1896 U.S. Amateur: H. J. Whigham wins at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
H. J. Whigham won the 1896 U.S. Amateur at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, beating Joseph G. Thorp 8 & 7 in the final.
Updated October 22, 2026
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- Edition
- 2nd
- Course
- Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, New York
- Format
- Match play
- Champion
- H. J. Whigham · Scotland
- Champion's title
- 1 U.S. Amateur
- Runner-up
- Joseph G. Thorp
- Final
- 8 & 7
- Entries
- 58
What happened at the 1896 U.S. Amateur
Scotsman H. J. Whigham beat Joseph G. Thorp 8 & 7 at Shinnecock Hills.
The draw
Every match is recorded through the round of 16.
The final, 1896 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| H. J. Whigham | def. | Joseph G. Thorp | 8 & 7 |
Semifinals, 1896 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| H. J. Whigham | def. | A. M. Coats | 8 & 6 |
| Joseph G. Thorp | def. | H. P. Toler | 4 & 3 |
Quarterfinals, 1896 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| H. J. Whigham | def. | H. R. Sweny | 5 & 3 |
| A. M. Coats | def. | James A. Tyng | 5 & 3 |
| Joseph G. Thorp | def. | W. H. Sands | 3 & 2 |
| H. P. Toler | def. | H. G. Trevor | 2 & 1 |
Round of 16, 1896 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| H. J. Whigham | def. | Louis P. Bayard Jr. | 2 up |
| H. R. Sweny | def. | W. Bayard Cutting Jr. | 1 up |
| James A. Tyng | def. | J. R. Chadwick | 6 & 5 |
| A. M. Coats | def. | Lawrence Waterbury | 5 & 3 |
| Joseph G. Thorp | def. | Charles B. Macdonald | 3 & 2 |
| W. H. Sands | def. | Arthur H. Fenn | 2 & 1 |
| H. P. Toler | def. | A. L. Livermore | 2 up |
| H. G. Trevor | def. | E. C. Rushmore | 2 up |
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's U.S. Amateur data set (research collected through October 20, 2026). "unknown" means no source confirmed it; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the USGA's own record is used.
This year's champion, runner-up, result and venue come from GNN's first-pass host-sites table; the rest of the year record for 1895–1916 is still being written up. The draw comes from contemporary reports listed in the data.
Data: us-amateur.json.