1977 U.S. Amateur: John Fought wins at Aronimink Golf Club
John Fought won the 1977 U.S. Amateur at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, beating Doug Fischesser 9 & 8 in the final.
Updated October 22, 2026
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- Edition
- 77th
- Dates
- August 31, 1977 to September 5, 1977
- Course
- Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
- Format
- match play
- Champion
- John Fought · age 22 · United States
- Champion's title
- 1st U.S. Amateur
- Runner-up
- Doug Fischesser
- Final
- 9 & 8
- Losing semifinalists
- Jay Sigel and Ralph Landrum
- Defending champion
- Bill Sander · lost in round of 64 (third round, to Tim Bond, 21 holes)
- Entries
- 2,950
What happened at the 1977 U.S. Amateur
Final: Fischesser played the last four holes of the morning and the first of the afternoon in six over par and lost them all, falling from 2 down to 7 down.
Semifinal: Fought played the last nine in even par to beat Aronimink member Jay Sigel 2 up.
The draw
Every match is recorded through the round of 16; earlier rounds are partial (round of 32 (9 of 16 matches); round of 64 (30 of 32 matches); round of 128 (8 matches)).
The final, 1977 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Fought | def. | Doug Fischesser | 9 & 8 |
Semifinals, 1977 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Fought | def. | Jay Sigel | 2 up |
| Doug Fischesser | def. | Ralph Landrum | 1 up |
Quarterfinals, 1977 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Landrum | def. | Tim Bond | 6 & 5 |
| Doug Fischesser | def. | Mike Brannan | 3 & 2 |
| Jay Sigel | def. | Mark Balen | 6 & 4 |
| John Fought | def. | Vinny Giles | unknown |
Round of 16, 1977 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Bond | def. | John Cook | 4 & 3 |
| Ralph Landrum | def. | Allen Powers | 4 & 3 |
| Vinny Giles | def. | David Hackstadt | 1 up |
| Doug Fischesser | def. | Peter McEvoy | 1 up |
| Mark Balen | def. | Sandy Lyle | 1 up |
| John Fought | def. | Michael Kelley | 4 & 3 |
| Mike Brannan | def. | Steve King | 2 & 1 |
| Jay Sigel | def. | Pat McGowan | 3 & 1 |
Round of 32, 1977 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Cook | def. | Kirk Padgett | 2 & 1 |
| Tim Bond | def. | John Stark | unknown |
| Ralph Landrum | def. | Gordon Murray | 1 up |
| Doug Fischesser | def. | Kirk Hanefeld | unknown |
| Mike Brannan | def. | Warren Nelson | 4 & 3 |
| John Fought | def. | Doug Clarke | unknown |
| Vinny Giles | def. | Ian Hutcheon | 1 up |
| Jay Sigel | def. | Dallas Apelgren | 3 & 1 |
| Mark Balen | def. | Tom Reynolds | 2 & 1 |
Round of 64, 1977 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Cook | def. | Thomas Carlton | unknown |
| Kirk Padgett | def. | Sherman Hostetler | 4 & 2 |
| John Stark | def. | Tom Gray | 7 & 6 |
| Tim Bond | def. | Bill Sander | won on 21st hole |
| Allen Powers | def. | Peter Deeble | 3 & 2 |
| Ralph Landrum | def. | Mike Holland | 4 & 3 |
| John Grace | def. | William Holbrook | 2 up |
| Peter McEvoy | def. | Scott Humrickhouse | 1 up |
| Doug Fischesser | def. | Buddy Alexander | 4 & 3 |
| Kirk Hanefeld | def. | Gary Hallberg | 2 up |
| Mike Brannan | def. | Michael Hopson | 4 & 3 |
| Warren Nelson | def. | Ricky Gregg | 2 & 1 |
| Griff Moody III | def. | Bryan Pini | 1 up |
| Steve King | def. | Lindy Miller | 2 & 1 |
| Doug Clarke | def. | Gordon Brewer | unknown |
| John Fought | def. | Michael Peck | 1 up |
| Michael Kelley | def. | Brian Gaddy | 2 up |
| Gerry Simoni | def. | Charles Van Dyne | 1 up |
| Hal Sutton | def. | Fred Ridley | 3 & 2 |
| David Hackstadt | def. | Jack Druga | 3 & 2 |
| Ian Hutcheon | def. | Steven Waugh | won on 19th hole |
| Vinny Giles | def. | Joe Rassett | 2 up |
| Pat McGowan | def. | Gary Cowan | 2 & 1 |
| Gary Mankulish | def. | John Gazecki | unknown |
| Jay Sigel | def. | Donal Reese | 1 up |
| Dallas Apelgren | def. | Del de Windt | 2 & 1 |
| David Olaia | def. | Ken Krieger | 1 up |
| Sandy Lyle | def. | Mitch Mooney | 2 & 1 |
| Mark Balen | def. | William Meyers | 2 & 1 |
| Tom Reynolds | def. | James Lipe | 1 up |
Round of 128, 1977 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Sander | def. | Rick Jones | 2 & 1 |
| Dale Morey | def. | Jack Holmes | won on 20th hole |
| Jack Druga | def. | Bill Campbell | 1 up |
| Vinny Giles | def. | Dan Croonquist | 3 & 2 |
| Fred Ridley | def. | Paul Spadafora | 2 & 1 |
| Scott Simpson | def. | Kim Heisler | 3 & 2 |
| Charles Van Dyne | def. | Mike Toomey | 3 & 1 |
| Gary Cowan | def. | David King | 4 & 2 |
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.
Data: us-amateur.json.