2026 U.S. Amateur: Jack Whaley wins at Merion Golf Club (East Course)
Jack Whaley won the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club (East Course) in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, beating Jay Leng Jr. 4 & 3 in the final.
Updated October 22, 2026
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- Edition
- 126th
- Dates
- August 10, 2026 to August 16, 2026
- Course
- Merion Golf Club (East Course), Ardmore, Pennsylvania
- Stroke-play co-host
- Philadelphia Country Club (Spring Mill Course), Gladwyne, Pa.
- Format
- stroke-play qualifying (36 holes) + match play
- Champion
- Jack Whaley · age 22 · England · Florida State University
- Champion's title
- 1st U.S. Amateur
- Runner-up
- Jay Leng Jr. · age 20
- Final
- 4 & 3
- Losing semifinalists
- Carter Loflin and Logan Reilly
- Stroke-play medalist
- Joshua Ryan (132)
- Defending champion
- Mason Howell · missed cut (145 in stroke play)
- What winning earned
- Tiger Woods Medal; U.S. Open exemption (2027); exemptions into next 10 U.S. Amateurs; The Open exemption (2027) if amateur; likely Masters invitation (2027); automatic GB&I Walker Cup Team place
What happened at the 2026 U.S. Amateur
Final: 2 down after the morning round, Whaley won four consecutive holes from the par-5 20th and clinched a 4-and-3 win with a 10-foot birdie on the 33rd hole.
Round of 64: No. 64 seed Taishi Moto beat medalist Joshua Ryan (132) in 19 holes; Whaley himself came through a 16-for-11 playoff and won his first match in 22 holes.
The draw
Every match is recorded through the round of 64.
The final, 2026 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Whaley | def. | Jay Leng Jr. | 4 & 3 |
Semifinals, 2026 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Whaley | def. | Carter Loflin | 1 up |
| Jay Leng Jr. | def. | Logan Reilly | 2 & 1 |
Quarterfinals, 2026 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Loflin | def. | Brandon Knight | 3 & 2 |
| Jack Whaley | def. | Adam Bresnu | 5 & 4 |
| Jay Leng Jr. | def. | Jack Turner | 6 & 5 |
| Logan Reilly | def. | Michael Lugiano | 6 & 4 |
Round of 16, 2026 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Knight | def. | Gaven Lane | 1 up |
| Carter Loflin | def. | William Jennings | won on 19th hole |
| Adam Bresnu | def. | Max Herendeen | 5 & 4 |
| Jack Whaley | def. | Christian Cavaliere | 4 & 3 |
| Jay Leng Jr. | def. | Tyler Watts | 1 up |
| Jack Turner | def. | Joshua Bai | 5 & 3 |
| Michael Lugiano | def. | Drake Harvey | 1 up |
| Logan Reilly | def. | Ryder Cowan | won on 20th hole |
Round of 32, 2026 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaven Lane | def. | Taishi Moto | 2 up |
| Brandon Knight | def. | Noah Kent | 3 & 2 |
| Carter Loflin | def. | Wolfgang Glawe | 3 & 1 |
| William Jennings | def. | Jack Beauchamp | 4 & 3 |
| Adam Bresnu | def. | Finn Koelle | 3 & 2 |
| Max Herendeen | def. | Carson Bertagnole | 7 & 6 |
| Jack Whaley | def. | Bowen Mauss | 2 & 1 |
| Christian Cavaliere | def. | Dawson Lew | 3 & 2 |
| Tyler Watts | def. | Anson Munzlinger | 3 & 1 |
| Jay Leng Jr. | def. | Zackary Swanwick | 6 & 5 |
| Jack Turner | def. | Niall Shiels Donegan | 3 & 2 |
| Joshua Bai | def. | Rudy Sautron | 2 & 1 |
| Drake Harvey | def. | Stewart Hagestad | 2 & 1 |
| Michael Lugiano | def. | Nevill Ruiter | 1 up |
| Ryder Cowan | def. | Justin Matthews | 2 & 1 |
| Logan Reilly | def. | Evan Liu | 2 & 1 |
Round of 64, 2026 U.S. Amateur
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taishi Moto | def. | Joshua Ryan | won on 19th hole |
| Gaven Lane | def. | Grady Brame Jr. | 3 & 2 |
| Noah Kent | def. | Kailer Stone | 1 up |
| Brandon Knight | def. | Connor Graham | 6 & 5 |
| Carter Loflin | def. | Grayson Wood | 1 up |
| Wolfgang Glawe | def. | Byungho Lee | 3 & 1 |
| William Jennings | def. | Malan Potgieter | 3 & 1 |
| Jack Beauchamp | def. | Hampton Roberts | 2 & 1 |
| Finn Koelle | def. | Kihei Akina | 1 up |
| Adam Bresnu | def. | Ward Harris | 4 & 3 |
| Carson Bertagnole | def. | Tyson Shelley | 3 & 2 |
| Max Herendeen | def. | McCoy Biagioli | 6 & 5 |
| Jack Whaley | def. | Jackson Ormond | won on 22nd hole |
| Bowen Mauss | def. | Virgilio Paz | 1 up |
| Christian Cavaliere | def. | Boston Bracken | 3 & 2 |
| Dawson Lew | def. | Sergio Jimenez Romero | 4 & 3 |
| Tyler Watts | def. | Parker Sands | 3 & 2 |
| Anson Munzlinger | def. | Tianyi Xiong | 7 & 6 |
| Jay Leng Jr. | def. | Evan Beck | 5 & 4 |
| Zackary Swanwick | def. | Josiah Gilbert | 3 & 2 |
| Jack Turner | def. | Fifa Laopakdee | 2 & 1 |
| Niall Shiels Donegan | def. | Wheaton Ennis | 4 & 3 |
| Joshua Bai | def. | Eliot Baker | 3 & 1 |
| Rudy Sautron | def. | Matthew Lowe | 1 up |
| Drake Harvey | def. | William Love | 2 & 1 |
| Stewart Hagestad | def. | Ryan Downes | 5 & 3 |
| Nevill Ruiter | def. | William Lisle | 3 & 2 |
| Michael Lugiano | def. | Chase Hughes | 1 up |
| Ryder Cowan | def. | Miles Russell | 2 & 1 |
| Justin Matthews | def. | Caleb Bond | 4 & 3 |
| Logan Reilly | def. | Emile Lebrun | won on 19th hole |
| Evan Liu | def. | Aiden Krafft | won on 20th hole |
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.