Jay Leng Jr., Jack Whaley Set for U.S. Amateur Final

Jay Leng Jr. made only two birdies in Saturday’s semifinal and never trailed. Jack Whaley twice built a 3-up lead, twice watched Carter Loflin erase it and then needed a 5-foot bogey putt on Merion Golf Club’s punishing 18th hole to survive.

Different routes. Same destination.

Leng, a rising junior at Stanford, defeated Auburn’s Logan Reilly, 2 and 1. Whaley, a rising senior at Florida State, edged Loflin, 1 up.

They will meet Sunday in a 36-hole championship match beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. By the end of it, either Leng will complete one of the finest summers in recent amateur golf or Whaley will finish a run that nearly ended before the match-play bracket was filled.

2026 U.S. Amateur Final

Jay Leng Jr. vs. Jack Whaley

Jay Leng Jr.

Stanford

Age: 20
Seed: No. 15
WAGR: No. 23
Semifinal: Def. Logan Reilly, 2 and 1
Match-play holes: 75

Jack Whaley

Florida State

Age: 22
Seed: No. 60
WAGR: No. 90
Semifinal: Def. Carter Loflin, 1 up
Match-play holes: 86

Whaley Survives After Losing Control Twice

Jack Whaley is congratulated by fans after winning his match 1up at the 18th hole during the semifinals of the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Dustin Satloff/USGA)

Whaley appeared ready to make the first semifinal a short afternoon.

The 22-year-old Englishman birdied the opening two holes, added another birdie at No. 6 and took a 3-up lead. Loflin responded by cutting the deficit to one through nine, but Whaley rebuilt his advantage with birdies at Nos. 10 and 12.

Again, Loflin came back.

He won the 13th and 15th holes before pulling even at No. 17. A match Whaley had controlled twice was tied going to Merion’s 501-yard finishing hole.

Whaley’s bogey was ultimately enough. He converted the deciding putt from 5 feet after Loflin could not escape the trouble that has defined the closing hole throughout the championship.

“I felt like I closed my eyes and hoped for the best,” Whaley said.

That was hardly a technical explanation, but it captured what Merion required.

Whaley did not close the match cleanly. He closed it.

That distinction has carried him from a 16-for-11 playoff for the final match-play positions to Sunday’s final. He entered the bracket as the No. 60 seed after posting a 2-over 142 in stroke play, then survived 22 holes against No. 5 seed Jackson Ormond in the Round of 64.

Whaley has played 86 holes across his five match-play victories. He has won comfortably, gone extra holes and now survived a semifinal in which the momentum changed repeatedly.

Fifteen months ago, Whaley was playing at Dalton State, an NAIA program in Georgia. He won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the NAIA player of the year, transferred to Florida State and climbed more than 200 positions in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Now ranked No. 90, he is one match from becoming the first English winner of the U.S. Amateur since Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013.

Leng Advances Without His Best Golf

Jay Leng Jr. lines up his putt at the 16th hole uring the semifinals of the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Dustin Satloff/USGA)

Leng’s semifinal was steadier, although hardly easy.

The 20-year-old did not make his first birdie until the par-3 10th. Still, he never trailed Reilly and continued a remarkable stretch in which he has now gone 42 consecutive holes without falling behind.

Reilly appeared positioned to square the match at No. 12 when his approach struck the flagstick. Instead of settling near the hole, the ball ricocheted off the green, rolled through the fairway and stopped in the rough. Reilly made bogey and fell 2 down.

Leng added his second birdie at No. 15 after hitting a wedge to 5 feet. Matching pars at No. 17 completed his 2-and-1 victory.

“I didn’t have my best stuff today,” Leng said.

That may be the most revealing part of the performance.

Leng arrived at Merion after winning the Western Amateur two weeks ago, finishing second at the Northeast Amateur and tying for fifth at the Southern Amateur. His summer has been defined by stretches of aggressive, high-level golf, including four consecutive birdies to close out Jack Turner, 6 and 5, in Friday’s quarterfinal.

Saturday asked for something else. Leng made two birdies, benefited from Reilly’s unfortunate break and protected his advantage without needing another surge.

The championship match will be Leng’s sixth at Merion, but he has played 75 match-play holes, 11 fewer than Whaley. That is a meaningful difference before a 36-hole final, especially at a course that punishes loose swings and poor decisions more aggressively as the day wears on.

The 36-Hole Format Changes the Calculation

The U.S. Amateur Trophy was presented to the USGA in March 1895 by the Association’s first president, Theodore A. Havemeyer. The original Havemeyer, an ornate silver trophy produced by J.E. Caldwell and Co. was lost in a fire in 1925. The new Havemeyer Trophy, a tall gold-plated steeple cup, was formally presented in January 1926. The Havemeyer is still widely recognized as the most revered prize in amateur golf. (Copyright USGA/Jonathan Kolbe)

Leng enters Sunday as the stronger player on paper.

He is No. 23 in the world amateur ranking, the No. 15 seed and the only golfer since Danny Lee in 2008 with an opportunity to win the Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur in the same year.

He has also defeated a more formidable collection of opponents. Leng eliminated 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Evan Beck, New Zealand standout Zackary Swanwick, World No. 3 Tyler Watts, No. 7 seed Turner and Reilly.

Whaley’s argument is less statistical and perhaps more useful at Merion. His championship has required him to recover repeatedly.

He forced extra holes against Ormond by winning the 18th with a bogey. He then made birdie on the fourth extra hole. Against Loflin, he lost two substantial leads and still found the putt he needed after the second one disappeared.

A 36-hole final offers plenty of time for both players’ identities to be tested.

If the match becomes a birdie contest, Leng’s recent form and superior body of work make him the logical favorite. If it becomes untidy, volatile and mentally exhausting, Whaley has spent most of the week proving he can live there.

A large early lead will not settle this final. Loflin erased two 3-up deficits in 18 holes Saturday. Over 36 holes, one poor stretch can become a detour instead of a conclusion.

The greater challenge will be resisting the temptation to react too quickly.

How to Watch

U.S. Amateur Championship Match

Date: Sunday, Aug. 16
Format: 36-hole match play
Morning 18: 9 a.m. EDT
Afternoon 18: Following the lunch break

Peacock

3-4 p.m. EDT

NBC

4-6 p.m. EDT

The published national television schedule covers the afternoon portion of the championship match.

Much Has Already Been Secured, but the Trophy Remains

Both finalists have earned exemptions into the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and are expected to receive invitations to the Masters, provided they remain amateurs.

Sunday’s winner receives custody of the Havemeyer Trophy, exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Amateurs and a place in the 2027 Open Championship at St. Andrews, provided he retains amateur status.

For Leng, a victory would complete a summer that has elevated him from a talented college golfer into one of the central figures in the amateur game.

For Whaley, it would finish a rise that began outside NCAA Division I golf and continued through the final match-play playoff at Merion.

Leng has spent his last 42 holes refusing to trail. Whaley has spent the week proving that losing control does not have to end his day.

By late Sunday, Merion will decide which quality lasts longer.

PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on R.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.

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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Aug 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the Golf section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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