MORTON, Minn. – Playing in the same group Tuesday, Mason Roloff and Miles Bollinger each carded rounds of 7-under 65 to pace the 107-man field at Dacotah Ridge Golf Club to share medalist honors and move on to the second stage of qualifying for the 2026 U.S. Amateur.
Roloff, a recent graduate of the University of St. Thomas, and Bollinger, a sophomore transfer for the Tommies, each got a boost by rolling in three birdies down the stretch to help secure their ticket with a two-stroke victory.
“I know Mason a little bit and played against his brother [Austin] and then from playing in Minnesota stuff,” Bollinger said after qualifying Tuesday. “It was super fun battling it out with him, and, obviously, it’s nice when you’re playing with the other guy on the top of the leaderboard, taking it one hole at a time sort of like a match play.”
“Really fun playing with Miles because we were both playing really well and had good mojo going,” Roloff said following his round.
Roloff, who finished runner-up at the Minnesota Golf Association Players’ Championship last season at Spring Hill Golf Club, quickly climbed the leaderboard with five birdies during his opening nine to reach 5-under for the round.
“On the front nine, I was hitting a lot of shots in close and in the right spots, which helped simplify the game with a lot of easy birdies,” he said.
He was slowed by a bogey at the par-3 11th but bounced back with back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th holes, including a 20-footer at the 13th, before sinking an 8-footer at the last on top of his playing partner to post a 65.
“I played in two U.S. Junior [Amateurs], so I know they’re such incredible events and you know the hospitality is going to be great,” he said.
Roloff will be back at Dacotah Ridge in two weeks for Final Qualifying, hoping to carry his strong play all the way to the national championship.
“I’m sure there will be some guys coming in who haven’t played it, so it helps to have seen the course before and scout a little bit."
Bollinger said he’s also encouraged by his play Tuesday and there won’t be much to alter in his game in the coming weeks as he attempts to reach his first USGA championship.
“The No. 1 thing out here is to get it in the fairway and then figure it out from there,” Bollinger said. “I feel like committing to tee balls is huge, especially coming down the stretch. I didn’t try to do too much today, missed it in the right spots and converted when I could.
“Overall, it was pretty good. Just going to keep working on strengthening the misses.”
Bollinger, who helped lead Cretin-Derham Hall to a Class AAA team title in 2025, birdied two of his first three holes before taking his only bogey of the round at the fourth.
He’d bounce back with an eagle at the sixth before making good on four birdie looks over his final 10 holes, matching Roloff’s birdie chance at the last to earn a share of the lead at 7-under 65.
“The eagle was good—missed about a 6-footer at [No. 4], rolled in the eagle from eight feet and told myself I’m not going to sit on this lead,” Bollinger said. “At 18, [Roloff] was on in two, so I knew he was probably going to make birdie. We both had about eight feet, and I had to go first, so I gave him a read, and he made his on top of me.”
Rollins College golfer Mick Herron also posted one of the day’s steadier rounds Tuesday, playing his first 15 holes in 5-under before he was tripped up by a bogey at the par-3 16th.
The former Holy Family Catholic High School standout answered with a birdie at the 17th to finish in third place at 5-under 67 to advance to the next round of qualifying for the first time.
“Really consistent today—driver in the middle of the fairway and then center of the green,” Herron said Tuesday. “Made some good putts—couple 20-footers and a lot of short putts for par.
“I’ve been doing first stages without any success, but playing [at the U.S. Amateur] would be a blessing, having my dad playing in a couple and my brother playing in two and seeing that challenge would be fun to bring to my junior season down at Rollins.”
Ames, Iowa native and University of Missouri golfer Brock Snyder punched his ticket with a 4-under 68 Tuesday, while Minnesotans Carver Larson, Tuller Super and Ryan Engel each earned a spot at the next stage, finishing at 3-under 69.
Tyler Seeling, of Breezy Point, Minn., finished in sole possession of eighth place at 2-under 70 to advance, while University of Minnesota golfer Torger Ohe finished in a tie for ninth with recent Minnesota State Junior Boys’ champion Henry Johnson at 1-under 71 to claim their spots.
Minnesotans Jesse Bull, of Hopkins, Minn., and Winona State University’s Peyton Coahran emerged from a 7-for-2 playoff to earn the final two spots to the second stage, finishing 18 holes of regulation at even par 72.
Illinois native Gavin Newkirk claimed first alternate honors, and Ryan Conn finished as second alternate.
Historic Merion Golf Club will host its seventh U.S. Amateur Championship in early August, and it will be the 20th USGA championship contested at the venue.
Most recently, Merion hosted the 2022 Curtis Cup, won by the United States.
Last season, Georgia’s Mason Howell became the third youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur, defeating Jackson Herrington, 7 and 6, at the 36-hole final at the age of 18, also becoming just the third No. 63 seed to begin match play to claim the title since the USGA adopted the system in 1985.
Minnesota native and Gustavus Adolphus College golfer Jimmy Abdo advanced to the quarterfinal round last year, earning an automatic exemption into this year’s championship.