Leona Maguire heads for the Solheim Cup with a spring in her step and her game on an upward curve after she matched her career-best KPMG Women's Irish Open finish at The K Club.

The Co Cavan battler has been mired in swing changes all year, missing 11 of 19 cuts and six of the last eight.

But after going into the weekend 13 shots off the lead, she played her last 36 holes in 13-under, closing with rounds of 63 and 68 to finish tied for fourth, just five strokes behind wire-to-wire champion Casandra Alexande,

"Nice to get a couple of low ones over the weekend," beamed Maguire, who got to within four shots of the South African before the world number 38 overcame a bogey-bogey start and shot 70 to win by three strokes from Czechia's Sara Kouskova on 20-under.

"Overall, 15-under par for the week is a very solid effort, and nice to be able to give the home fans something to cheer."

Maguire's performance is welcome news for Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist, who handed her a wildcard for the matches in the Netherlands from September 11–13.

The gritty Cavan star knows it could take another year for her swing changes to become second nature, but she saw signs that her game is not as far away as recent results suggest.

"It's one thing doing it in practice, but you have to go out under the gun and pull it off the shots when you need to," she said after almost holing a 77-yard pitch at the 18th to close with a tap-in birdie. 

"Approaches have been really, really nice this week, and nice to see that under a little bit of pressure and being able to pull off those shots."

As for the Solheim Cup, she said: "Absolutely, it's nice to be in good form heading into something like that. There's been a lot of Europeans in good form this summer, so it'll be fun to get over there with the rest of the group."

She was especially pleased to produce the goods for the home fans at the weekend after Friday's 71 all but dashed her title hopes.

She started the day seven shots behind Alexander, but while the South African started with back-to-back bogeys, she didn't get going herself until she made four birdies in five holes from the sixth.

"I thought 20 under was the number to get to, and that was ultimately what I was trying to get to, whatever she did," she said. "She's played some great golf this week. She also got off to a hot start [with a 63 in round one], and it was always going to be tough to catch her."

It was only Alexander's second LET win, and after five runner-up finishes this year, she had to dig deep to get over the line after seeing her three-shot overnight lead reduced to one stroke through three holes.

But three birdies in a row from the fifth and another at the 10th gave her breathing room, and while Finland's Noora Komulainen got to within two strokes when play was suspended for 25 minutes due to electrical activity, she returned to roll in a 15-footer for birdie at the 15th.

"I think that was huge," Alexander said after winning €67,500 to extend her lead in the Order of Merit. "I felt like I was going to hole it the whole time. I knew that would be a bit of a momentum switch."

After adding her name alongside those of five Major champions on the trophy, she said: "It's a huge one to win. There's some big names on there, and hopefully I can follow in their footsteps."

Kildare's Lauren Walsh was the next best of the Irish, tied for 24th on eight-under after a closing 69.

The Castlewarden star, who had missed the cut in her two previous appearances, was proud to battle back from five-over par after 13 holes of her first round.

"Overall, I'm quite pleased. I mean, I showed some really good form this week... overall really pleased. I made a lot of birdies and really enjoyed myself. And yeah, best Irish Open so far."

As for her transition to the LPGA Tour she said: "Don't get me wrong. It's had its challenges. You know, there were moments I definitely struggled this year.

"You kind of have to adapt to the whole environment there... The course setups, you know they set them up a little bit longer, it's firmer, it's faster, rough is thicker... It's less social than it is here.

"Overall, I'm pleased. I'm making progress and continuing to apply those lessons."

Anna Foster (five-under) and Aine Donegan (four-under) closed with 73s to finish 30th and 35th respectively.

Annabel Wilson's 70 left her 47th on two-under while Canice Screene was 54th on one-under after a 72.

At the DP World Tour's Husqvarna British Masters, Tom McKibbin tied sixth after a closing 72, four shots behind fairytale maiden winner Joe Dean.

The Englishman, who had to work as a supermarket delivery driver for several months after winning his card in 2023 due to lack of funds, closed with an incredible nine-under 63 to win by three strokes on 14-under from Danish duo Jacob Skov Olesen and Niklas Norgaard, Spain's Nacho Elvira and New Zealander Daniel Hillier.

"All those painful hours and all the work I put in this; it's finally led to something," Dean said. 

McKibbin was just two shots off the lead when he ran up a triple bogey seven at the eighth that derailed his challenge.

He went on to eagle the 17th to shoot 72, climbing to 92nd in the Race to Dubai and earning some Ryder Cup qualifying points.

On the HotelPlanner Tour, Gary Hurley tied for 12th on three-under, eight shots behind home winner Christofer Blomstrand in the Dormy Open in Sweden.

Mark Power was a shot further back in 19th with Ronan Mullarney 50th and James Sugrue 54th.

Douglas secured a third AIG Women’s Senior Cup title in a row for just the second time in the club’s history, while Warrenpoint ended an 18-year wait for AIG Men’s Senior Cup glory at Shandon Park.

Clodagh Coughlan, Aoife Ni Thuama, Shannon Burke and Karen O’Neill were all part of Douglas’ winning side when their treble run began in 2024, and each played a vital role in their success once again.

Deirdre O’Sullivan’s side defeated Knock 3.5-1.5 on a rain-soaked afternoon in East Belfast, with Claudia O’Donoghue, who sealed victory in the 2025 final, once again providing the decisive point for the Cork outfit.

Douglas had battled past Royal Portrush in Friday’s quarter-final, with Ni Thuama securing the vital point on the 22nd hole against Naoimh Quigg. Her victory set up a semi-final against Lahinch on Saturday morning in a repeat of last year’s final.

As in 2025, the tie went down to the wire, with Ni Thuama once again called upon to seal victory in a playoff as she defeated Niamh O’Dwyer on the 20th hole.

A young Knock team awaited in the final, having impressed in victories over Royal Tara and Galway to progress, but as the rain began to fall on Shandon Park, they came up against a Douglas side hungry for a third consecutive title.

Burke was first to taste victory for Douglas with a 7&6 win over Caitlin Ross before Coughlan put O’Sullivan’s side on the verge of victory with a 6&4 result.

O’Donoghue once again provided the winning point as she defeated Annie Armstrong 5&4 to seal a third consecutive Women’s Senior Cup title for Douglas, their first three-in-a-row since 1987.

“Stunned, delighted, proud,” said O’Sullivan.

“It’s a great day for Douglas. Our Barton Shield team won during the week and today these girls are bringing home the three in a row.”

“The girls felt this was their time and they weren’t going to leave it behind them today.”

“We’re in a good space in Douglas, we have experience, but we also have youth coming through so hopefully the future is very bright.”

County Louth are the only team to have ever won four Women’s Senior Cup titles in a row, winning from 1946 to 1949, and while O’Sullivan is not ruling out the possibility of joining them on four next year, she is happy to let her team savour a famous third victory for now.

“You never know what next year could bring,” said O’Sullivan.

“But let’s enjoy tonight, let’s celebrate and we’ll enjoy the three in a row.”

In the AIG Men’s Senior Cup final, Warrenpoint came through a tight encounter with Carton House to claim their first Senior Cup title since 2008.

The Ulster North champions had produced some outstanding performances against The Island and Co. Sligo to reach the final, while Carton House booked their place with wins against Castletroy and Lisburn.

Kenny’s side went behind early on as Darragh Flynn defeated Stephen Coulter 5&4 before Paul Reavey (2up) and Senior Cup debutant Sean Ryan (2&1) sent the 2025 Barton Shield champions ahead.

The tie was level at 2-2 after Paul O’Hanlon picked up the Kildare side’s second point of the afternoon with a 2&1 win over Colm Campbell, meaning the title would be decided in the bottom match between Rian Carvill and David Shiel.

The match went all the way to the 16th before Carvill sank the winning putt, much to the delight of team captain Kenny, who himself won his first Senior Cup title at the third time of asking.

“Absolutely out of this world,” said Kenny.

“Fantastic achievement for this team. It’s fantastic for Warrenpoint Golf Club. The last time we won was back in 2008, we have been beaten in the last two finals we played in, my third time as captain so third time lucky for me.”

“The guys stood up and for Rian to come and win in 16 to get us over the line was just fantastic.”

“Senior Cup to me is always the big one, Barton Shield is fantastic to win but Senior Cup is the crème de la crème in amateur club golf so it’s fantastic.”

View the final results here

Leona Maguire might be seven shots behind leader Casandra Alexander but she's hoping to make the South African "sweat" after a stunning 63 catapulted her into the mix in the KPMG Women's Irish Open at The K Club.

The Cavan star took advantage of preferred lies and her bogey-free, nine-under-par round was just the boost she needed in her penultimate round before the Solheim Cup.

Scores

Maguire has missed 11 cuts this year, including six of the last eight as she works through major swing changes she started making with Tiger Woods' former coach, Sean Foley, at the end of last year.

She knew it might take 18 months to two years to get her swing where she wants it, and her 63 was just the tonic as she prepares to head to the Netherlands to take on the USA.

"Yeah, I knew there was a low one out there, and honestly, I didn't really play that much better today than I did yesterday," said Maguire, who lies tied for sixth on 11-under and will go out in the penultimate group.

"It's probably going to need another low one [to have a chance], but the goal was to get to double digits, and we did that part."

Alexander was five shots clear through nine holes when play was suspended for 45 minutes due to waterlogging at the Palmer South Course. 

But the 27-year-old was not quite the same after the restart and went on to card a three-under 69 to lead by three shots on 18-under from Czechia's Sara Kouskova (67) and by five from Sweden's Kajsa Arwefjal (63).

While winning might be a big ask, Maguire will be trying to put the leader under pressure with another low round.

"It's nice to put a really low, low one together," she said. "Haven't done that in a while, and I knew it was there, but you still have to go and do it. So very positive momentum heading into Solheim next week.

"I think it would have been very easy yesterday evening to get down on myself and frustrated at all the missed opportunities. I just had to look at today as another opportunity to keep fine-tuning and test it where it's at."

Alexander has finished second six times this year and may feel the pressure should Maguire make a fast start.

"We'll see what the weather is, but it's going to take more of the same and try and get as close to 20 under par as we can and see where it leads us," Maguire added.

"She obviously hits it far. She's going to make a lot of birdies, but we'll try and make her sweat and see what happens."

As for her swing changes, she knew before she decided to make them that it was going to try her patience.

"Yeah, but I think I've been in a better headspace, and I've had the patience," she explained. "I haven't been getting as frustrated with it as maybe I have in the past. So, a bit more perspective and knowing that it will take a little time, but I think it'll be worth it.

"Sean said in the beginning that ideally it would take two years, but there have been sparks of it on any given week."

Alexander was three under through the turn, but while she stalled after the delay and became impatient as she struggled to adjust to slower greens, she would have taken a three-shot lead through 54 holes at the start of the week,

"One hundred per cent," she said. "Hopefully, we can extend the lead a little bit more early on in the round tomorrow, but we'll see what happens.

"Winning is the number one goal. We've come second too many times. We've never been in this position. I just want to maximise birdie opportunities, hole a few putts, and get the job done. 

"If someone comes out and shoots lights out, and that's the situation, that's something I can't control. 

"So I'm just going to go out there tomorrow and give it my best and see if it's enough."

As for the other Irish, Anna Foster shot 66 to move up to 15th on seven-under.

Lauren Walsh made eight birdies in a 67 and was left to rue adding a triple bogey seven at the fourth to two double bogeys and a triple bogey in the first two rounds.

She's tied for 24th on five-under with Co Clare's Aine Donegan, who shot  69, but Canice Screene took ten at the par-five 18th and signed for a 76 that left her 48th on one-under,

Castlerock's Annabel Wilson also fell back, carding a 73 to share 52nd on level par.

Meanwhile, Gary Hurley leads the Irish challenge in the HotelPlanner Tour's Dormy Open in Sweden.

Five birdies in his last six holes allowed him to shoot a level par 70 at Kristianstad Golf Club and head into the final round tied for 15th.

He's six shots behind leader Christofer Blomstrand of Sweden on two under, with Mark Power 27th on level par after a 68.

Tom McKibbin is just one stroke behind New Zealand's Daniel Hiller and England's Marco Penge with 30 holes to play in the weather-affected Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.

The LIV Golf star is seeking a second DP World Tour win that would catapult him well inside the top 100 in the Race to Dubai and into contention for a Ryder Cup place at Adare Manor next year.

The Newtownabbey talent (23), who remains contracted to LIV Golf should it continue next year, carded a second successive 68 to sit just two shots behind Penge at halfway as officials battled to make up for lost time after long weather delays at The Belfry on Thursday and Friday.

There were no weather delays on the third day, and McKibbin managed to play six holes of his third round in two-under par before play was suspended due to darkness.

He was alone in third place on 10-under-par, just one stroke behind Penge and Hillier, who faced birdie putts on the sixth green when the hooter sounded.

Over nine hours of play were lost on days one and two before Penge completed the final four holes of a second round and posted a 65 to lead by a shot on 10-under from the Kiwi, who shot 66.

McKibbin was four-under for his second round with three holes to play and finished bogey-eagle-birdie for his 68, almost holing his second shot for an albatross at the 17th before tapping in from 17 inches for his eagle.

The Holywood star has several years left on his LIV Golf contract and still hopes to qualify for the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor.

"That would be pretty special," he said. "To play a Ryder Cup in Ireland would be a bucket-list thing to do. Yeah, I'll definitely give it my best shot." 

As for LIV's uncertain future, he said: "Yeah, as far as I am concerned, I've got a couple of years left, but, at the same time, I am going to play as much as I can over here until the end of the year and then see what happens. 

"I'm playing Ireland, Wentworth and France. Still undecided about the Dunhill, then Spain and India."

Penge won three times last year to give Rory McIlroy a run for his money in the Race to Dubai and earn his PGA TOUR card.

But he has what he described as a "nightmare" season so far after suffering problems with his ear, neck and nervous system which have led him to play a limited schedule.

Hillier, meanwhile, is looking for a second British Masters win since 2023.

The third round will resume at 7 am on Sunday with the leaders facing a 30-hole marathon.

McIlroy five behind Hovland after Saturday 63

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy fired a seven-under 63 to grab the early clubhouse lead in the Tour Championship in Atlanta before finishing the day five shots behind Viktor Hovland in a tie for seventh.

The world number two made nine birdies in a seven-under par round to set the target at 10-under in the FedEx Cup finale, where the winner will pocket a $10m cheque.

"It's a unique week because if you look at the scoring, even starting yesterday, there were only like eight or nine shots that spread the field," said the Holywood star, who started the day tied for 20th but ran the tables on the greens, taking just 24 putts.

"Obviously, it's a short field. There's only 30 players, but it does feel like if you go out and shoot a good score, the leaders, you know, I thought today if I could get like 10 was sort of my target, which is great that I got there.

"But I thought if the leaders only get to 13 under, for example, they might go lower than that. But I felt like if I could do that, I could give myself a chance.

"I think since this golf course has been changed a couple of years ago, I felt like the field used to get spread out a little bit more on the old track.

"And it seems like the last couple of years, it's a little bit more bunched, and that's a great thing because if you make a couple birdies, you can jump up, you know, 10 or 15 spots really easily."

In the end, Hovland shot a 65 to lead by a stroke from Ryan Gerard (66) on 15-under.

Leona Maguire failed to convert some brilliant golf into birdies and endured a poor finish to trail runaway leader Casandra Alexander by 13 shots at The K Club.

The Solheim Cup star needs a red-hot weekend to reel in the big-hitting South African, who added a 66 to her opening 63 to lead the KPMG Women's Irish Open by five strokes on 15-under par.

While the Co Cavan star played her opening 12 holes in three-under, she might have been six under and then bogeyed the 16th and dropped another shot at the last to card a 71 that left her in the middle of the pack on two-under.

"I probably left at least seven or eight shots out there today," lamented the Co Cavan star, whose nine-wood lay-up at the par-five 18th hopped left and only stayed out of the water by inches.

"I gave myself a lot of chances, which was nice, especially on the front nine. But I holed nothing."

Brilliant sunshine brought out a 6,200-strong crowd, but Maguire's putter remained ice-cold, and the 65 she needed to threaten the leaders never materialised.

"Obviously, today was prime conditions for shooting that sort of number, and I didn't take advantage of it," she said. "We'll see what we get over the weekend and just keep trying to give myself as many chances as I can."

The entire field has its work cut out to catch Order of Merit leader Alexander, who made two eagles and 14 birdies over the first two days to lead by five strokes in 15-under from Czechia's Sara Kouskova (66) and American Brianna Navarrosa (65).

"I knew someone was going to go really low," Maguire said of Alexander. "I'm not shocked it was her. I mean, she bombs it.

"She's probably hitting wedges into pretty much every hole around here.I felt like yesterday someone was going to shoot seven or eight under, and she shot nine or whatever she did.

"I'm walking off the course feeling like I could have shot 10 under today. So, it was out there for sure."

Alexander is still looking for her first win of the season, having finished second six times, with five of those runner-up finishes coming on the LET.

Having opened with a 63, she would have been happy to follow it up with another score in the red before an electric start changed her mindset,

"My caddie said to me yesterday, if we could get two or three under, I think that would be pretty good," she said.

"Because your expectations go up once you're shot nine under, and I started eagle, birdie, birdie and I just looked at him and laughed. And he's like, 'Shut up, let's go to the next tee, let's carry on!'"

The South African sounded like a woman on a mission, determined to demolish the field.

"Consistency is key, I think, and I've shown that I have that, but I did say at the beginning of the week, if we are going to win, we're going to make sure we win by a few, because I'm not going to leave it up to chance."

While amateurs  Kate Dillon (3-over) and Olivia Costello (4-over) shot fine 70s, six professionals in the 16-strong home contingent made the 60 players who survived the level-par cut.

Canice Screene, who has been playing on the second-tier LET Access Series, made seven birdies in a 67 that left her the best of the Irish, tied for eighth on five under.

Born in England to Galway and Mayo-born parents, she said: "It's always my favourite event of the year, and my family are here, so putting on a good show for them is my priority.

"But obviously it's a good opportunity for me to move up the LET Order of Merit and also just get confidence for going back on the Access next week."

Ennis' Aine Donegan shares 26th with Maguire on two-over after she had a slow day on the greens and shot 73.

Anna Foster (71) and Annabel Wilson (72) were a shot further back on one-under while Kildare's Lauren Walsh snuck in for the weekend on the cut line after carding a 70 alongside Alexander that included a closing double-bogey.

“I’ve still got a couple of years left at least” — Tom McKibbin committed to LIV 2.0

On the DP World Tour, it took 34 hours to complete the opening round of the weather-interrupted Husqvarna British Masters at the Belfry.

Tom McKibbin’s opening 68 left him x shots behind Marco Penge, who led on 11-under through 14 holes of his second round when play was suspended due to darkness.

The Newtownabbey golfer remains contracted to LIV Golf, but he’s unsure of his future on the breakaway circuit.

“I’ve still got a couple of years left at least,” McKibbin told The Herald. “There are obviously a lot of things to figure out and I know they are definitely trying their hardest.

“As far as I am concerned, I’ve got a couple of years left, but, at the same time, I am going to play as much as I can over here until the end of the year and then see what happens.

“I’m playing Ireland, Wentworth and France. Still undecided about the Dunhill, then Spain and India.”

At the HotelPlanner Tour’s Dormy Open in Sweden, Gary Hurley goes into the weekend tied for sixth on two-under, four shots behind leader Christofer Blomstrand.

Higgins progresses at Q-School

Meanwhile, Roscommon amateur Thomas Higgins was the only Irishman among the 19 qualifiers to survive the First Stage of the DP World Tour Q-School at The Players Club in Bristol, finishing tied 10th on one-under.

Portumna’s Sam Murphy missed out by a shot.

Rory McIlroy believes LIV Golf stars face "a tough, tough road" back to the PGA Tour should the cash-strapped breakaway league fold after this week's season-ending event in Indianapolis.

Speaking ahead of the BMW Championship in St Louis, the second of three FedEx Cup play-off events, the world number two had no sympathy for the defectors who showed little concern for the rest when "blowing the entire professional game up".

"Eventually, yeah, maybe," he said of a road back to the PGA Tour for the likes of Jon Rahm or Bryson DeChambeau should LIV Golf 2.0 fail to happen in 2027. 

"I mean, look, eventually they will [come back]… but I'm pretty sure they're not going to be welcomed back straight away. 

"If they were offered this returning member programme back in February, the one that Brooks [Koepka] took, then, yeah, maybe. But that has sort of come and gone. 

"And I think it was said at the time that the deal that they might get going forward, if they do decide to come back, isn't going to be as good as the one that Brooks got. So I would say it's going to be a tough, tough road back."

McIlroy arrives at Bellerive Country Club searching for his game, admitting he'd prefer to be in Florida for his daughter's first day of school on Wednesday.

He downplayed his chances of winning and admitted that simply "seeing some progress" after finishing 25 shots behind Scottie Scheffler in Memphis last week would be a "win".

Even if he were to go on and win his fourth FedEx Cup, he confessed that Scheffler would almost certainly win Player of the Year.

"No. I'm not the Player of the Year. No chance. Scottie is," he said. "I firsthand watched him for the first two days last week, and if he keeps playing like that, you know, if he gains nine strokes on the greens every week, we're all f'd."

Rory McIlroy on whether LIV Golf players bring value to the PGA Tour if they return:

"I'd argue, have they brought value to LIV?"

(via @jamierkennedy)pic.twitter.com/TTxBjjNVtC

— Underdog Golf (@UnderdogGolf) August 19, 2026

He was more forthcoming on the potential demise of LIV Golf, even pushing back on the argument that some of its biggest stars would benefit the PGA Tour if they were to return.

"I mean, I would argue, have they brought value to LIV? You know? I think the PGA Tour's in a really good spot," he said.

As for feeling any personal satisfaction about the possibility of LIV Golf folding, he didn't hold back.

"I feel like I've kept my position consistent that LIV has never been a good thing for the game," he said. "So, and whatever 2.0 looks like, if it even happens, they say they're trying to be more collaborative and all that. But this is the best platform for the top professional golfers in the world.

"Were there some things at the start of LIV that the PGA TOUR could have done better? Sure. But I think that, you know, the guys that went, or you look, you think back to the start with, like, say, Phil was unhappy with some stuff or whatever it was. 

"Like, surely that just warranted a conversation instead of blowing the entire professional game up and doing something else.

"So I don't take any personal satisfaction in people losing jobs. That doesn't seem right. 

"I've always felt like this is the best place to play professional golf. And I'm pretty sure if the PGA Tour were handed $6 billion, it would have done a better job with it."

As for his game, he plays five of the next six weeks but admitted that his lighter schedule has come about because his priorities in life have changed.

"That's the stage of life where I'm at. Where, you know, not all my eggs are in the golf basket," he said. "There's other things that I want to do and there's other things that I feel like I have to do. It's a balance. 

"Some years I'll maybe play more, some years I'll maybe play where it's a little bit lighter. But it's just that balance of making sure that you play enough to stay sharp, but then also I guess having balance in your life that you feel like you're not missing out on other things that you want to do."

He added: "It's Poppy's first day of school today. I would have loved to have been home for that, but I'm here. Just stuff like that; things I didn't have 10 years ago that I have these days. I'm in a different spot in my life."

Even then, his work ethic and consistency impress Scheffler.

"He's a guy that I look up to in a sense just because of how long he's been able to do it for," the world number one said. "It's quite impressive."

Charley Hull withdraws from KPMG Women’s Irish Open

Elsewhere, Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh join Stephanie Meadow at the LPGA's CPKC Women's Open in Canada before jetting home for the KPMG Women’s Irish Open, which has been left without world number six, Charley Hull.

The €450,000 event at The K Club had been feting the return of the English star, who would not come cheap. 

Bar another withdrawal, she's opted instead to play the $4.4 million FM Championship in Boston and appears likely to return to the WIO next year.

Canada’s Anna Huang, who pipped Hull to victory in the PIF London Championship to become the youngest player to win four L ET titles, has decided to play at the K Club, where 15 Irish players will be in action.

The DP World Tour is in Scotland for the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links as Irish Open qualifier Mark Power joins Ronan. Mullarney, Liam Nolan, Dermot McElroy and James Sugrue at the HotelPlanner Tour's Vierumäki Finnish Challenge. 

Co. Sligo ended a 14-year wait for All-Ireland glory when Gerry McManus’ side claimed their first Fred Daly Trophy victory since 2012 following a brilliant performance against Galgorm Castle at Moate.

Kanturk claimed the Girls’ Inter-Club title with a combined total of 71 Stableford points, while Ballina won the Boys’ Inter-Club with a 121-point haul, and Clontarf defeated Monkstown to claim the Boys’ Foursomes pennant.

After winning in 2007 and again in 2012, Co. Sligo claimed a third Fred Daly Trophy, with Mark Muldoon sealing the 3-2 victory with a 1-up win over Jack McKee on the 18th green.

Muldoon’s win came after Patrick Tuffy had claimed the first point of the afternoon with a 6&4 victory, before James Park’s 4&2 success put the Rosses Point side on the verge of a third Fred Daly Trophy. 

“Fred Daly is close to my heart,” said McManus. “I captained the first team that won the Fred Daly in 2007. It’s a special occasion to win the Fred Daly and it’s particularly special for the departure of our good friend Terry Brady.”

He was referring to former club captain and president, who passed away suddenly last month.

“We had three tough matches. It’s never a walkover for anybody and it’s great to see so many good young golfers in the country.”

“I was proud to see our boys perform well under extreme pressure, but they delivered.”

“We have nine players here; all of them have played Fred Daly this year, so we have a good panel of players. I’m particularly proud of that.”

Co. Sligo had earlier battled past Belvoir Park in their semi-final on Wednesday morning, securing a 3-2 victory to book their place in the decider, while Galgorm Castle advanced after defeating Killarney 3.5-1.5.

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In the Girls’ Inter-Club, Kanturk emerged victorious in a tight contest, edging Belvoir Park by a single point to claim the title.

Hannah O’Connell, Ava Buckley and Beth Buckley combined to secure the coveted green pennant for the Cork side.

“They are great girls, I’m thrilled with them and so happy to bring it to Cork,” said team captain Eimear Savage.

“We did this in 2019 with other girls, and it was amazing, but this is absolutely amazing to come home with the cup.”

In the Boys’ Inter-Club, Ballina finished four points clear of Cliftonville in another closely run contest. Richard Doherty’s side returned to the final having finished fifth when qualifying in 2023, but this time there was to be no denying the Mayo club.

Michael John Mercer, Corey Teer, Aidan Murphy, Oisin Corbett and Ben Osborne combined for a 121-point total to claim another All-Ireland title for Mayo.

“We’re really delighted,” said Doherty.

“We set ourselves a target in terms of scoring, but the guys actually came in over what we had hoped and fortunately it was enough to get the job done.”

“They’ve all played from when they were really young and today is a culmination of all that. All the preparation, all the competitions, all the days when it didn’t go for us and it did finally today.”

In the Boys’ Foursomes, Clontarf came through another nip-and-tuck battle with Monkstown to secure a one-hole victory. Despite defeat for Brian Heary and Luke Conway, Henry Cronin and Lorcan O’Connor produced a superb performance in the top match, winning 4up to hand the Dublin club the All-Ireland crown.

“We’ve had our fair share of bad luck in this competition, so we’re thrilled to get over the line this time,” said team captain David Hennessey.

“It’s a great day. We won a bronze medal in the Boys’ Inter-Club and to cap it off with the Boys’ Foursomes was a fantastic achievement.”

“We have to celebrate success; it doesn’t happen very often. You lose a lot more than you win.”

 View the results here

Stuart Grehan will be the only Irishman in the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team after Roscommon's Thomas Higgins and Fota Island's David Howard were named as first and second reserves for the matches at Lahinch next month.

While Paul McGinley will be there in an advisory role for skipper Dean Robertson from September 5-6, the Scot opted for England's Josh Hill over Higgins after England's Jack Whaley came from nowhere to win the other available spot in the 10-man team by lifting the US Amateur Championship at Merion on Sunday.

"Before last week, I wouldn't have seen Jack in the team," said Robertson, who still expects the home crowd to be his 11th man as Great Britain and Ireland tries to win the biennial trophy for the first time since 2015, when there were five Irishmen in the side at Royal Lytham and St Annes. 

"But after watching him, the talent that he's got and the humility that he's got and the way that he spoke, I'm really excited to welcome him. The only downside of that is that if it wasn't for Jack, Tom Higgins would have been in the team, 100 per cent."

It was a tough decision for Robertson, who had Amateur champion Grehan and the leading five players from the World Amateur Golf Ranking—England's world number two Tyler Weaver, his compatriots Luke Poulter and  Eliot Baker, and Scots Niall Sheils Donegan and Connor Graham—pencilled into his team before last month's South of Ireland at Lahinch.

Having watched them in action in Co Clare, he filled out the team with England's Ben Bolton and Sam Easterbrook, who reached the last 16, and beaten quarter-finalist Hill before Whaley's win at Merion knocked Roscommon's Higgins, soon to turn professional, out of the reckoning.

Higgins (23) beat Dylan Holmes at the third tie hole to win the AIG Irish Amateur Close title at Portumna on Saturday evening, having already shone by getting the winning point for Ireland in the European Amateur Team Championship and beating Graham to reach the quarter-finals of the South.

"Absolutely, I would have loved to have had more Irish on the team," Robertson said of an experienced side which has Graham (19) making his third appearance in the match as Baker, Poulter, Sheils Donegan, Weaver and Grehan return from last year for a second successive time alongside debutants Bolton, Easterbrook,  Hill and Whaley.

"I spoke to Thomas at length this morning on the phone, and he was brilliant. We went through in detail some feedback from what I had seen watching him. He had a brilliant year. 

"He stood up, and he won the Europeans for Ireland in Estonia. He makes more birdies than any of the other players in the team, but he offsets that with a lot of bogeys as well, and that's why the likes of Josh Hill just gets ahead of him.

"But I do think he's going to have a fabulous career, given that if he can raise his floor, he is already able to do all the great things once he starts to improve in areas like maybe a little bit more rhythm on the golf course. 

"He can take a little bit of excessive time and maybe indecision in short selection or commitment. These are things we spoke about, or I gave my feedback, and he agreed with all of it, and we had a lovely conversation, and he was absolutely class."

Howard, whose battle with Cystic Fibrosis made world headlines when he qualified for The Open at Royal Birkdale, went on to reach the semi-finals of the 'South' but that was not enough to convince the captain.

"I spoke to David as well today," he said. "David Howard wasn't somebody that I knew of, really under the radar until he qualified through Dundonald to play at Birkdale, narrowly missing out. 

"He was so impressive at Lahinch. I so wanted him and Thomas to be in the team, but it just wasn't to be, and the selection I've made is a fair selection and it's an unbiased selection."

For 33-year-old Grehan, this Walker Cup represents the latest chapter in a remarkable return to the Amateur ranks, culminating in his win in the Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool in June.

"Stuart being 33 and the old one and winning the Amateur this year and being in Ireland, he's going to be a real leader for the GB&I team," Robertson said of the Tullamore man, who won the South in 2015.

"And I couldn't be more proud to have him as that, and I'm sure he'll rise to the occasion".

The USA will be going for their sixth Walker Cup win in a row with a star-studded team featuring seven of the top 10 players in the world with Preston Stout (1st), Tyler Watts (3rd), Miles Russell (4th), William Jennings (5th), Josiah Gilbert (7th) Ryder Cowan (8th) and Ethan Fang (9th) joined by Kihei Akina (11th), Jay Leng Jr (20th but rising after his US Amateur final appearance) and the vastly experienced Stewart Hagestad, who is playing his sixth match.

Still, Robertson believes he has a very strong team, and he sees Lahinch, which he describes as "a masterpiece" and a brilliant matchplay course, and the vagaries of the conditions as an advantage.

"We're still the hunters," he said. "We're up against an incredibly talented US team, of which I've seen every one of them apart from Jay  Leng play… I haven't seen Miles Russell and Tyler Watts. 

"But if you're losing Jackson Koivun and Ben James and the likes and you're replacing them with that, it's going to make for one really exciting match.

"It won't be a 'bomber's' course; it will require craft, ball-flight control in the wind, and strategic approach play," especially over the last six holes."

The fact that seven of the team either played in the South or the panel session held there just before it will be an advantage.

"I don't think there's ever been a big championship like the South at a Walker Cup venue five weeks prior to a Walker Cup, so it was always going to be huge, and I firmly believe that baseline of knowledge is going to be massive come two weeks' time," Robertson said.

As for the fitness of Weaver, who has not played since April due to an oblique injury, the captain is confident he will be fit.

The team will gather the weekend before and spend two days playing at Ballybunion before heading to Lahinch, where the Clare hurlers will break up the monotony early in the week by challenging players to take part in a poc fada.

"Everybody is allowed a couple of goes, apart from Tyler Weaver," Robertson joked.

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As for McGinley's input, Robertson was coy.

" I can't tell you that," he joked before making clear that McGinley's influence has been significant ahead of an event where singles play now makes up 18 of the 26 points on offer and where fast starts will be key.

The Dubliner spoke at the Arnold Palmer Cup at Tralee and told the GB&I players about Kerry being the gold standard for Gaelic football until Mayo beat them a few weeks ago.

Could Great Britain and Ireland be the Mayo of golf and end their 11-year Walker Cup curse?

"Confidence is preparation, and we will be prepared, not to win the Walker Cup when we go there in two weeks' time, but we'll be prepared to play winning golf," he said.

Twelve months ago his side was just one point behind heading into the final singles session at Cypress Point before being overwhelmed 8½-1½ in a 17-9 defeat.

"The whole board turned blood red," Robertson recalled. "The Americans are brilliant players individually, and we need to be ready for that this year".

To that end, the estimated 8,000-strong home crowd will be key.

"Irrespective of the fact that the Irish are not represented more than Stuart, that won't hold them back," he said of the fans. "They are the best support, and they are our 11th man".

51st Walker Cup, Lahinch, September 5-6

Great Britain and Ireland

Tyler Weaver, England, aged 21; Luke Poulter, England, 22; Eliot Baker, England, 23; Niall Sheils Donegan, Scotland, 21; Connor Graham, Scotland, 19; Stuart Grehan, Ireland, 33; Sam Easterbrook, England, 21; Jack Whaley, England, 22; Ben Bolton, England, 19; Josh Hill, England, 22

Reserves: 1st, Thomas Higgins, Ireland; 2nd, David Howard, Ireland.

USA

Preston Stout, 22; Tyler Watts, 18; Miles Russell, 17; William Jennings, 20; Josiah Gilbert, 21; Ryder Cowan, 21; Ethan Fang, 21; Kihei Akina, 20; Jay Leng Jr, 20; Stewart Hagestad, 35

GB&I Player profiles

Eliot Baker

Baker has continued his impressive rise since making his Walker Cup debut at Cypress Point in 2025. The Englishman enjoyed an excellent start to 2026, reaching the final of the Spanish International Amateur Championship before winning the individual title at the European Nations Cup at Sotogrande with a 15-under-par total, helping England secure the team title. He continued that form with a runner-up finish in the Brabazon Trophy. Baker arrived at Cypress Point following an equally impressive 2025, highlighted by a seven-shot victory in the Scottish Men’s Open Amateur Championship at North Berwick. He was also unbeaten in the St Andrews Trophy, contributing 3½ points to GB&I’s victory, before finishing as England’s leading points scorer at the Home Internationals.

Ben Bolton

Bolton has enjoyed an impressively consistent season to earn his first Walker Cup appearance at the age of 19. The Enville golfer tied for third in both the Lytham Trophy and the individual standings at the European Nations Cup at Sotogrande, where he also helped England secure the team title. He recorded further top-ten finishes at the Portuguese International Amateur and Spanish International Amateur before closing with a 66 to finish in the top-20 of the European Amateur Championship. Bolton also progressed to the match play stage of The Amateur Championship after rounds of 70 and 66 in qualifying. His performances continue an impressive rise through the England Golf pathway and build on a fine 2025 season in which he won the Berkhamsted Trophy and finished inside the top-ten at the Brabazon Trophy. Bolton has also played for GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy.

Sam Easterbrook

Easterbrook has earned his first Walker Cup appearance following an impressive period on both sides of the Atlantic. The Olton golfer claimed his first college victory at the 2025 Puerto Rico Classic, finishing 15-under-par and helping Purdue University secure the team title, before returning to record another top-ten finish in the event in 2026. He went on to finish inside the top-20 at the NCAA Championship and was named in the PING All-Midwest Region team for the second successive year. Easterbrook also reached the quarter-finals of The Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool and came close to securing a major championship debut through Final Qualifying for The 154th Open and the new Last-Chance Qualifier at Royal Birkdale.

Connor Graham

Graham will make his third successive Walker Cup appearance at Lahinch having made history at St Andrews in 2023 when, aged 16, he became the youngest player ever to compete in the match. The Blairgowrie golfer has since qualified for The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush in 2025 and twice finished as the leading stroke-play qualifier in The Amateur Championship. Graham continued his impressive development at Texas Tech in the last year, recording nine top-20 finishes in 12 events and earning All-America and First Team All-Big 12 honours. He was also a member of the winning International team in the Arnold Palmer Cup for the second successive year.

Stuart Grehan

Grehan has enjoyed a remarkable return to the amateur ranks, highlighted by victory in The Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool in June. The Irishman defeated Matt Moloney in the 36-hole Final to become the first Irish winner since 2019 and earn places in The 154th Open, the US Open and by tradition, the Masters Tournament. He had earlier finished tied-third in the 2026 Irish Amateur Open, having won that title and the Irish Amateur Close following his return to amateur golf in 2025. Grehan made his long-awaited Walker Cup debut at Cypress Point later that year, eight years after a broken forearm ended his hopes of playing in the 2017 match. Grehan has also previously played for GB&I in the St Andrews Trophy, featuring in the tied match against the Continent of Europe at Prince’s in 2016. Lahinch holds particularly fond memories for the 33-year-old, who won the South of Ireland Championship there in 2015.

Josh Hill

Hill is another Walker Cup debutant following an impressive final college season with the University of Tennessee. The Englishman, who grew up in Dubai, recorded eight top-25 finishes over the last year, highlighted by a third-place finish at the NCAA Bryan Regional. His performances earned him PING All-Southeast Region honours. He reached the quarter-finals of the South of Ireland Amateur last month, losing to David Howard. Hill first attracted international attention in 2019 when, aged just 15, he won the Al Ain Open on the MENA Tour to become the youngest player to win a professional tournament carrying Official World Golf Ranking points. He finished his four-year Tennessee career with seven top-ten and 18 top-25 finishes. Hill has also previously represented GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy.

Luke Poulter

Poulter returns to the GB&I Walker Cup team for a second successive appearance after another impressive season with the University of Florida. The Englishman won the 2026 NCAA Columbus Regional to claim his second college title, following victory in the Schenkel Invitational in 2025 and helped Florida secure the team title by 24 shots. His performances earned him Third Team All-America and Second Team All-SEC honours, while he was also a member of the winning International team in the Arnold Palmer Cup for the second successive year. Poulter made his Walker Cup debut at Cypress Point in 2025 after contributing 3½ points to GB&I’s St Andrews Trophy victory. The son of Ryder Cup player Ian Poulter, he has established an increasingly impressive record in his own right.

Niall Sheils Donegan

Shiels Donegan will make his second successive Walker Cup appearance having announced himself on the international stage with a memorable run to the semi-finals of the 2025 US Amateur at The Olympic Club. The Scot won a series of dramatic matches, defeating Walker Cup team-mate Luke Poulter, Christian Maas, leading stroke play qualifier Preston Stout and Jacob Modleski before losing on the 18th in the last four. This year, he was also a member of the winning International team in the Arnold Palmer Cup. Born in Scotland and raised in California, Shiels Donegan has continued his college career with the University of North Carolina. His amateur career also includes back-to-back Hawaii State Amateur titles in 2022 and 2023 and a runner-up finish in the Carris Trophy

Tyler Weaver

Weaver has enjoyed an outstanding season with Florida State to earn his second appearance in the Walker Cup. The Englishman claimed his second collegiate title at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, winning in a play-off. The victory followed a runner-up finish at the Seminole Intercollegiate and Weaver ended the season with a 69.58 scoring average and four top-ten finishes, earning First Team All-America recognition from Golfweek. He made his major championship debut at the 2025 US Open and was unbeaten for GB&I in that year’s St Andrews Trophy, while also defeating then-world number one Jackson Koivun during the International team’s Arnold Palmer Cup victory.

Jack Whaley

Whaley enjoyed a thrilling victory at Merion to become only the third Englishman to win the US Amateur Championship on Sunday. The Florida State University senior defeated Stanford University’s Jay Leng Jr 4&3 in the 36-hole Final in the 126th staging of the Championship, having come through a play-off to reach the match play stage. Whaley – who spent his first two years at NAIA Dalton State College in Georgia before transferring last spring – joins Harold Hilton and Matt Fitzpatrick as Englishmen to have claimed the Havemeyer Trophy. By winning the title, Whaley earned exemptions into the US Open at Pebble Beach and The 155th Open at St Andrews in 2027, as well as a likely invitation to the Masters Tournament. While at Dalton, he won five NAIA tournaments and won every national honour in NAIA, including the Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Phil Mickelson Awards. In his debut season with Florida State he produced four top-tens.

Reserves: 1, Thomas Higgins, Ireland, Roscommon, 23; 2, David Howard, Ireland, Fota Island, 27

Paul Mitchell is hoping his Portmarnock side can become just the third team in the history of the Fred Daly Trophy to retain their crown when the All-Ireland Underage Inter-Club Finals get underway at Moate this week.

The first of this year’s All-Ireland Inter-Club Finals takes place at the Westmeath venue from Tuesday, with the Fred Daly Trophy, Irish Boys’ Foursomes, Irish Boys’ Inter-Club and Irish Girls’ Inter-Club titles all down for decision.

Mitchell’s side claimed Portmarnock’s first ever Fred Daly crown in 2025, defeating Galgorm Castle in a tight encounter as John Moran sank the winning putt on the 18th to defeat Harris Fleming 2up for a 3-2 victory.

“It was an historic win,” said Mitchell.

“It was a huge win for Portmarnock winning the first Fred Daly and we're not getting too ahead of ourselves, but it's obviously great to be still contesting at this stage of the competition.”

Mitchell has the comfort of familiarity this year, with his squad including each of the players from the winning side last year. Adam Fahey, John Moran, Freddie Bracken, Johnny McKernan and Gabriel Kelly return to the team, while Jack Lynch and Alex Mitchell round out the squad.

“The depth of our squad has been great this year and having some younger players coming through has been fantastic,” said Mitchell.

“All the lads are a year older, and we've got a couple of elite international golfers as well, which would really help us.”

Portmarnock will take on Ulster South pennant winners Belvoir Park in the opening quarter-final, while Co. Sligo face Edenderry, Galgorm Castle take on Fermoy and Killarney play Dun Laoghaire in the other Fred Daly Trophy quarter-final ties.

Having been a member of Portmarnock for over 30 years and captain of the Fred Daly team for six of those years, Mitchell knows it takes a whole community of players, families and the club itself to bring about success.

“When you're managing underage teams, you do really need the buy-in of the parents,” said Mitchell.

“There's a lot of sacrifices that are made, they do a lot of driving, they give up a lot of personal time, so I would never overlook the contribution of the parents.”

“Also, the support of the club, the captain, and the professional Francis Howley for getting the lads suited and booted and all the team. We've really got behind these lads throughout, so it's great to work with everyone.”

Shandon Park (1997 and 1998) and Rosslare (2008 and 2009) are the only other teams to win back-to-back titles, and while Mitchell knows it will be another tough battle to retain their crown, he is hoping more history could be made for the Dublin club come Wednesday evening.

“It'd be very special to repeat it,” said Mitchell.

“We're certainly not underestimating the challenge that we have ahead, and we're expecting very tight matches, and anything can happen in match play. We're just looking forward to it and looking forward to competing.”

“To win it once is fantastic, but to win it a second time would be just outstanding. We'll just be giving it all we can.”

The 2026 All-Ireland Underage Inter-Club Finals get underway on Tuesday morning, with the Fred Daly Trophy quarter-finals beginning at 8.00am.

View information on the All-Ireland Underage Inter-Club Finals here

It was a seminal moment for a Seminole. 

Florida State University rising senior Jack Whaley, 22, of England, defeated Stanford University rising junior Jay Leng Jr., 20, of San Diego, Calif., 4 and 3, in Sunday’s 36-hole championship match of the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship at historic Merion Golf Club.  

Whaley, who spent the first two years at NAIA Dalton (Ga.) State College before transferring last spring, became the first Florida State golfer to hoist the Havemeyer Trophy. Drew Kittleson (2008) and A. Downing Gray (1962) had reached the championship match. 

By winning the title, Whaley, No. 90 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, earns exemptions into the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links and The Open Championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews as well as a likely invitation to the Masters Tournament next April.

He also automatically earns one of the 10 spots on the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup Team that will take on the USA Sept. 5-6 at Lahinch, in the Republic of Ireland. That team will be announced on Monday by The R&A. 

Whaley joins Harold Hilton (1910) and Matt Fitzpatrick (2013) as Englishmen to have claimed the Havemeyer Trophy. He’s also the first play since Tyler Strafaci in 2020 to trail after the morning 18 and win the title.  

“I don't think it's sunk in yet,” said Whaley of joining the likes of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Bob Jones as a U.S. Amateur champion. 

“But it's definitely a huge honor to be able to be part of the names of all the famous people and unbelievable golfers that have come through this golf course and won. Yeah, I don't really have words for it right now.”  

World No. 23 Leng Jr. also was among the final six players named to the USA Team on Sunday afternoon. 

A winner of the Western Amateur two weeks ago, Leng Jr. was bidding to join Tiger Woods and Lawson Little as U.S. Amateur champions from Stanford. He was the first player from the school to make a final since David Chung in 2010. 

“Right now, it doesn't feel too great losing in the finals,” said Leng Jr., who also was the runner-up in the Northeast Amateur and tied for fifth in the Southern Amateur this summer. “But I'm sure I'll be okay in a few days.”  

Whaley, meanwhile, followed the same script as the last player to win this championship at Merion, who also happened to be a European. Edoardo Molinari, of Italy, survived a 19-for-17 playoff after holing out a bunker shot on the par-3 ninth at Merion on his final hole of stroke play, then used that momentum to win six matches, including the final over Dillon Dougherty by the same 4-and-3 margin. 

Early Wednesday morning, Whaley was part of a 16-for-11 playoff for the final match-play spots and nearly aced the par-3 13th hole to secure his place in the draw. 

He survived his opening-round match in 22 holes over 2026 U.S. Open qualifier Jackson Ormond and rolled from there, ending the championship match on the 15th green with a 10-foot birdie. 

For the first time all week, a bit of fall enveloped Merion. Temperatures dropped into the 70s and the competitors encountered the stiffest wind.

Rain also fell shortly after the start of the afternoon round, adding a further challenge to not only the players but the two caddies. 

Whaley, being from England, was much more used to playing in such adverse conditions than the Southern Californian Leng Jr., who found himself switching out gloves every other hole just to keep the club from slipping out of his hands.

He also had to put on raingear for the first time. After hitting his tee shot out of bounds on the 22nd hole, Whaley pulled out his black rain gloves very similar to the ones countryman Aaron Rai used to win this year’s PGA Championship down the road at Aronimink Golf Club.  

That provided a better grip and Whaley, who trailed 2 down after the morning 18, began to slowly pull away from Leng, who lost his first head-to-head match since the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships to Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert. 

Whaley claimed four consecutive holes from the par-5 20th to take a 2-up lead. Leng got one back on the 24th, thanks to Whaley’s wayward tee shot. But when Whaley drained a 25-foot birdie on the 26th hole and a 15-footer at No. 28, his lead ballooned back to 3 up. 

Knocking his approach shot on No. 29, the hole where Bob Jones closed out his 1930 U.S. Amateur win to complete the Grand Slam, into the penalty area wound up costing Whaley a hole, but he immediately recovered with a winning two-putt par on the 30th hole to regain his 3-up advantage. The match would end three holes later.  

Whaley drew first blood to start the match, holing a chip shot left of the green for a birdie on the opening hole and registering a winning par at the third. In fact, he twice owned 2-up leads on the front nine, only to see Leng Jr. rally to tie the encounter with pars on Nos. 9 and 10. 

The turning point of the morning session? Leng Jr. converting a 30-foot left-to-right sliding birdie putt on 12 to tie the match and then following with a 15-footer on the short par-3 13th to take a 1-up lead. He would go 2 up at 16 when Whaley three-putted from 45 feet, missing a 6-foot comebacker from above the hole. 

“I was kind of a little bit shocked that I managed to lose that many holes coming in. I got off to a good start, and I was up, and then I was just like, what just happened?” said Whaley. “Jay just made a 20-foot putt, a 30-foot putt and then another 20-foot putt, and I'm like, well, that was out of nowhere and I'm kind of scraping my pars and he's just making birdies out of nowhere. He played unbelievable this morning coming down the stretch.  

“During the break, it was kind of just reset, recoup and get ready for the afternoon. I knew 2-down wasn't too much for me to handle. Going into it, it was just be confident and let things happen.”  

Leng Jr., however, was unable to keep his momentum going following the 90-minute lunch break. 

“I didn't really do anything different,” said Leng Jr. “He just got off to a really hot start. He birdied 2, birdied 3. I just couldn't really do anything about it. I tried to reset, and then he just made a few more birdies, and that's that.” 

Outside of a wayward tee shot on the 24th hole and a porous approach at No. 30, Whaley played steady, solid golf over the last 15 holes. That final 10-footer at the 33rd hole sent off a wild celebration that included an emotional hug with his father/caddie Andy Whaley, his mom (Kerry), girlfriend (Sara Burger, transferred from Dalton State to Middle Tennessee State for golf), and coaches at both Florida State and Dalton State College, where he won the 2025 NAIA Championship and was named the Jack Nicklaus Award recipient for that level.

“It's just off the charts. I'm not very emotional as a rule, but this is a very emotional,” said Andy Whaley. “Never in our wildest dreams did we think that this was possible. Jack has just achieved the impossible, frankly. That's what this is about. I just can't be proud enough of the guy.” 

England now has another U.S. Amateur champion. Merion put on another great show. 

A seminal moment for sure. 

What the Champion Receives

• The inaugural Tiger Woods Medal

• Custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for the ensuing year 

• Exemption into the 127th U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links

• Exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Amateur Championships

• Exemption into The Open Championship next July at the Old Course at St. Andrews (must be an amateur)

• Likely invitation to the 2027 Masters Tournament (must be an amateur)

• Named engraved on the 2026 USGA Champions’ plaque that resides in the Hall of Champions inside the USGA Museum & Library, in Liberty Corner, N.J.

Notable

Runner-up Jay Leng Jr. received a silver medal, an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Open (must be an amateur), exemptions into the next three U.S. Amateurs and a likely invitation to the 2027 Masters Tournament (must be an amateur).

Three of the last four U.S. Amateurs contested at Merion have been claimed by international players: Gary Cowan (Canada, 1966); Edoardo Molinari (Italy, 2005) and Jack Whaley (England, 2026). In 1989, Clemson standout Chris Patton claimed the title.

Englishmen have claimed the last two USGA championships – the 2022 Curtis Cup not withstanding – held at Merion. Justin Rose, of England, won the 2013 U.S. Open

Before going to Lahinch with the USA Walker Cup Team, Jay Leng Jr. and his Stanford teammates are headed to the Emerald Isle for a school-sponsored golf trip. Royal County Down, site of the 2007 Walker Cup Match, is one of the venues the Cardinal will be playing.

As per USGA tradition in amateur competitions featuring 36-championship matches, the two finalists get to choose their lunch. Jay Leng Jr. went with a ribeye steak medium rare with white rice and some vegetables and fruit. Jack Whaley chose chicken and pasta.

Florida State men’s golf coach Trey Jones flew up Sunday morning to support rising senior Jack Whaley. Jones’ son, Drew, also a member of the team, came up from Tallahassee as well. FSU assistants Brandon Smith and Matt Walton also were in the crowd, the former having played at Texas A&M with 2022 U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett. He also briefly caddied for Bennett on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Ben Rickett, who coached Jack Whaley at NAIA Dalton (Ga.) State College also came in for the championship. He was the assistant coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga when Steven Fox won the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills C.C. as the No. 63 seed. He jumped on Fox’s bag for the second 18 as Fox defeated Michael Weaver in 37 holes.

Stanford coach Conrad Ray also flew in from California to support Jay Leng Jr. Ray also played for Stanford when three-time U.S. Amateur champion Tiger Woods was on the team, along with Casey Martin (current Oregon head coach) and Notah Begay III. Ray also competed in the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

Among those following the match were Graham and Jack Boatwright, the grandsons of former USGA executive P.J. Boatwright Jr. who qualified for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball two years ago at nearby Philadelphia Cricket Club. They were on property with Cathy Boatwright, a longtime USGA volunteer Rules official who received the Ike Grainger Award for 25 years of meritorious service to the Association.

P.J. not only was a highly knowledgeable Rules official and administrator, but a tremendous golfer, qualifying for four U.S. Amateurs and the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion, finishing 49th.

The USGA’s Boatwright Internship Program that assists Allied Golf Associations is named in his honor. Graham Boatwright just qualified for next month’s U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sand Valley Resort in a 5-for-1 playoff that lasted six holes. Jack will serve as his caddie.

USGA Executive Committee members Andrew Biggadike (morning) and Bryan Lewis (afternoon) served as the referees for the final. On the first tee Sunday morning were two USGA champions: USGA Executive Committee member Andy North (1978 and 1985 U.S. Open) and Merion member George “Buddy” Marucci (2008 U.S. Senior Amateur). Marucci also captained the victorious USA Walker Cup Teams in 2007 and 2009, the latter at Merion

Quotable

“As we were driving back [to the clubhouse], I was looking with my dad at some of the names that are on [the Havemeyer Trophy], and it's incredible. I never thought that my name would be amongst such impressive people.” – Jack Whaley

“I actually normally don't do that. But as soon as it started raining on 6 (the 24th hole of the match) and I slipped and I sliced one out of bounds, I was like, I can't use these anymore, can't use a regular glove, so I got the two gloves out and I started swinging it a little bit smoother and tried to time it up a little bit better, and it seemed to work, so I kept going.” – Whaley on going to two gloves

“I was just walking down the fourth (22nd of the match] after my second shot, and I felt something on my leg, and then it just stuck in me. I was like, ‘What's going on?’ Looked down and there was a wasp on my ankle, and I flicked it off and then I had to pull the stinger out, and it was throbbing for a good two holes and then someone brought something out to me and it's kind of calmed down now.” – Whaley on being stung by a bee during the afternoon round

“I think the big thing is that I actually don't think I've played much match play on links golf courses, and the ones that I have played match play in county golf, I've actually played really well.

“Me and one of my teammates a couple years ago, we played in the foursomes for Yorkshire. We went out there and we were 6 under through six. It's not like it's a mental block or anything like that. It's just, I guess, match play is just different. I feel like I'm better in match play.” – Whaley when asked about playing on a links course for the upcoming Walker Cup Match

“I didn't play great golf. [I] didn't make as many putts as I wanted to. But it was raining, windy; very different conditions today. Not too disappointed.” – Jay Leng Jr.

“I didn't really think about it much until the middle of the summer. I'd say after the Northeast and Southern I realized I really had a chance before the Western [Amateur], and obviously winning the Western and getting second here really helps.” – Leng Jr. on getting selected to the USA Walker Cup Team

“The Junior Ryder Cup was actually one of my favorite memories ever because that was the first time I ever competed in front of that many people, and today kind of reminded me of that. Even though I didn't have my best stuff, I'm really excited for the Walker Cup, and I'm going to be in Ireland next week [with the Stanford golf team] anyway.” – Leng Jr.

Shane Lowry bowed out of the FedEx Cup, and Rory McIlroy endured a week to forget in the FedEx St Jude Championship, but that won't bother Mark Power when he joins them in the Amgen Irish Open next month.

Lowry birdied three of his last four holes at TPC Southwind, but a level par 70 left him joint 54th on three-over and projected to finish 64th in the standings, well short of the top 50 who qualify for the second play-off event in St Louis this week.

McIlroy is guaranteed to make the top 30 who will contest the Tour Championship in Atlanta, but he was so rusty after three weeks off that he finished third last in the 68-man field on eight-over after a closing 72 in Memphis.

The world number two struggled from the tee and clearly has work to do to be ready for the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club this week.

“Obviously didn’t come in here with a ton of reps, (it) almost felt like the more the week went on the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit,” said the Northern Irishman after a two-over 72 saw him finish 66th out of 68, failing to break par in four rounds this week.

“The swing wasn’t in sync and obviously I didn’t do a ton of practice coming in here.

“I’m so far away from where I need to be to even feel like I have a chance. I’ve just got to keep working and hope it turns around a little bit.

“I guess nice to shake the rust off a little bit but I’m going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week.

“To me it’s more about obviously the execution of what I’m doing right now, and the execution wasn’t there this week.

“I’m going to have to sort of put the head down and grind from now until Thursday to try to feel like I have any sort of chance next week.”

Meanwhile, World number one Scottie Scheffler won his first event since January after running away with the FedEx St Jude Championship on the final day to record an eight-shot victory in Memphis.

The four-time major winner began the day two shots ahead of Sam Burns but out-scored his close friend by seven shots as he finished 17 under after a round of 66.

As Scheffler and McIlroy head to St Louis, Kilkenny man Power (26) will be in Finland for the HotelPlanner Tour's Vierumäki Finnish Challenge, looking to push on now after his tied 10th finish in the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle saw him claim the Christy O'Connor Jnr Memorial Trophy as the leading Irish player.

The touring professional for Mount Juliet moved up five spots to 75th in the Road to Mallorca, but more importantly, he earned a coveted Irish Open spot alongside the likes of McIlroy and Lowry at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg next month.

While he was disappointed to bogey two of his last three holes having moved to within two shots of the lead with three holes to go, his two-under par 70 left him just four shots behind winner Justin Harding of South Africa on nine-under.

"Yeah, definitely bittersweet," said Power, who will be making his seventh Irish Open appearance and his fourth as a professional, having finished tied 33rd on his pro debut at The K Club in 2023. 

"I thought when I got into that 16th tee box I could really post a low number. With that rain coming in and how tough that last couple of holes were playing, I thought I had a chance to win it…Plenty of positives to take, but it stings right now.

"You can't beat playing at home. It would have been nice to give them something a bit more to cheer about at the end. But I suppose the Irish Open spot is always nice to get, and the Christy O'Connor Junior Award is an honour to win.

The good news for Power is that he moved up from 80th to 75th in the Road to Mallorca standings, giving him a chance to make the top 70 who will contest the big money events in China at the end of the season.

"A big goal of mine the last few weeks is to try and get myself into that top 70 to qualify for China and give myself a chance in those big events that carry more points at the end," he said.

As for the Irish Open, he said: "I didn't play great last year in it, but I've been down to the course already this year, and to get the chance to see it up there would be great. 

"Obviously playing against the world's best players, so that's where you want to be, really."

As for Harding (40), the two-time DP World Tour winner claimed his maiden HotelPlanner Tour victory when he closed with a 71 to win by one stroke on 13-under from France's Mathieu Decottignies Lafon and compatriot Louis Albertse, whose bogey at the 18th cost him a play-off chance.

Like Power, Galway's Liam Nolan started the final round five shots off the lead but a closing 73 left him 18th on six-under and down one spot to 36th in the Road to Mallorca.

Meanwhile, Jeff Winther delighted home fans by securing a sensational three-shot victory after a roller-coaster final day of the 2026 Danish Golf Championship.

The Dane (38) carded a five-under-par 67 to win on 15 under and claim his second DP World Tour title following a chaotic Sunday where eight players had at least a share of the lead.

Anna Foster wrapped up her LET card when she finished a career-best joint second in the €350,000 VP Swiss Ladies Open.

The Elm Park star (24) went out in the final group for the first time in her short LET career, three shots behind Sweden's Kajsa Arwefjal, who faded to fifth after a closing 72.

Foster followed a bogey at the first with a birdie at the second and a chip-in eagle at the third to briefly tie for the lead through five holes.

But she had to settle for a three-under par 68 and a tie for second with Germany's Alexandra Forsterling (67) and Australia's Whitney Hillier (68), one stroke behind English veteran Eleanor Givens, who won in her 210th LET start.

Givens (37) shot a bogey-free, five-under 66 to win on 13-under par and take home €52,500 as Foster earned €22,750 — the second biggest cheque of her career after she made €24,703 in the €4.3m PIF Saudi Ladies International in February.

She jumps from 61st to 34th in the Order of Merit, with the top 70 at the end of the season retaining their playing rights.

It was a confidence-boosting result for the former Auburn University star, whose next start comes at the KMPG Women's Irish Open at The K Club in a fortnight.

After a bogey at the sixth, she turned for home two strokes behind Givens, then birdied the short 11th to get within one.

But a bogey at the 15th, where she missed a short par putt, ultimately proved costly, and while she impressively birdied the par-five 16th and 17th holes, she couldn't birdie the last from 70 feet to force a play-off after being forced to chip her short approach under a huge tree that protects the green.

As for Givens, she was doused with champagne at the finish, having come from four shots off the lead on the final day.

"I can't believe it," Givens said. "I'm so excited and really proud of myself. I'm a little bit in shock as well. I did feel pretty calm today, a lot calmer than I thought I would. 

"I just thought, come on, let's go for this. My weekend had a nightmare start [because my clubs arrived late] so it's kind of fate that I managed to win this week. I took my chance."

On the PGA Tour, Shane Lowry's hopes of qualifying for the second FedEx Cup play-off event all but evaporated when he carded a two-over 72 in the third round of the FedEx St Jude Championship to slip to 53rd on three-over.

Ranked 62nd in the FedEx Cup, the Offaly man needs to finish no worse than a two-way tie for 11th at TPC Southwind in Memphis to make the top 50 in the standings who will qualify for next week's BMW Championship in St Louis.

A rusty Rory McIlroy also struggled, hitting just four fairways as he found water from the tee and double-bogeyed the 18th to card a two-over 72 that left him tied for 62nd in the 68-man field on six-over.

Scottie Scheffler shot a two-under 68 to lead by two shots on 13-under from Sam Burns (62) and Sungjae Im (67).

At the Danish Golf Championship, France's Romain Langasque takes a one-shot lead into the final round at Great Northern as he chases his first DP World Tour victory for nearly six years.

He carded a five-under-par round of 67 to move to 14 under, one ahead of China's Yanhan Zhou.

Meanwhile, Galway's Liam Nolan made nine birdies in a six-under 66 to move up to joint 20th alongside Mark Power (69) in the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle.

They're five strokes behind South Africans Justin Harding (69) and Louis Albertse (72), who lead by a shot on 12-under from Sweden's Tobias Jensen Edén and South Africa's Bryce Easton.

Jensen eagled the par-five 15th and holed in one at the 16th en route to a joint best of the day 65.

Gary Hurley's 73 left him 48th on three-under with Max Kennedy and Ronan Mullarney 54th on one-under after 72s and Dermot McElroy 67th in six-over after a 79.

Thomas Higgins may not have played his last amateur event after his sudden-death win over Dylan Holmes in the AIG Irish Amateur Close at Portumna kept his hopes of a surprise Walker Cup call-up alive.

The Roscommon talent looked to have kissed goodbye to his chances of playing at Lahinch from September 5-6 when he fell in the quarter-finals of last month’s South of Ireland Championship at the Walker Cup venue.

But having claimed the winning point for Ireland in the European Amateur Team Championships and played well in the Home Internationals at Woodbrook before going on to claim the “Close” at Portumna, he may again be a serious consideration for Great Britain and Ireland captain Dean Robertson, who names his 10-man team early next week.

The 23-year-old defeated Holmes with a par-five on the third extra hole (the 17th) after they had tied on seven-under par 281.

“It’s just a brilliant way to cap off the amateur career; I’m absolutely thrilled and delighted to get it done,” said Higgins, who shot a third round 71 in the morning to go final round four shots behind 54-hole leader Harry McArdle from Warrenpoint.

He closed with a 68 to tie with Holmes, who also shot 68, on seven-under, one better than McArdle, Carton House’s Darragh Flynn and halfway leader Dylan Keating from Seapoint.

They parred the par-three 18th twice in sudden-death before Higgins played a great escape from the trees at the par-five 17th, found the green in three and went on to two-putt from long range for par and victory as Holmes three-putted from around 25 feet. 

“Main thing is my coach just told me to go out there and enjoy it,” said Higgins, who plans to turn professional in the coming weeks. “It is my last ever amateur championship round and so I go out there and have fun and enjoy it. 

“It was unreal to have everyone here; most of my family are here, so it was unreal to have them see me win and have them here to celebrate as well. It was an amazing experience.”

As for the Walker Cup, Higgins looks to have edged ahead of Fota Island’s David Howard—tied sixth in Portumna— in the selection stakes.

With England’s Jack Whaley reaching the final of the US Amateur at Merion today, where a win would make him an automatic choice, Robertson may look seriously at Higgins, Josh Hill or South of Ireland runner-up Tomi Bowen of Wales to fill out his team.

AIG Irish Men’s Amateur Close, Portumna GC (Par 72)

Final

Detailed scores

281 Thomas Higgins (Roscommon) 69 73 71 68, Dylan Holmes (Greystones) 69 71 73 68

Higgins won with a par at the third hole of a sudden-death playoff — 18th (Par 3), 18th (Par 3), 17th (Par 5)

Higgins 3 3 5; Holmes 3 3 6

282 Darragh Flynn (Carton House) 70 72 72 68, Harry McArdle (Warrenpoint) 73 69 67 73, Dylan Keating (Seapoint) 66 73 74 69;

283 David Howard (Fota Island) 69 74 70 70, Paul O'Hanlon (Carton House) 73 68 71 71;

284 Thomas Abom (Edmondstown) 70 74 73 67, Liam Abom (Edmondstown) 68 74 72 70, Conor McCarthy (Headfort) 70 71 70 73, Conor Hickey (Dooks) 68 72 74 70;

286 Charlie Mooney (Ballinasloe) 71 72 74 69, William Walshe (Delgany) 72 70 73 71, Jonathan Yates (Kilkenny) 72 75 67 72, Darcy Hogg (Belvoir Park) 70 72 72 72;

287 William O’Riordan (Greystones) 74 67 70 76;

288 David Kitt (Athenry) 72 72 75 69, Conor Clarke (Balmoral) 74 67 72 75;

289 Jordan Boles (Carton House) 68 74 72 75, Mark Gazi (Tralee) 71 73 73 72;

290 Morgan Cain (Fota) 72 75 71 72, Keith Egan (Carton House) 71 72 70 77, Patrick Tuffy (Strandhill) 76 69 75 70;

291 Joe O'Neill (Berehaven) 76 70 73 72, Ross Latimer (Clandeboye) 74 71 72 74, David Lally (Blainroe) 75 69 73 74;

292 Paraic McGrath (Galway Bay) 73 73 73 73;

293 Cian O’Connor (Roscommon) 73 73 73 74, Barry Howlin (The Heritage) 74 68 76 75, James O’Rourke (Naas) 70 71 74 78;

294 Charlie McDonnell (Concra Wood) 71 75 71 77, Aaron Kearney (Roepark) 71 71 75 77;

295 David Shiel (Enniscrone) 71 73 76 75, Cormac Ó Muirithe (Belmullet) 75 72 73 75;

296 Luke Cunningham (Galway Bay) 73 74 73 76, Aaron Ryan (Thurles) 72 73 75 76;

297 Brendan Mulgrew (Galgorm Castle) 72 75 76 74;

298 Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock) 73 71 79 75, Evan Farrell (Co. Louth) 72 72 79 75;

299 Gavin Duffy (Edenderry) 73 72 73 81;

301 Rory Gallagher (Galway Bay) 75 72 78 76;

303 James Fox (Portmarnock) 72 75 76 80;

304 Evan Shipp (Headfort) 74 72 78 80, Jonathan Keane (Lahinch) 72 74 79 79;

306 Jamal Sabir (Moate) 71 75 79 81.

After 54 holes

209 Harry McArdle (Warrenpoint) 73 69 67;

211 William O’Riordan (Greystones) 74 67 70, Conor McCarthy (Headfort) 70 71 70;

212 Paul O'Hanlon (Carton House) 73 68 71;

213 David Howard (Fota Island) 69 74 70, Keith Egan (Carton House) 71 72 70, Thomas Higgins (Roscommon) 69 73 71, Conor Clarke (Balmoral) 74 67 72, Dylan Holmes (Greystones) 69 71 73, Dylan Keating (Seapoint) 66 73 74;

214 Jonathan Yates (Kilkenny) 72 75 67, Jordan Boles (Carton House) 68 74 72, Liam Abom (Edmondstown) 68 74 72, Darcy Hogg (Belvoir Park) 70 72 72, Darragh Flynn (Carton House) 70 72 72, Conor Hickey (Dooks) 68 72 74;

215 William Walshe (Delgany) 72 70 73, James O’Rourke (Naas) 70 71 74;

217 Thomas Abom (Edmondstown) 70 74 73, Charlie Mooney (Ballinasloe) 71 72 74, Charlie McDonnell (Concra Wood) 71 75 71, Aaron Kearney (Roepark) 71 71 75, Ross Latimer (Clandeboye) 74 71 72, Mark Gazi (Tralee) 71 73 73, David Lally (Blainroe) 75 69 73;

218 Morgan Cain (Fota) 72 75 71, Barry Howlin (The Heritage) 74 68 76, Gavin Duffy (Edenderry) 73 72 73;

219 David Kitt (Athenry) 72 72 75, Paraic McGrath (Galway Bay) 73 73 73, Cian O’Connor (Roscommon) 73 73 73, Joe O'Neill (Berehaven) 76 70 73;

220 David Shiel (Enniscrone) 71 73 76, Cormac Ó Muirithe (Belmullet) 75 72 73, Luke Cunningham (Galway Bay) 73 74 73, Aaron Ryan (Thurles) 72 73 75, Patrick Tuffy (Strandhill) 76 69 75;

223 Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock) 73 71 79, Brendan Mulgrew (Galgorm Castle) 72 75 76, James Fox (Portmarnock) 72 75 76, Evan Farrell (Co. Louth) 72 72 79;

224 Evan Shipp (Headfort) 74 72 78;

225 Rory Gallagher (Galway Bay) 75 72 78, Jamal Sabir (Moate) 71 75 79, Jonathan Keane (Lahinch) 72 74 79.

A day after all four quarterfinal matches sent the masses home early in time for Friday Happy Hour, the two semifinal encounters in the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship Saturday afternoon at historic Merion Golf Club provided the drama everyone wanted.

More than 3,500 spectators flocked to the Main Line club hosting its 20th USGA championship – and record seventh U.S. Amateur – hoping to see great theater and they got their wish.

Florida State University rising senior Jack Whaley, 22, of England, who survived a 16-for-11 playoff on Wednesday morning just to get into the match-play draw, earned a spot in Sunday’s 36-hole final alongside the hottest player in the country, rising Stanford University junior Jay Leng Jr., 20, of San Diego, Calif.

Whaley held off gritty Carter Loflin, 22, of Duluth, Ga., 1 up, while Leng Jr. defeated Auburn University rising sophomore Logan Reilley, 19, of Lovettsville, Va., 2 and 1. It was only the second time in five matches this week that Leng Jr., winner of the recent Western Amateur, had been extended to the 17th hole.

Both finalists are guaranteed exemptions into the 127th U.S. Open next June at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links as well as likely invitations into the 2027 Masters Tournament in April.

The champion also gets a spot in the 2027 Open Championship to be held in July on the Old Course at St. Andrews. The winner will also earn a spot in next month’s Walker Cup Match – Whaley for Great Britain and Ireland and Leng Jr. for the USA.

“I'm tired,” said Leng Jr., the first Stanford golfer to make a U.S. Amateur final since David Chung in 2010. Tiger Woods and Lawson Little are the only Stanford players to have hoisted the Havemeyer Trophy. “I'm at a loss for words still. It hasn't sunk in yet.”

Added Whaley, the first Florida State golfer to make a U.S. Amateur final since Drew Kittleson in 2008: “I think definitely going into this, I was a little bit more on the nervous side than I was the last couple of days.

But after the second hole, I kind of settled down a little bit and really started playing golf again and thinking more about what I'm going to do with the golf ball instead of just standing there hoping I can hit the ball.

“Then coming down the stretch when I was 3 up and then 2 up and then 1 up and then all square, I was like, ‘All right, now we need to do something special. Again, it goes back to what you work hard for when you're practicing. You kind of rely on that.”

Some say the toughest match to win at a U.S. Amateur is the semifinal. It’s like a college basketball team trying to win a regional final, knowing a victory puts you in the Final Four. All of the perks that go to the finalists adds to the pressure of also trying to eliminate a challenging and talented foe.

“I was very confident going into today,” said Leng Jr. “Then had a good range session. Better than yesterday.

After the first few holes, [I discovered] the greens were really firm [and] way faster, and there were so many people, and it kind of just took me by surprise. I was a little bit more nervous than I thought, and my game wasn't very sharp today. But it was a good learning experience for tomorrow.”

 With his five match-play victories this week and the four he produced two weeks ago at the Western Amateur, Leng Jr. now owns a 9-1 mark; the lone defeat coming to Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert in Stanford’s quarterfinal defeat during the NCAA Division I Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, in Carlsbad, not far from where he resides.

A victory on Sunday would make him the 10th player to win the Western Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in the same year, and the first since Danny Lee in 2008. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Justin Leonard, Hal Sutton and Lanny Wadkins are other notables to achieve the feat.

But he first has to beat Whaley, a former NAIA star at Dalton (Ga.) State College who transferred to Florida State last spring after winning a national title at that small-college level.

Leng Jr., the No. 23 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, already has beaten world No. 3 Tyler Watts, 2026 U.S. Open qualifier Reilly, 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Evan Beck and University of Florida star Jack Turner this week.

Two years ago, he beat Miles Russell in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club before falling to Watts, the eventual runner-up.

To beat Reilly, Leng Jr. delivered at clutch moments, including an 8-foot birdie on the 15th hole to take a 2-up lead.

On the par-3 ninth, with Reilly sitting just 7 feet from the hole, Leng Jr. curled in a 10-footer and then watched his opponent miss to grab a 2-up lead at the turn. This came after Leng Jr. hit a porous approach shot on No. 8 into the front bunker and made a 5.

In fact, Leng Jr. and Reilly, a semifinalist at the Western Amateur, only tied five of the 17 holes in the back-and-forth encounter, including the par-3 17th when Reilly found gnarly greenside rough with his tee shot. All Leng Jr. needed to do was two-putt from 35 feet, which he did.

“With not [having] my best stuff, I tried just slowing down a little bit, trying to reset before every shot, [and] not trying to go down a landslide,” said Leng Jr. “[I] just tried to take it one shot at a time and do what I know that I can do.”

Said Reilly, who wound up going 11-2 in match play since the Southeastern Conference Championship that included the deciding point in Auburn’s NCAA championship-match victory over UCLA: “Yeah, I played fine. I had a good stretch of holes there in the middle to keep myself in it but just didn't get off to a good enough start and was kind of behind the 8-ball and had to chase the rest of the way. Overall, proud of how I fought out there and finished the last nine.”

Loflin, who exhausted his eligibility at the University of Georgia this spring but still has to take a semester of classes this fall to earn his business degree, twice fell behind by three holes against Whaley.

But after winning the ninth with a brilliant tee shot to 4 feet to trim the deficit to 1 down, Loflin immediately lost the 10th to a short Whaley birdie.

Whaley would increase the margin to 3 up with a winning par on No. 12 before the two-time U.S. Amateur Four-Ball semifinalist (2022, 2023) mounted another comeback, this time tying up the festivities with some heroic shot-making.

Winning pars on 13 and 15 got it back to 1 down and then a remarkable 20-foot par save on No. 16 kept him within striking distance of Whaley, who would make a mess of the par-3 17th after finding greenside rough, sending the match to 18 all tied.

“I was going to make him earn it, and he totally did,” said a gracious Loflin, who endeared himself to members with 35-year Merion caddie Jack Hopkins on his bag.

“Eighteen is a really hard hole. I hated losing with a double [bogey], but it's pretty much impossible to keep it in the fairway there with driver. I haven't been hitting that 3-wood very good, but sometimes it's just the way the cookie crumbles. He played a great round of golf, and he's a really good guy.”

All week, the uphill par-4 closing hole had been a beast for the field. It played as the second-toughest hole in stroke play – only bested by the 518-yard, par-4 fifth – and the previous 17 matches that came to the hole made famous by Ben Hogan’s 1-iron approach to the 72nd hole of the 1950 U.S. Open had produced eight bogeys and seven double bogeys. In fact, Reilly was the lone competitor to make a birdie at 18 when he beat Emile Lebrun in 19 holes in the opening round on Wednesday.

Fans would witness more carnage on Saturday. Loflin and Whaley both missed the fairway and each failed to reach the green with their second shots. With his difficult lie, Whaley decided to lay up with a 7-iron.

Loflin was further back and his bold wedge third carried beyond the putting surface into thick greenside rough. Seeing how his opponents’ ball reacted, Whaley made sure he landed his ball short of the flagstick, but even his shot trickled to the back of the green, leaving him 40 feet for par.

Loflin’s pitch came up 15 feet short and he was unable to convert his bogey putt. After lagging his par attempt just right of the hole, Whaley had to make the longest 4-footer of his career.

When it dropped, he celebrated with his father/caddie, Andy Whaley, who is on his bag for the first time in a major competition.

“Honestly, my entire body was shaking,” said Whaley, who would become the first Seminole to hoist the Havemeyer Trophy. “Just got adrenaline pumping through me. That was one of the longest [bogey] putts I've ever had in my entire life, and there was a lot at stake, as well. I'm proud of myself for being able to get across that barrier and get it done. I feel amazing.”

Now Whaley and Leng Jr. face a marathon Sunday. Thirty-six holes. One trophy. A chance to make history at one of the most iconic layouts in America. Expect a huge crowd, and a chance for more epic golf.

But only one gets to put his name on the Havemeyer Trophy.

What’s Next

Saturday’s 36-hole championship match is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and will resume after the lunch break at a time to be determined. Tickets are available by clicking here. Peacock and NBC Sports Network will have live streaming from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET, followed by two hours of coverage from NBC.

Notable

Both semifinal losers, Carter Loflin and Logan Reilly, received bronze medals and are now exempt into the next two U.S. Amateurs at Oak Hill Country Club and Whistling Straits.

Jay Leng Jr. and Jack Whaley each received a Merion history book with handwritten note from 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose.

Jay Leng Jr. has been on the national stage before. In 2015, he captured the Boys’ 7-9 division of the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship at Augusta National Golf Club. He will now be the third DCP finalist to play in the Masters. Akshay Bhatia was the first and the man who beat him in the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur final, Michael Thorbjornsen, will be a first-timer next spring with Leng Jr.

Two of Jay Leng Jr.’s ex-teammates at Torrey Pines High were among his support group on Saturday. Evan Liu, who was eliminated by Logan Reilly in the Round of 32 and is verbally committed to the University of North Carolina for 2027 was joined by University of Texas-Arlington golfer Matthew Broder, who took a red-eye flight from San Diego on Friday night. Torrey Pines won the Californian Interscholastic Federation State Championship in 2024.

Logan Reilly comes from an athletic family. His older brother, Cavan, is a fifth-year senior on the James Madison University men’s basketball team. Older sister, Lilly, played volleyball for the University of the South, a Division III school in Sewanee, Tenn. Another sister, Chloe, also attended Auburn University. His father, Terry, is an executive with the Wasserman Group and serves as a player agent for PGA Tour winner Chris Gotterup, 2015 USA Walker Cupper Denny McCarthy and past U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion Frankie Capan.

Glenn Meyer and Tim Hulscher served as the referees for the semifinals, with USGA Executive Committee members Andrew Biggadike and Bryan Lewis acting as forward observers along with Jim Moriarty and Chris Roselle. USGA Executive Committee member Mike McCarthy, the chairman of the Championship Committee, was the first-tee starter.

Quotable

“I'm not going to sit here and say bogeying the last is a great score, but when you play match play, you're playing just to beat your opponent. I was just trying to get myself in a position where I could give myself a good wedge shot and then try and two-putt or give it the best putt I could.” – Jack Whaley

“To be completely honest, I wasn't even thinking about Walker Cup today. I didn't really think about the U.S. Open or the Masters at all either, to be honest, until it came down to that last putt. I said to my dad on the last, ‘We've come this far. We'd be very happy just to walk away now. But let's just see what happens.’ If this goes in, it goes in. If not, we're going down the [14th for extra holes]. I think standing over that [4-foot par] putt on the last, knowing what was at stake, but just thinking, well, I could have a potential another hole if I need to, so it honestly didn't really matter as much because I could prove myself on the next hole. So yeah, I was glad to get it finished before going down the extra hole.” – Jack Whaley

“Yeah, definitely the best week of my life, for sure, at a place like this and with how many people who came out, all the friends, family and just everyone screaming your name. I've never experienced anything like it. It was a week to remember and definitely a good boost of confidence.” – Logan Reilly

“Well, the Philly crowds were incredible. They're rowdy. They love Jack. I'm glad that they liked me as well. It was just so much fun to be a part of it. I'm so thankful that I got to do this.” – Carter Loflin

Elm Park's Anna Foster heads into the final round of the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open with a chance to notch her maiden Ladies European Tour win.

The 24-year-old is making her debut in the event and will tee up in the final group in the final round for the first time in her career after following a 67 with a bogey-free, five-under-par 66. 

It’s the second week running that an Irishwoman will play in the final group in the final round of an LET event after Aine Donegan tied for tenth in the PIF London Championship.

"It felt very stress-free again today," said Foster, who shares second place with Australia's Whitney Hillier on nine under, just three strokes behind Sweden's Kajsa Arwefjall, who also shot 66. 

"I kept the momentum going today and conserved my energy well because it's so hot out here. I would much rather be in a position of chasing rather than having all these great players chasing me. 

"I'll just go out there with an attitude that I have nothing to lose. I'll keep doing what I'm doing and take one shot at a time.

"I'll definitely be nervous; I feel like it would be weird if you weren't in that situation. 

"But my game has been trending in the right way for a while now, so to be in a position to contend in the final group, I'll try to enjoy it as best I can."

Sara Byrne missed the level-par cut at Migros Golfpark Holzhausern by a shot after a 69, while Donegan also shot a four-under round but missed the cut by three strokes.

The cut-watch was a nervous one for the home brigade in the HotelPlanner Tour's Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle.

Mark Power shot 72 and Gary Hurley a two-under 70 to share 28th on four-under, leaving them eight strokes behind South Africa's Louis Albertse, whose brilliant 63 gave him a two-shot lead over compatriot Bryce Easton on 12-under.

The cut fell at one-under par, but just six of the 18-strong home contingent survived with Ronan Mullarney (74), Dermot McElroy (71), Max Kennedy (68) and Liam Nolan (69) squeaking in on the mark.

Scottie Scheffler made Rory McIlroy's second-round 70 look positively ragged as he carded a course-record-equalling nine-under 61 to claim the halfway lead in the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis.

The world number one, who is seeking his first win since The American Express in late January, leads by three shots from Viktor Hovland (64) and Sungjae Im (66) on 11-under par at TPC Southwind.

The Texan topped the strokes gained putting statistics in the second round, rolling on 111 feet of putts as he birdied his first five holes, and six of the first seven, in an 11-birdie round at the opening play-off event.

"I wouldn't say golf's ever easy," Scheffler said. "I did some good things out there. I hit some iron shots in there close and was able to hole a few putts as well."

He added: "Yesterday was a day when I felt like I played better than my score, but early in the round I was off the fairway a lot. 

"So it could have been a day in which my score could have definitely been worse, and it definitely could have been a lot better. 

"But today was a day in which I felt I got a lot out of the round."

As for his putting, which has forced him to settle for 10 top-10 finishes in his last 16 starts, including five runner-ups, he was pleased with his haul of 13 single-putt greens.

"I think it's just golf," he said. "That's really all it is. That's why I talked about being patient yesterday because I felt like I played a little better than my score. It was nice to get out there early and knock in some putts and give myself some really good looks as well."

As for McIlroy, who opened with a rusty 74, it was more of the same in his first start since tying for 40th in The Open three weeks ago.

He birdied two of his first four holes but missed seven greens, including the last four, and closed with back-to-back bogeys.

His level par 70 left him tied for 62nd on four over in a field reduced to 68 following Robert MacIntyre's decision to withdraw after a career-high 82 on Thursday.

The Holywood star was projected to fall to 14th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Shane Lowry, who started the week ranked 62nd in the race to make the top 50 who will contest next week's BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis, shot a two-over 72 to share 45th on one-over.

The former Open champion lies seven shots outside the placing he likely needs to make the top-50 and now needs a red-hot weekend to extend his PGA Tour season.

Seapoint’s Dylan Keating has a chance to make history when he takes a one-stroke lead into the final 36 holes of the AIG Irish Men’s Amateur Close Championship at Portumna. 

The 24-year-old leads on five-under as he looks to become the first player since Darren Clarke in 1990 to win the Close and North of Ireland titles in the same season.

But after helping Ireland to victory at the Men’s and Women’s Home Internationals in Woodbrook, Keating knows he still has a long way to go. 

“Yesterday everything went well. I was on every green and hitting all fairways,” he said.  “Today I was scrambling a bit but fought back. I was three-over through 14 holes, and then birdied my 15th, which was the sixth, missed a short one on the seventh for birdie, birdied eight, and then parred nine.  

“To get back at one-over, when you shoot it around like 66, it’s hard to follow it up. To just keep myself in it and I’m only 50 per cent of the way through, there’s so much golf left.  

“It’s windier today, and there are some trickier pins that are tucked, so if anyone shoots anything four or five-under today, it’s a fantastic score.” 

Former West of Ireland champion and recent Mullingar Scratch Trophy winner, Dylan Holmes from Greystones shares second place with Dooks’ Conor Hickey on four-under.

Former winner, Paul O’Hanlon, is a shot further back on three-under after a 68.

“It was in Belvoir Park, and I played Dara Lernihan in the final, and it went to extra holes,” O’Hanlon said. “Really fond memories, great championship and I can’t believe I am in contention again nearly 20 years on.

“It would be amazing if I managed to pull it off tomorrow, but sure we will see. I will think about how I played the golf course today, what I would change and just try and implement that tomorrow.” 

The cut fell at three over with 45 golfers making it through to the weekend.

Balmoral’s Conor Clarke shot the low round of the day to get to three-under, although his 67 was later equalled by William O’Riordan (Greystones) as 20 players finished under-par, all well in contention ahead of Saturday’s final 36 holes.

AIG Irish Men’s Amateur Close, Portumna GC (Par 72)

Detailed scores

139 Dylan Keating (Seapoint) 66 73;

140 Dylan Holmes (Greystones) 69 71, Conor Hickey (Dooks) 68 72;

141 James O’Rourke (Naas) 70 71, Conor McCarthy (Headfort) 70 71, Paul O'Hanlon (Carton House) 73 68, Conor Clarke (Balmoral) 74 67, William O’Riordan (Greystones) 74 67;

142 Harry McArdle (Warrenpoint) 73 69, Aaron Kearney (Roepark) 71 71, Darragh Flynn (Carton House) 70 72, Barry Howlin (The Heritage) 74 68, Darcy Hogg (Belvoir Park) 70 72, Liam Abom (Edmondstown) 68 74, Thomas Higgins (Roscommon) 69 73, Jordan Boles (Carton House) 68 74, William Walshe (Delgany) 72 70;

143 Keith Egan (Carton House) 71 72, David Howard (Fota Island) 69 74, Charlie Mooney (Ballinasloe) 71 72;

144 David Kitt (Athenry) 72 72, David Shiel (Enniscrone) 71 73, Thomas Abom (Edmondstown) 70 74, Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock) 73 71, David Lally (Blainroe) 75 69, Mark Gazi (Tralee) 71 73, Evan Farrell (Co. Louth) 72 72;

145 Gavin Duffy (Edenderry) 73 72, Ross Latimer (Clandeboye) 74 71, Patrick Tuffy (Strandhill) 76 69, Aaron Ryan (Thurles) 72 73;

146 Jonathan Keane (Lahinch) 72 74, Evan Shipp (Headfort) 74 72, Charlie McDonnell (Concra Wood) 71 75, Jamal Sabir (Moate) 71 75, Joe O'Neill (Berehaven) 76 70, Cian O’Connor (Roscommon) 73 73, Paraic McGrath (Galway Bay) 73 73;

147 Jonathan Yates (Kilkenny) 72 75, James Fox (Portmarnock) 72 75, Brendan Mulgrew (Galgorm Castle) 72 75, Luke Cunningham (Galway Bay) 73 74, Cormac Ó Muirithe (Belmullet) 75 72, Morgan Cain (Fota) 72 75, Rory Gallagher (Galway Bay) 75 72;

Missed the cut

148 Cillian Murray (Stackstown) 74 74, Tadhg Murphy (Millicent) 72 76, Rafael Poli (Holywood) 76 72, Caelan Coleman (Galway Bay) 74 74, Tom Glennon (Kilkenny) 72 76, Cian Harkin (The Island) 75 73, Eoin Sullivan (Portmarnock) 77 71, Conor Stapleton (Westport) 74 74, Matthew Hanlon (Carton House) 73 75, Paul Coughlan (Castleknock) 72 76, Conor Murtagh (The Island) 74 74, Harry Gillivan (Portmarnock) 75 73, Alex Kerins (Carton House) 77 71;

149 Barry McMenamin (Ballybofey and Stranorlar) 73 76, Mark Cadden (Roganstown) 76 73, Jason Rackard (Bunclody) 74 75;

150 Jack McDonnell (Royal Dublin) 75 75, Keith Walsh (Kinsale) 77 73, Ben Cahill (Dundalk) 74 76;

151 Morgan O’Sullivan (Ballyneety) 74 77, Niall Fitzgerald (Shannon) 73 78, Mark Greenwood (Carton House) 78 73, Odhrán McBride (Ballybofey & Stranorlar) 76 75, Evan Monaghan (Tullamore) 77 74, Steven Gilmore (Cregmore Park) 75 76, Quentin Carew (The Heritage) 74 77, David Reddan (Castleknock) 76 75, Ryan Lyons (Blarney) 74 77, Ross Healion (Newforest) 74 77, Dylan Beirne (Carrick on Shannon) 78 73, Darren McCormack (Corrstown) 74 77, Ross McCormack (Palmerstown House Estate) 76 75;

152 Eoin Magill (East Clare) 77 75, Dave Lowry (Corrstown) 77 75, Fergal Coyle (Athenry) 75 77, Jonathan Quinn (The Island) 75 77, Evan Hogg (Belvoir Park) 76 76, Jake Foley (Elm Park) 75 77, Neil Patterson (Baltinglass) 77 75;

153 Shane McGlynn (Portmarnock) 79 74, Samuel Gammell (Naas) 74 79, Seán McLoughlin (County Sligo) 74 79, Adam Challoner (Galway Bay) 74 79, Sean Murphy (Grange) 78 75, Neil Conway (Cill Dara) 80 73, Nigel Colfer (Al Zorah) 77 76, Jamie Butler (Naas) 78 75, Adam Allahbachani (Powerscourt) 79 74, Conor Crudden (Newbridge) 76 77;

154 James Park (County Sligo) 75 79, Valter Andersson (Woodbrook) 79 75, Fionn McCormick (Moyola Park) 75 79, Jonathan Hayden (Royal Dublin) 78 76;

155 Odhran Macshane (Dundalk) 76 79, Ciarán Johnston (Concra Wood) 74 81, Ben O'Mahony (Stackstown) 78 77, Daniel Keogh (Powerscourt) 77 78, Ryan Corrigan (Westport) 80 75, Brendan Farrell (Standard Club, Georgia USA) 78 77, Harley Phipps (Co. Louth) 78 77;

156 Ruairi O'Connor (Co. Sligo) 78 78;

157 James Mitten (Castleknock) 78 79, Scott O'Brien (Nenagh) 78 79, Sean Duffy (Royal Tara) 81 76, Dylan Harbourne (Grange) 80 77;

158 Adrian Lynch (Bray) 80 78, David Cunningham (Galway) 77 81, Eoin O'Carroll (St. Annes) 80 78, Jack McIlhatton (Massereene) 79 79, Matthew Grehan (Tullamore) 73 85;

159 Donnacha Halpin (Shannon) 82 77, Niall Conneely (Ballinasloe) 79 80, Mikey Duignan (The Royal Dublin) 80 79, Sam Kelly (The Island) 81 78;

160 Dylan Smyth (Galway Bay) 80 80, Aaron McNulty (Lahinch) 85 75, Christopher Caulfield (Carton House) 82 78;

161 Luke Woods (Banbridge) 84 77;

162 Oisin Reilly (Straffen) 78 84, Evan Maher (Mountrath) 82 80;

164 Darragh Grehan (Carton House) 78 86;

166 David O'Malley (Black Bush) 83 83;

170 James Fenlon (Bunclody) 85 85;

173 Paraic Connolly (Portumna) 85 88.

Kildare rookie Lauren Walsh fired a six-under par 66 to share second place behind leader Mariel Galdiano in the Standard Portland Classic.

The touring professional for The Island made seven birdies and took just 24 putts as she chases her maiden win as a professional.

She’s tied for second place with Australia’s Grace Kim, Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi, Thailand’s Bianca Pagdanganan and Arpichaya Yubol, Germany’s Olivia Cowan, the Philippines’ Bianca Pagdanganan and Colombian amateur Maria Marin at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

"I think today just everything kind of came together," said the Kildare native, who won her LPGA card at last year’s Q-School.

“My game has been feeling good for the last couple of weeks. I haven't had the results to show for it, but it was just really nice to see everything come together today. 

"Drove it nicely, hit some nice iron shots, and held a lot of nice putts."

The Castlewarden golfer (25) arrived in Portland on the back of four missed cuts — three of them in Majors — but safely inside the top 100 in the rankings who keep their cards thanks to her third-place finish in May's ShopRite LPGA.

"That definitely gave me a big confidence boost," said 79th-ranked Walsh, who missed four of her first seven cuts before that result in Atlantic City. "Bit of a weight off my shoulders kind of thing.

"Then it was nice to get into a couple of majors over the summer. 

“I really enjoyed those events and kind of my game was trending nicely. Just didn't quite get the scoring going. Couldn't get anything going for 18 holes.

"But, yeah, gave me a big confidence boost, and just to see things come together today was really nice."

As for her rookie season, she said: "Honestly, it's been really enjoyable, the highs and lows, everything in between. 

"I've learnt a lot about myself and my game. Yeah, just working on all those things to keep getting better.

"I had a great experience on the LET the last two years, so I had the travel part down. But, yeah, no, it's been nice to be playing against the best players in the world out here."

Stephanie Meadow was 61st after a one-under 71 while Leona Maguire fought back brilliantly to shoot a 72.

Recently handed a Solheim Cup wildcard, the Co Cavan star was four over par after a double bogey six at the third (her 12th) but birdied the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth to end the opening round tied for 78th.

Meanwhile, wild bears delayed play at the Ladies European Tour's Access Series event in Slovakia.

Thursday’s morning session was suspended at 10 am local time due to bear sightings on the course. 

All players were safely evacuated to the clubhouse, and the "wildlife response team was deployed before play restarted at 11:15  am.

"Me, my granddad and my mom, we were having coffee," tournament leader Michaela Vavrova said. "I just got the notification. 

"But there was nothing like a storm or anything. So, I'm like, this is a little weird. And the first thought that came to my mind was it's probably the bears.

"But I couldn't really believe it. And then we started getting messages and, yeah, there's a bear. 

"I just came to the course earlier and had lunch, and we actually did some crosswords with the other Slovak girls. I took a little nap before playing, so it actually kind of helped me."

The unexpected bear sighting at TALE Ski Golf & Hotel Resort in the Low Tatras mountain range in central Slovakia helped Vavrova shoot a level par 72 to lead by a shot as she chases her maiden LETAS win on home soil.

Two weeks ago, at the Women's Irish Challenge, Vavrova also held a one-shot lead but slumped to a final round six-over 78 to finish tied-16th behind Beth Coulter at Malahide.

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.

SCORING

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.

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.

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 favorite Michael Lugiano, of Jackson Township, Pa.; and Logan Reilly, 19, of Lovettsville, Va.

Just how impressive has Leng been the past couple of months?

En route to winning the Western Amateur at Beverly Country Club, in Chicago, he defeated the world’s 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®/WAGR®.

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.

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.

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.

“I knew it was going to be a battle out there from the beginning,” 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.

“I've played with Tyler enough to know how good he is and what he's capable of.

As for the Walker Cup spot, he added: “There's a lot to play for in the U.S. Am in general. There's no need to add any extra pressure.”

Lugiano is having a run like Northern Californian Niall Sheils Donegan did a year ago at The Olympic Club and the University of Michigan’s Nick Carlson produced at Oakland Hills a decade ago.

Crowds have flocked out to see the “local” favorite, who resides 90 minutes away and is staying with his former Liberty University teammate and Norristown, Pa., resident Joshua Ryan, the stroke-play medalist who lost in Wednesday’s opening round.

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.

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.

The flame just continued to stay lit for the Liberty standout (school’s nickname is the Flames), who won the NCAA Corvalis (Ore.) Regional in May.

Liberty also has some USGA karma going as incoming freshman Noah Maclauchlan claimed last month’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley Country Club, in Bethlehem, Pa., defeating Russell in the 36-hole final.

Lugiano can expect his gallery to be even larger on Friday afternoon.

“Having all the people out here, it's great,” said Lugiano. “It's not nerve-racking at all. It's just really nice to have the support.”

Reilly, who clinched the winning point for Auburn in this year’s 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 honors in the U.S. Open with Reilly’s ex-teammate and now-PGA Tour winner Jackson Koivun.

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’s 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.

Playing in the Southeastern Conference, Loflin, who just completed his eligibility at the University of Georgia, had seen plenty of Alabama’s 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.

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’s 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 ’23 with partner Wells Williams.

“I mean, honestly, I would say that neither of us played our best golf,” said Loflin. “I think he would say that as well. We were kind of giving each other some breaks.

“He gave me a couple holes. But I've played a good bit with him. I knew he would come roaring back at some point, and he did.”

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’s most prestigious amateur competition.

Turner, who is No. 19 in WAGR and competed on this year’s USA Arnold Palmer Cup Team, rolled to an impressive 5-ad-3 victory, earning him a matchup against Leng Jr.

Turner was the equivalent of 4 under par – with the usual match-play concessions – over the 15-hole encounter.

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.

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’s Walker Cup Match at Lahinch, in the Republic of Ireland.

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 – Matthew Lowe, Evan Beck and Grady Brame Jr. – were eliminated on Wednesday.

Whaley, however, built a 5-up lead after eight holes and cruised home from there.

“The last 36 hours, I didn't really expect it coming into this week,” said Whaley.

“I knew my game was pretty solid. I knew I was playing nice. But obviously there's so many good players in this field, you can never really say, ‘Wow, I'm going to win.’ It's always a goal, but you never know.”

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’ll be a senior.

Now he’s 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.

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.

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.

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’s best amateur all week. One hole earlier, Knight had tied the match with a winning par on the 186-yard par-3.

“I was shocked, honestly,” said Knight, who was 3 down after 10. “I 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.”

What’s Next

Friday’s quarterfinal matches will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT and continue in 15-minute intervals. The semifinals on Saturday are slated for 2 p.m. and 2:20 p.m., and Sunday’s 36-hole final is scheduled to commence at 9 a.m. 

The afternoon portion will follow after the lunch break at a time to be determined. Tickets are available by clicking here. Peacock and the NBC Sports Network will have live streaming of the quarterfinals beginning at 3 p.m. NBC takes over the coverage on Saturday and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Notable

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.

How good was the Torrey Pines High boys’ golf team in 2024? Both Jay Leng Jr. and then freshman Evan Liu were both on the team that captured the Californian 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.

Michael Lugiano is the first player from the Golf Association of Philadelphia to reach the quarterfinals since Merion member George “Buddy” Marucci in 1996 at Pumpkin Ridge. Marucci, a two-time USA Walker Cup captain (2007, 2009), lost in the 1995 final to Tiger Woods.

Speaking of Merion, Jack Hopkins is the lone club caddie left. He is carrying for Carter Loflin.

William 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.

Basketball 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’s MVP in 1993. Barkley also is an avid golfer.

After 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.

Quotable

“I mean, I've always thought that my game was good enough to compete with anyone. I guess it just proves to me that I don't 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.” – Jay Leng Jr.

“Definitely really nice. Just being with a buddy all week and having his family to support me through it as well, it's really nice to have the comfort of a home instead of a hotel, which is most of these events.” – Michael Lugiano on staying at the residence of ex-college teammate Josh Ryan just 10.5 miles from Merion

“It's paramount. Yeah, he's 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'm ever 50/50 on a read, he's just like, no, it's right here. I'm like, okay.” – Carter Loflin on the importance of having veteran Merion caddie Jack Hopkins on his bag

“I think it's so cool to have all those people out there. It's 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.” – Logan Reilly

“We 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's definitely weird playing one of my good friends on such a big stage. It was a lot of fun.” – Jack Turner on playing Florida teammate Joshua Bai

“I've 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't say it was 100 percent perfect, but it's working.” – Jack Whaley on preparing to play Merion

“I 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's probably more in Rhode Island. It's just to show that even if you don't have a lot of golf courses or a facility, you can still make it.” – Adam Bresnu on being an inspiration for future players from Morocco

“This place is as good as it gets here at Merion. I have never played a golf course that's just so good through 18 holes.” – Brandon Knight

126th U.S. Amateur Championship - Meet the Quarterfinalists

Adam Bresnu, 22, of Morocco

• WAGR: 30

• Rising senior at Texas Tech University

• Earned First-Team All-Big 12 honours in 2025-26

• Represented Morocco at the 2025 World Amateur Team Championship, where he finished tied for third in Singapore

• Finished tied for fourth at 2025 Northeast Amateur Invitational

• Advanced to the Round of 16 of the North & South Amateur Championship

• First player from Morocco to advance to match play in U.S. Amateur history

• First Arab-born golfer to make the cut in a DP World Tour Rolex Series event at the 2025 Hero Dubai Classic

• Won nine events at Odessa (Texas) College to become the No. 1 junior college player in the country in the 2024-25 season

Road to the Quarterfinals

Shot 72-68-140 to earn the No. 29 seed
R64: Def. Ward Harris, 4 and 3
R32: Def. Finn Koelle, 3 and 2
R16: Def. Max Herendeen, 5 and 4

Brandon Knight, 21, of Pleasanton, Calif. 

• WAGR: 534

• Competing in third U.S. Amateur Championship 

• Rising senior at University of Colorado

• Finished second at Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate 

• Finished seventh at The Thunderbird Collegiate 

• Recorded a top-15 finish at the Pacific Coast Amateur 

Road to the Quarterfinals 

Shot 69-72 to earn the No. 48 seed
R64: Def. Connor Graham, 6 and 5
R32: Def. Noah Kent, 3 and 2
R16: Def. Gaven Lane, 1 up

Jay Leng Jr., 20, of San Diego, Calif. 

• WAGR: 23

• Competing in his second U.S. Amateur

• Winner of 2026 Western Amateur

• Finished as the runner-up at the Northeast Amateur Invitational

• Rising Junior at Stanford University where he had four Top 10 finishes and was named to the 2026 All-ACC team

• Was the top-ranked recruit in the state of California in 2024

• Represented the USA in the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup

• Advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur

Road to the Quarterfinals

Shot 70–68 in stroke play and earned the No. 15 seed
R64: Def. Evan Beck, 5 and 4
R32: Def. Zackary Swanwick, 6 and 5
R16: Def. Tyler Watts, 1 up

Carter Loflin, 22, of Duluth, Ga.

• WAGR: 47

• Competing in his first U.S. Amateur and sixth USGA championship

• Advanced to the semifinals in consecutive U.S. Amateur Four-Balls in 2022 and 2023 alongside partner Wells Williams

• Completed senior season at the University of Georgia in May; will graduate in December with a business degree

• Runner-up at the 2026 Georgia Amateur Championship

• Finished T-13 at the 2026 Southern Amateur

• Won both the 2026 Dogwood Invitational and Linger Longer Invitational

• Advanced to the Round of 32 of the 2025 North & South Amateur

Road to the Quarterfinals

Shot 70-67-137 to earn the No. 8 seed
R64: Def. Grayson Wood, 1 up
R32: Def. Wolfgang Glawe, 3 and 1
R16: Def. William Jennings, 19 holes

Michael Lugiano, 22, of Jackson Township, Pa.

• WAGR: 335

• Competing in his second U.S. Amateur after missing the cut last year at The Olympic Club

• Winner of 2026 NCAA Corvallis Regional

• Rising junior at Liberty University where he earned First-Team All-Conference USA honors in 2026

• Liberty teammate Joshua Ryan earned medalist honors this week at Merion

• Finished as the runner-up at the 2025 Pennsylvania Amateur Championship

• Won the 2025 Delaware Amateur Championship

• Advanced to the Round of 64 at the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur

Road to the Quarterfinals

Shot 71–68–139 in stroke play to earn the No. 19 seed
R64: Def. Chase Hughes, 1 up
R32: Def. Nevil Ruiter, 1 up
R16: Def. Drake Harvey, 1 up

Logan Reilly, 19, of Lovettsville, Va.

• WAGR: 56

• Advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 Western Amateur

• Competed in the 2026 US Open after shooting 68-67-135 during final qualifying

• Tied for fifth at the 2026 Northeast Amateur Invitational

• Rising sophomore at Auburn University where he was a member of the SEC All-Freshman team

• Secured the winning putt in the 2026 NCAA National Championship Match against UCLA

• Only player on Auburn's roster to go undefeated in match play on the season

• Father, Terry Reilly, is a golf agent who represents Chris Gotterup and Denny Mccarthy

• 2024 Virginia State Amateur Champion

Road to the Quarterfinals

Shot 69–69–138 in stroke play and earned the No. 11 seed
R64: Def. Emile Lebrun, 19 holes
R32: Def. Evan Liu, 2 and 1
R16: Def. Ryder Cowan, 20 holes

Jack Turner, 22, of Orlando, Fla. 

• WAGR: 19

• Competing in his second U.S. Amateur

• Three-time PING All-American, including Second-Team honors in 2026

• Rising Senior at Florida University where he earned First-Team All-SEC honors last season

• Two-time Arnold Palmer Cup participant for the USA in 2025 and 2026

• Was a part of the longest final match in Western Amateur history where he lost to Florida teammate Ian Gilligan in 29 holes

Road to the Quarterfinals

Shot 70–67–137 in stroke play to earn the No. 7 seed
R64: Def. Fifa Laopakdee, 2 and 1
R32: Def. Niall Sheils Donegan, 3 and 2
R16: Def. Joshua Bai, 5 and 3

Jack Whaley, 22, of England

• WAGR: 90

• Rising senior at Florida State University

• Competing in first U.S. Amateur

• Competed at NAIA Dalton State before transferring to FSU

• Won the 2025 NAIA Men’s Golf Championship and became the first player in history to collect all of the NAIA national awards, including the Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player Awards

• Finished T-14 during stroke play at the 2026 NCAA National Championship

• Competed in the 2026 Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool, in England

Road to the Quarterfinals

Shot 71-71-142 and survived a 16-for-11 playoff to earn the No. 60 seed
R64: Def. Jackson Ormund, 22 holes
R32: Def. Bowen Mauss, 2 and 1
R16: Def. Christian Cavaliere, 4 and 3

A rusty Rory McIlroy dropped four shots in his last three holes to open with a scrappy four-over 74 in the FedEx St Jude Championship in steamy Memphis.

The Masters champion decided against skipping the event for the second year running, admitting he couldn’t afford to head into next week’s penultimate play-off event without a competitive round since The Open.

His fears were proved correct at TPC Southwind, where he hit just nine greens in regulation and followed bogeys at the 16th and 17th with a double-bogey at the 18th to end the day 68th in the 69-man field, nine strokes behind leaders Jordan Spieth, Michael Thorbjornsen, Kurt Kitayama, Jake Knapp and Michael Kim.

McIlroy got off to a slow start, turning in one-over 36 alongside FedEx Cup leader and world number one Scottie Scheffler, who shot 68.

The Co Down man dropped his first shot of the day at the par-five third, where he pushed his second shot into water.

He bounced back at the 199-yard fourth, brushing in a 14-footer for a birdie two, but handed that shot back at the 153-yard eighth, where he left himself a tricky second from right of the green and failed to save par.

The two-time Masters champion got back to level par with another birdie two at the 176-yard 11th but created few opportunities from there before running another bogey six at the 16th.

He drove into the trees right, but after getting a friendly ricochet that allowed him to hit a fairway metal for his second, he semi-topped it 89 yards and then took three to get down from just over the back.

He went on to bogey the 17th after overshooting the green, then hooked his tee shot into water at the 18th and ran up a double-bogey six.

Scheffler missed just one green in regulation despite hitting only four fairways

“I felt like I hit a lot of quality shots with my irons,” the Texan said. “I did a good job of being patient and not trying to force it too much.

“I feel like I was right on the edge of having a good day kind of all day is how I would describe it. So I felt like, patience-wise, I did a pretty good job.”

McIlroy wasn’t the only European Ryder Cup star to struggle at the water-strewn Tennessee venue.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre crashed to a 12-over par 82 to prop up the 69-man field.

Shane Lowry, meanwhile, rebounded from a mid-round wobble to keep his FedEx Cup Play-Off hopes alive with a one-under 69.

The former Open champion needs to finish in a two-way tie for 11th or better to make the top 50 in the standings who qualify for next week’s BMW Championship in St Louis.

But it was hard work for the Offaly man, who birdied the third and sixth to turn in two-under before finding water and running up a double bogey at the short 11th and dropping another shot at the 209-yard 14th.

One-over for the day, he steadied the ship and birdied the 15th and 16th to share 26th on one under.

At the Irish Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour, Kilkenny’s Mark Power birdied two of his last three holes to open with a four-under-par 68 and lead the home challenge at Killeen Castle.

The two-time Walker Cup player (26) made an eagle and five birdies to share 16th place, four strokes behind Spain’s Joel Moscatel and England’s Will Enefer, who shot eight-under 64s to lead by a shot from South African duo Justin Harding and Bryce Easton.

Ronan Mullarney’s 69 left him joint 25th on three-under with Gary Hurley, Hugh Foley and Simon Thornton the only other members of the 18-strong home contingent inside the all-important top-60 after 70s.

On the Ladies European Tour, Elm Park’s Anna Foster was tied for ninth after opening with a four-under 67 in the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open.

She was just three strokes behind Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjall, who shot 64 in sweltering conditions to lead Spanish duo Luna Sobron Galmes and Amaia Latorre by one shot.

Annabel Wilson shot 72 to share 66th on one-over while Douglas’ Sara Byrne was 97th after a 74.

Co Clare’s Aine Donegan came back to earth after her maiden LET top-10 in last week’s PIF London Championship with a 76 and 113th place, while Olivia Mehaffey was 120th after a 77.