutes away and is staying with his former Liberty University teammate and Norristown, Pa., resident Joshua Ryan, the stroke-play medallist who lost in Wednesday\u2019s opening round.<\/p>\n
All three of his matches have gone the distance and all three have resulted in 1-up victories. With the gallery whooping and hollering, the rising college junior managed to hold off Nevill Ruiter, of the Netherlands, in the morning and then ousted Brigham Young University incoming freshman Drake Harvey in the Round of 16. On Tuesday morning, Harvey matched the Merion competitive course record with a 64, which was last achieved by Ben Crenshaw in the 1981 U.S. Open.<\/p>\n
Neither Lugiano nor Harvey held more than a 1-up advantage the entire match, with the former taking the lead for good with a winning par on the 17th hole.<\/p>\n
The flame just continued to stay lit for the Liberty standout (school\u2019s nickname is the Flames), who won the NCAA Corvallis (Ore.) Regional in May. Liberty also has some USGA karma going as incoming freshman Noah Maclauchlan claimed last month\u2019s U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley Country Club, in Bethlehem, Pa., defeating Russell in the 36-hole final.<\/p>\n
Lugiano can expect his gallery to be even larger on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving all the people out here, it\u2019s great,\u201d said Lugiano. \u201cIt\u2019s not nerve-racking at all. It\u2019s just really nice to have the support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reilly, who clinched the winning point for Auburn in this year\u2019s NCAA title match against UCLA, continued his march toward a possible individual national title by defeating University of Oklahoma rising senior Ryder Cowan in 20 holes. Two months ago, Cowan shared low-amateur honours in the U.S. Open with Reilly\u2019s ex-teammate and now-PGA Tour winner Jackson Koivun.<\/p>\n
The rising sophomore watched Cowan win Nos. 17 and 18 to force extra holes, but his par on No. 20, the par-4 15th at Merion, secured him a matchup against Lugiano on Friday. It was Reilly\u2019s second extra-hole victory of the championship, as he outlasted Canadian Emile Lebrun in the opening round on Wednesday before taking out 17-year-old Evan Liu in the Round of 16, 2 and 1.<\/p>\n
Playing in the Southeastern Conference, Loflin, who just completed his eligibility at the University of Georgia, had seen plenty of Alabama\u2019s William Jennings over the past few years. Jennings came into their Round-of-16 encounter with the better credentials, namely being the runner-up in the NCAA Championship in June and owning a lofty No. 5 ranking in WAGR. But Loflin (No. 47 in WAGR) was the higher seed after stroke play, with Jennings needing to survive a 16-for-11 playoff just to get into the draw.<\/p>\n
And after letting a 2-up lead with two to play slip away, the Georgian calmly regrouped, holing a 6-foot birdie on the 19th hole to advance. It\u2019s the best individual performance in a USGA championship by Loflin, who twice reached the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2022 and \u201923 with partner Wells Williams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, honestly, I would say that neither of us played our best golf,\u201d said Loflin. \u201cI think he would say that as well. We were kind of giving each other some breaks. He gave me a couple holes. But I\u2019ve played a good bit with him. I knew he would come roaring back at some point, and he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turner and Joshua Bai, the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up, have probably played some 100 rounds together at the University of Florida. But they never played one with a spot in the last eight of arguably the world\u2019s most prestigious amateur competition. Turner, who is No. 19 in WAGR and competed on this year\u2019s USA Arnold Palmer Cup Team, rolled to an impressive 5-and-3 victory, earning him a matchup against Leng Jr.<\/p>\n
Turner was the equivalent of 4 under par \u2013 with the usual match-play concessions \u2013 over the 15-hole encounter.<\/p>\n
After seeing both a 3-up and 2-up leads disappear on Merion\u2019s second nine, Georgia native Carter Loflin stuffed his approach on the 19th hole to six feet to close out his match against William Jennings. (Dustin Satloff\/USGA)<\/p>\n
Mid-amateurs have performed well in the last two U.S. Amateurs held at Merion. Austin Eaton III reached the semis in 2005, and Danny Green beat legendary Philadelphia-area player Jay Sigel in the quarters and Jerry Courville Jr. in the semis before falling to Chris Patton in the final of the 1989 championship.<\/p>\n
This year, however, the run for the 25-and-older group ended in the Round of 16 when 28-year-old Christian Cavalier, of Katonah, N.Y., was eliminated by Whaley, 4 and 3. The 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur semifinalist was impressive in beating 2026 Canadian Amateur champion Dawson Lew in the Round of 32 before running into the Florida State standout who could be representing Great Britain & Ireland in next month\u2019s Walker Cup Match at Lahinch, in the Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n
Three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and five-time USA Walker Cupper Stewart Hagestad, 34, of Newport, Calif., was eliminated in the Round of 32 by Harvey, 2 and 1. The other three mid-amateurs to qualify for match play \u2013 Matthew Lowe, Evan Beck and Grady Brame Jr. \u2013 were eliminated on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Whaley, however, built a 5-up lead after eight holes and cruised home from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last 36 hours, I didn\u2019t really expect it coming into this week,\u201d said Whaley. \u201cI knew my game was pretty solid. I knew I was playing nice. But obviously there\u2019s so many good players in this field, you can never really say, \u2018Wow, I\u2019m going to win.\u2019 It\u2019s always a goal, but you never know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Bresnu was the No. 1 player in junior college, having won nine times for Odessa (Texas) College before signing with Texas Tech, where he\u2019ll be a senior. Now he\u2019s the first player from a country better known for soccer players and distance runners to make the quarterfinals in a USGA championship. Morocco, which will host the 2027 World Amateur Team Championships, now has a golf star to follow.<\/p>\n
His 5-and-4 victory over University of Illinois All-American Max Herendeen was all the more impressive in that Herendeen had needed just 25 holes to win his first two matches.<\/p>\n
Bresnu lost the opening hole, but the emotional Bresnu claimed the next two holes with pars and never looked back, fist-pumping his way around Merion.<\/p>\n
Knight, a rising senior at the University of Colorado, never led his Round-of-16 encounter against Oklahoma State rising senior Gaven Lane, of Argyle, Texas, until his opponent missed a 5-foot bogey putt on the 507-yard, par-4 closing hole, one that has baffled the game\u2019s best amateur all week. One hole earlier, Knight had tied the match with a winning par on the 186-yard par-3.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was shocked, honestly,\u201d said Knight, who was 3 down after 10. \u201cI was kind of gearing up to play 1. I figured he was going to make it. I was ready to go. It was a relief.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notable<\/p>\n
All eight quarterfinalists are now exempt into the 127th U.S. Amateur to be staged at Oak Hill Country Club, in Rochester, N.Y., next August.
\nHow good was the Torrey Pines High boys\u2019 golf team in 2024? Both Jay Leng Jr. and then freshman Evan Liu were both on the team that captured the California Interscholastic Federation state title. Both Liu and Leng, the recent winner of the Western Amateur, advanced to the Round of 32 and quarterfinals, respectively, this week at Merion. Liu has verbally committed to play for the University of North Carolina in 2027.
\nMichael Lugiano is the first player from the Golf Association of Philadelphia to reach the quarterfinals since Merion member George \u201cBuddy\u201d Marucci in 1996 at Pumpkin Ridge. Marucci, a two-time USA Walker Cup captain (2007, 2009), lost in the 1995 final to Tiger Woods.
\nSpeaking of Merion, Jack Hopkins is the lone club caddie left. He is carrying for Carter Loflin.
\nWilliam Jennings ended his Round-of-32 match in dramatic fashion, holing out a fairway bunker shot from 132 yards on the 15th hole for an eagle 2 to close out Jack Beauchamp, 4 and 3.
\nBasketball Hall of Famer and former Philadelphia 76ers star Charles Barkley was at Merion on Thursday taking in the action. The current NBA analyst was an 11-time all-star and the league\u2019s MVP in 1993. Barkley also is an avid golfer.
\nAfter being eliminated in the Round of 64 on Wednesday, Boston Bracken jumped on the bag of Arizona State teammate and fellow Utah resident Bowen Mauss for the Round of 32. Unfortunately for Mauss, he was eliminated by Florida State standout Jack Whaley, of England, 2 and 1.<\/p>\n
Quotable<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I\u2019ve always thought that my game was good enough to compete with anyone. I guess it just proves to me that I don\u2019t need to change anything, that I can just do my own thing and swing how I like to do and just keep doing that. I guess people will see how it works.\u201d \u2013 Jay Leng Jr.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely really nice. Just being with a buddy all week and having his family to support me through it as well, it\u2019s really nice to have the comfort of a home instead of a hotel, which is most of these events.\u201d \u2013 Michael Lugiano on staying at the residence of ex-college teammate Josh Ryan just 10.5 miles from Merion<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s paramount. Yeah, he\u2019s been here for 35 years. He knows every nook and cranny of this place. I was telling the lady (Emilia Doran) from Golf Channel a minute ago, he just really slows me down. But he really knows the greens, like, really, really well. If I\u2019m ever 50\/50 on a read, he\u2019s just like, no, it\u2019s right here. I\u2019m like, okay.\u201d \u2013 Carter Loflin on the importance of having veteran Merion caddie Jack Hopkins on his bag<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s so cool to have all those people out there. It\u2019s kind of what I grew up dreaming about is playing with big crowds. I love everyone getting loud and kind of rowdy out there. The more people out there and the more cameras, it means something is going well.\u201d \u2013 Logan Reilly<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always play games together and we were talking about how gimmes you just lay the putter down and just say pick it up. So, we had some laughs out there. But it\u2019s definitely weird playing one of my good friends on such a big stage. It was a lot of fun.\u201d \u2013 Jack Turner on playing Florida teammate Joshua Bai<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a golf shot app thing where I can pinpoint where all the tee boxes are, so I kind of used that and went through in the practice rounds how wide the fairways were so I could kind of navigate. But I also completely forgot the fact that Merion had the [2013] U.S. Open until my dad told me the day before. I wouldn\u2019t say it was 100 percent perfect, but it\u2019s working.\u201d \u2013 Jack Whaley on preparing to play Merion<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the main goal for me is to try to show kids in Morocco, even young people, that if I can do it, everyone can do it. We only have 34 golf courses in Morocco. There\u2019s probably more in Rhode Island. It\u2019s just to show that even if you don\u2019t have a lot of golf courses or a facility, you can still make it.\u201d \u2013 Adam Bresnu on being an inspiration for future players from Morocco<\/p>\n
\u201cThis place is as good as it gets here at Merion. I have never played a golf course that\u2019s just so good through 18 holes.\u201d \u2013 Brandon Knight<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Few players this summer have been hotter than Jay Leng Jr. Winner of the Western Amateur. Runner-up in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1288,18624,164],"class_list":["post-50251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-u-s-open-championship","tag-u-s-open-championship","tag-us-amateur","tag-usga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}