For onlythe third time since 1911, an Englishman has won the 126th U.S.Amateur Golf Championship at Merion Golf Club.
Florida State golfer Jack Whaleybattled Mother Nature and held off a late charge from Stanford’s Jay Leng bysinking a birdie putt on the 33rd holes to win 4&3 and hoist theHavemeyer Trophy.
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Not too shabby for a player ranked No. 90 as an amateur. Itwas an emotional moment for Whaley, with his father carrying the bag as his caddy.
Whaley wasdown by two strokes after 18 holes. However, he came roaring back, winning fourconsecutive holes in the final round to win the title. He is the first FloridaState golfer to win the title, and the first to appear in the final in 18years.
With thevictory, Whaley now qualifies for the 2027 Masters Tournament, the British OpenChampionship, and the U.S. Open.
A seniorfrom Doncaster, England, Whaley finished 14th in the NCAAChampionships this season. Last season, as a member of NAIA Dalton State,Whaley became the NAIA Men’s Golf Champion, shooting 8-under after beginningthe tournament with a blistering round of 61. Not surprisingly, Whaley collectedall the national awards:
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JackNicklaus Award winner
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ArnoldPalmer Award winner
Going intothe semifinal round against the No. 8 ranked amateur Carter Loflin, Whaleystated he was nervous.
“After the second hole, I settled down a bit, said Whaley. “I really started to play golf again, and started thinking about what to dowith the golf ball instead of standing up there and hitting the ball.”
Whaleycarries on the legacy of success that past Florida State golfers have enjoyed atthe U.S. Amateur Championship, notably Drew Kittleson in 2008 appearing in the finalround and Harry Ellis in 2018 qualifying for the Masters.
There was nostopping Whaley, as he blew through the competition to win the championship.Below are his scores in the tournament:
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In theround of 64, defeated No. 5 Jackson Ormond 1 up in 22 holes.
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Whaley witha 2&1 victory over No. 37 Bowen Mauss of Arizona State in round of 32.
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Whaley defeatedNo. 53 Christian Cavliere 4&3 in the round of 16.
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Quarterfinals:defeated No. 29 Adam Bresnu of Texas Tech 5&4.
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Semifinals:defeated Carter Loflin 1 up.
The U.S.Amateur Championship is the oldest USGA championship, founded in 1895. The listof past winners is a Who’s Who of golfing royalty, including Phil Mickelson,Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Tiger Woods.
Woods won three consecutiveAmateur championships. It was the fifth time since 1916 that Merion Golf Clubhad hosted this storied event.
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