Strong Finish Sends Ohe into First-Round Lead at Minnesota State Junior Boys’ Championship
ALEXANDRIA, Minn. – An eagle and three birdies across his final nine holes Monday at Alexandria Golf Club lifted Torger Ohe into the...
FIELD NOTES - Among the 312 golfers in the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship field, there are:
Oldest Competitors: Rusty Strawn (61), Todd White (56)
Youngest Competitors: Jaden Soong (14), Sohan Patel (15), Miles Russell (15)
Average Age of Field: 22.5
U.S. States Represented - A total of 48 states are represented in the 2024 U.S. Amateur:
California (28), Texas (20), Florida (19), Georgia (17), North Carolina (12), Pennsylvania (9), Arizona (8), New York (7), Michigan (6), Tennessee (6), Utah (6), Colorado (5), Minnesota (5), Ohio (5), Oklahoma (5), South Carolina (5), Massachusetts (5), Washington (5), Illinois (4), Indiana (4), Kentucky (4), Maryland (4), Nevada (4), Oregon (4), Virginia (4), Alabama (3), Arkansas (3), Connecticut (3), Idaho (3), Mississippi (3), New Jersey (3), Hawaii (2), Iowa (2), Kansas (2), Louisiana (2), Nebraska (2), Vermont (2), West Virginia (2), Alaska (1), Maine (1), Missouri (1), Montana (1), New Hampshire (1), New Mexico (1), North Dakota (1), South Dakota (1), Wisconsin (1), Wyoming (1)
International - There are 37 countries represented in the 2024 U.S. Amateur:
United States (243), People's Republic of China (8), Australia (4), Canada (4), England (4), Mexico (4), Sweden (4), Argentina (3), Scotland (3), Spain (3), Cayman Islands (2), Italy (2), Norway (2), Thailand (2), Vietnam (2), Austria (1), Chinese Taipei (1), Denmark (1), France (1), Germany (1), Hong Kong China (1), Japan (1), Netherlands (1), Northern Ireland (1), Panama (1), Paraguay (1), Portugal (1), Puerto Rico (1), Republic of Ireland (1), Republic of Korea (1), Singapore (1), South Africa (1), Trinidad and Tobago (1), Uganda (1), Ukraine (1), United Arab Emirates (1), Wales (1)
USGA Champions (12): Brian Blanchard (2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Kiko Francisco Coelho (2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Wenyi Ding (2022 U.S. Junior Amateur), Sam Engel (2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Trevor Gutschewski (2024 U.S. Junior Amateur), Stewart Hagestad (2016, 2021, 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Bryan Kim (2023 U.S. Junior Amateur), Matthew McClean (2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Matt Parziale (2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Rusty Strawn (2022 U.S. Senior Amateur), Preston Summerhays (2019 U.S. Junior Amateur), Todd White (2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur)
USGA Runners-Up (5): Evan Beck (2008 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Blades Brown (2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Jackson Herrington (2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Brad Nurski (2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Tyler Watts (2024 U.S. Junior Amateur)
Players in Field with Most U.S. Amateur Appearances (2024 included) - Stewart Hagestad (15), Todd White (10), Preston Summerhays (7), Robbie Ziegler (7), Bobby Leopold (6), Matt Parziale (6), Evan Beck (5), Luke Potter (5), Gordon Sargent (5), Jackson Van Paris (5)
Players in field who competed in 2006 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine (2) - Garrett Jones, Matt Parziale
19 players are in the Top 20 of the Men's World Amateur Golf Ranking® as of Aug. 7:
| No. 1 - Gordon Sargent | No. 11 - Brendan Valdes |
| No. 2 - Jackson Koivun | No. 12 - Calum Scott |
| No. 3 - Luke Clanton | No. 13 - Christiaan Maas |
| No. 4 - Wenyi Ding | No. 14 - Omar Morales |
| No. 5 - Ben James | No. 15 - Stewart Hagestad |
| No. 6 - Preston Summerhays | No. 17 - Jackson Buchanan |
| No. 7 - Jackson Van Paris | No. 18 - Tommy Morrison |
| No. 8 - David Ford | No. 19 - Andrew Goodman |
| No. 9 - Ian Gilligan | No. 20 - Bastien Amat |
| No. 10 - Jose Luis Ballester Barrio |
Players from Minnesota (5): Gunnar Broin (Shorewood), Nate Deziel (East Grand Fork), Jacob Pedersen (Excelsior), Sam Udovich (Inver Grove Heights), Ben Warian (Stillwater)
Played in 2023 U.S. Amateur (78): Bastien Amat, Owen Avrit, Carson Bacha, Jose Luis Ballester, Evan Beck, Parker Bell, Blades Brown, Jackson Buchanan, Luke Clanton, Luke Colton, Ryder Cowan, Anthony Delisanti, Payne Denman, Wenyi Ding, Ryan Dupuy, William Duquette, Garrett Engle, Caden Fioroni, David Ford, Maxwell Ford, Bartley Forrester, Zach Foushee, Nate Gahman, Trevor Garus, Andrew Goodman, Stewart Hagestad, Albert Hansson, Frankie Harris, Walker Isley, Benjamin James, Freddie Janneck, Connor Jones, Tobias Jonsson, Bryan Kim, Brandon Knight, Jackson Koivun, Michael La Sasso, Joseph Lenane, Yuqi Liu, William Love, Matthew Lowe, Christiaan Maas, Connor Macmillan, Matthew Manganello, Vicente Marzilio, Bobby Massa, Bowen Mauss, Matthew McClean, Ashton McCulloch, Dylan McDermott, Andrew Mclauchlan, Kye Meeks, Michael Alexander Mjaaseth, Jacob Modleski, Omar Morales, Sebastian Moss, Cole Nygren, Jackson Parrish, Sohan Patel, Luke Potter, Colin Prater, Luke Sample, Gordon Sargent, Scotland Schmidt, Calum Scott, Patrick Sheehan, Gregory Solhaug, Cole Starnes, Preston Stout, Rusty Strawn, Preston Summerhays, Brendan Valdes, Jackson Van Paris, Kurt Watkins, Jack Wieler, Andi Xu, Pono Yanagi, Alexander Yang
Played in 2024 U.S. Open (13): Gunnar Broin, Ashton McCulloch, Colin Prater, Parker Bell, Ben James, Hiroshi Tai, Luke Clanton, Jackson Buchanan, Omar Morales, Wells Williams, Gordon Sargent, Stewart Hagestad, Bryan Kim
Played in 2024 U.S. Senior Open (2): Rusty Strawn, Todd White
Played in 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur (26): Rayan Ahmed, Kush Arora, Carson Bertagnole, Blades Brown, Xihuan Chang, Luke Colton, Ryan Downes, Ethan Evans, Erich Fortlage, Gerardo Gomez, Lev Grinberg, Henry Guan, Trevor Gutschewski, Hung Le, Jay Leng Jr., Bowen Mauss, Nguyen Anh Minh, Ajay Morris, Davis Ovard, Lucas Politano, Michael Riebe, Miles Russell, Yixiang Wang, Connor Warren, Tyler Watts, Ziqin Zhou
Played in 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (17): Evan Beck, Brian Blanchard, Blades Brown, Payne Denman, Sam Engel, Zach Foushee, Jackson Herrington, Dane Huddleston, Brian Isztwan, Davey Jude, Mikkel Mathiesen, Oscar Maxfield, Colin Prater, Scotland Schmidt, Todd White, Wells Williams, Robbie Ziegler
Played in 2023 Walker Cup Match (10): David Ford (USA), Stewart Hagestad (USA), Ben James (USA), Gordon Sargent (USA), Preston Summerhayes (USA), James Ashfield (GB&I), Jack Bigham (GB&I), Connor Graham (GB&I), Matthew McClean (GB&I), Calum Scott (GB&I)
Played in 2021 Walker Cup Match (1): Stewart Hagestad (USA)
Played in 2019 Walker Cup Match (1): Stewart Hagestad (USA)
Played in 2017 Walker Cup Match (1): Stewart Hagestad (USA)
Played in 2013 Walker Cup Match (1): Todd White (USA)
PLAYER NOTES:
Jake Ackerman, 18, of Riverview, Fla., is the son of two-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion Vicki Goetze-Ackerman and is set to make his USGA championship debut. He has signed his letter of intent to attend the University of Coastal Georgia, an NAIA school in Brunswick. Jake was the medalist in his U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Buckhorn Springs Golf & C.C. in Valrico, Fla., where he shot a 64. Then in final qualifying at Cabot Citrus Farms in Brooksville, Fla., he shot a 67 to garner one of the seven available spots. Vicki was the runner-up in the 1990 U.S. Girls' Junior and member of two USA Curtis Cup and two Women's World Amateur Teams. She made her U.S. Senior Women's Open debut last week at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh, Pa., where Jake caddied. His uncle, Nicky, was the runner-up in the 1986 U.S. Junior Amateur.
Austin, 23, and Evan Barbin, 20, of Elkton, Md., are brothers who both earned their way into the field by winning championships conducted by Allied Golf Associations. Austin, who just completed his senior season at Liberty University, won the 2024 Maryland Amateur and Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur to become exempt, while Evan, a rising junior at Liberty, captured the 2024 Delaware Amateur. Their father played golf at Lynchburg College, where he is a member of the school's athletic hall of fame. Another brother, Zach, was a team captain during his time at Liberty (2018-22) and another brother, Andrew, played at Eastern University.
Jose Luis Ballester Barrios, 20, of Spain, is a rising senior at Arizona State University. The son of two Olympians, Ballester's parents both competed in three different Olympic games - his father as a swimmer, and his mother as a field hockey player, who won the gold medal in 1992 in Barcelona. Ballester earned honorable mention All-America honors in each of his first two seasons as a Sun Devil, and in 2023 won the European Amateur. In 2024, Ballester owns three top-10 finishes, including an eighth-place finish in his title defense at the European Amateur.
Gunnar Broin, 22, of Shorewood, Minn., has spent the last few years as a caddie at Hazeltine National Golf Club and also plays a lot of golf at the stroke-play, co-host Chaska Town Course. The University of Kansas super senior qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club via a playoff in the Columbus, Ohio, final qualifier and then made the 36-hole cut, shooting a 2-under 68 in Round 2. Broin spent his first two collegiate seasons at Colorado State before transferring for the 2022-23 season. This will be his third U.S. Amateur; he lost to Trent Phillips in the opening round of match play at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club in 2021. Broin finished fifth in the 2023 Minnesota State Amateur, and advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2023 North & South Amateur at Pinehurst.
Blades Brown, 17, of Nashville, Tenn., made the cut and finished tied for 26th in his PGA Tour debut at the Myrtle Beach Classic in May. Brown, a member of the U.S. National Junior Team, reached the finals of the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with his partner Jackson Herrington, who also qualified for the 2024 U.S. Amateur. He won five times in 2023, including a 12-stroke victory at the Tennessee Junior Amateur and a win at The Elite Invitational. Brown reached the Round of 32 in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club after surpassing Bob Jones as the youngest stroke-play co-medalist in the championship's history. Last month, he earned medalist honors at the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur. He was named the 2023 Tennessee Golf Association's Player of the Year. His mother, Rhonda Blades, is a former WNBA player and All-American point guard at Vanderbilt University who made the first 3-point shot in WNBA history.
Luke Clanton, 20, of Hialeah, Fla., became the first amateur to record consecutive top 10s on the PGA Tour since 1958. A week after finishing T10 in the 2024 Rocket Mortage Classic, the Florida State All-American finished runner-up in the John Deere Classic. Clanton also made his U.S. Open debut at Pinehurst and became the first amateur in championship history to record consecutive rounds in the 60s. He has risen to No. 3 in the WAGR after winning three collegiate tournaments in the spring. In 2021, Clanton advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur at The Country Club of North Carolina. He also qualified for match play in last year's U.S. Amateur.
John Daly II, 21, of Dardanelle, Ark., is the son of two-time major champion John Daly and is a rising redshirt junior at the University of Arkansas. The younger Daly survived a 5-for-4 playoff at Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas on July 24 to earn his way to Hazeltine. Daly had carded a 68 in the 18-hole final qualifier. Earlier this summer, Daly played in his first professional event in Norman, Okla., missing the cut in the Korn Ferry Tour Compliance Solutions Championship. This past season, Daly II compiled a 71.78 scoring average with two top-20 finishes in the first six events of the season. This will be Daly's second USGA championship as he competed in the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur at The Country Club of North Carolina. Daly's father played in a pair of PGA Championships at Hazeltine in 2002 and 2009.
Nate Deziel, 24, of East Grand Forks, Minn., is a 2023 North Dakota State graduate who earned his way into the field by winning the 2024 Minnesota State Amateur at Minnesota Valley Country Club in Bloomington. Deziel posted an 11-under 208 in the 54-hole competition, winning by three strokes. This is the first year the USGA has provided an exemption for winners of Allied Golf Association major amateur competitions. In 2022, Deziel captured the Summit League individual title. He wound up competing in 40 events for the Bison, the second-most since the program went to Division I level. His 116 career rounds are the most in program history, and he posted a pair of wins, including the league title in 2022.
Wenyi Ding, 19, of the People's Republic of China, became the first male golfer from China to win a USGA championship when he claimed the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes. This earned Ding an exemption into the 2023 U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club. During his freshman season this past year at Arizona State, Ding posted six top 10 finishes, including two wins. He most recently claimed the Southern Amateur Championship at Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington, Ky. In 2021, Ding won the China Amateur and the Boao Classic, a professional event in China.
Riccardo Fantinelli, 20, of Italy, was the medalist in the Medford Village Country Club final qualifier. He is a rising junior at Princeton University who was supposed to start an internship at LexisNexis the day he shot 5-under 67 to earn a spot at Hazeltine. The internship in the mergers and acquisitions department wound up starting a day later. Now No. 209 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the native of Italy and 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year competed for his country in this year's European Team Championships. In 2023, he advanced to the Round of 32 of The Amateur Championship and finished seventh in the European Amateur. He also represented his country in the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship in the United Arab Emirates.
David Ford, 21, of Peachtree Corners, Ga., made two PGA Tour starts this summer at The RSM Classic and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The lefty represented the USA at the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship in the United Arab Emirates and helped the victorious USA Team in the 2023 Walker Cup on the Old Course at St. Andrews. He was named first-team All-American (GCAA and Golfweek) and voted ACC Player of the Year as a sophomore at the University of North Carolina in 2022-23. Ford won the 2022 Southern Amateur Championship at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga., and reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 North & South Amateur, losing to eventual champion Nick Dunlap.
Nsubuga Godfrey, 24, of Uganda, is the first player representing Uganda to compete in the U.S. Amateur Championship. Godfrey will be attending Winston-Salem State University in the fall, and as such became the first player in school history to qualify for a USGA championship. Following a 68 at the Mid Pines Golf Club qualifying site in Southern Pines, N.C., Godfrey punched his ticket to Hazeltine alongside 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball runners-up Blades Brown and Jackson Herrington, among 10 others. Ranked No. 192 in the WAGR, the Uganda native began a GoFundMe campaign to help fund his golf travels this summer - to date, Godfrey has raised $610 out of his $10,000 goal. Aside from the U.S. Amateur, he plans on returning to Uganda to defend the Uganda Open title at the end of August.
Trevor Gutschewski, 17, of Omaha, Neb., became the first player from Nebraska to win the U.S. Junior Amateur with his 4-and-3 triumph over Tyler Watts in the 36-hole final on Oakland Hills Country Club's South Course. The rising senior at Omaha Westside High School is just the second golfer from Nebraska to win a USGA championship, following Johnny Goodman (1933 U.S. Open and 1937 U.S. Amateur). Gutschewski is the son of PGA Tour golfer Scott Gutschewski, who has qualified for one USGA event (2009 U.S. Open). The elder Gutschewski owns three victories on the Korn Ferry Tour. Trevor's brother, Luke, a standout at Iowa State, shared medalist honors in the 2022 U.S. Amateur at The Ridgewood Country Club. Trevor has committed to attend the University of Florida in the fall of 2025. This week, he is making his Korn Ferry Tour debut Pinnacle Bank Championship, where he is playing the first two rounds alongside his brother and dad.
Stewart Hagestad, 33, of Newport Beach, Calif., is coming off his third U.S. Mid-Amateur title, defeating Evan Beck, 3 and 2, at Sleepy Hollow last September. He has been a member of four winning USA Walker Cup Teams (2017, 2019, 2021, 2023). Hagestad, who has competed in five U.S. Opens, reached the quarterfinals of both the 2020 and 2022 U.S. Amateurs, losing to the eventual champion both times (Tyler Strafaci and Sam Bennett). He has played in 28 USGA championships, including 14 U.S. Amateurs. He captured the 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Sankaty Head Golf Club, defeating Mark Costanza, 2 and 1. He also defeated Scott Harvey in 37 holes in the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, producing the largest comeback victory since a 36-hole final was introduced in 2001. Hagestad was the low amateur in the 2017 Masters Tournament, becoming the first invited Mid-Amateur champion to make the 36-hole cut.
Ben James, 20, of Milford, Conn., is coming off a strong sophomore year at the University of Virginia, culminating with a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division I Championships at Omni La Costa, before making his U.S. Open debut at Pinehurst. James is the first Cavalier to be a multiple first-team All-American. He also represented the USA on the victorious Walker Cup Team at St. Andrews in Scotland. As a freshman, he was named winner of the 2023 Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award, a First-Team Ping All-American, ACC Freshman of the Year and a finalist for both the Haskins and Jack Nicklaus Awards. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 U.S. Amateur, losing to Parker Bell in 19 holes. James was also selected to the 2023 U.S. Palmer Cup Team and earned a sponsor's exemption into the 2023 Travelers Championship in his home state of Connecticut.
Jackson Koivun, 19, of Chapel Hill, N.C., a rising sophomore at Auburn University, led the Tigers to the 2024 NCAA Division I title at La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif. Koivun advanced to the quarterfinals of last year's U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills C.C., where he fell in 19 holes to eventual champion Nick Dunlap. This past season at Auburn, Koivun won the Southeastern Conference title and was the runner-up to Georgia Tech's Hiroshi Tai in the NCAA Division I Championship. Koivun became the first player in collegiate history to sweep all four of the major post-season awards: Mickelson (top freshman), Haskins, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan for being the nation's top player. Koivun represented the U.S. on the victorious 2022 Junior Presidents Cup Team, the same year he won the American Junior Golf Association's Rolex Tournament of Champions. At Auburn, he finished outside the top six just once in 13 starts. Koivun was also a member of the victorious 2024 U.S. Palmer Cup Team that competed at Lahinch in the Republic of Ireland. He also made his PGA Tour debut in the Memorial, making the cut and finishing 52nd.
Christiaan Maas, 20, of South Africa, is a rising junior at the University of Texas. Maas earned four top-10 solo finishes in his sophomore season with the Longhorns, claiming his first solo collegiate victory at the NCAA Austin Regional. Maas has competed in three USGA championships, advancing to match play at both the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in 2022, but missing the cut in 2023 at Cherry Hills. He also recorded a runner-up finish in the inaugural Africa Amateur Championship conducted by the R&A in February, registering a 72-hole total of 13-under 275 and advancing to a three-man playoff.
Tommy Morrison, 20, of Dallas, Texas, became the first American to win the European Amateur in July at The Scandinavian Golf Club in Denmark, defeating fellow American Preston Summerhays and Max Kennedy, of the Republic of Ireland, in a playoff. The victory earned Morrison an exemption into The Open Championship at Royal Troon. A few weeks earlier, Morrison reached the final 16 of The Amateur Championship conducted by The R&A. Last year, Morrison teamed with ex-Dallas Cowboys quarterback/CBS lead NFL analyst Tony Romo to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Kiawah Island Club. Later that summer, he was the medalist in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Daniel Island Club, where he advanced to the quarterfinals. At 6 feet 8 inches, Morrison is one of the tallest collegiate golfers. In 2023, Morrison also advanced to the final 16 of The Amateur Championship.
Jacob Pedersen, 24, of Shorewood, Minn., will be the second Minnetonka High alum to tee it up in this year's U.S. Amateur, joining 2024 U.S. Open qualifier Gunnar Broin. This will be Pedersen's third appearance in the U.S. Amateur in the last four years. The University of Minnesota graduate carded a 1-under 71 in final qualifying at Dakotah Ridge Golf Club in Morton, Minn., and survived a 4-for-3 playoff to garner one of the last available spots. Pedersen finished eighth in this year's Minnesota State Open, and sixth in the 2023 Minnesota State Amateur.
Miles Russell, 15, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., became the youngest golfer ever to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this year, finishing tied for 20th at the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and made his first PGA Tour start last month at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Russell, a member of the U.S. National Junior Team, surpassed Tiger Woods as the youngest winner of the AJGA Rolex Boys Player of the Year award last year. In 2023, the left-hander won both the Junior Players Championship and the Boy's Junior PGA Championship. He is a two-time Drive, Chip & Putt national finalist and is competing in his first U.S. Amateur.
Gordon Sargent, 21, of Birmingham, Ala., won the 2023 Mark H. McCormack Medal for being the leading player in the WAGR following last year's U.S. Amateur. He helped the USA retain the Walker Cup in 2023 at St. Andrews, posting a 4-0-0 mark on the Old Course. Sargent also helped the USA win the Eisenhower Trophy at the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship in the United Arab Emirates. After winning the 2022 NCAA D-I championship, he earned the 2022 Phil Mickelson Award for being the nation's top freshman golfer and received an invitation to play in the 2023 Masters Tournament. Sargent, who is a rising senior at Vanderbilt University, has won four college events in his career. He also represented the USA in the 2022 and 2023 Palmer Cups. His father, Seth, played in two USGA events, advancing to match play in the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Jaden Soong, 14, of Burbank, Calif., became the youngest-ever winner of the Southern California Golf Association Amateur, an event that has been staged for 125 years. The rising high school freshman at St. Francis High in La Cañada posted a five-shot win at The Saticoy Club that included a bogey-free 66 in the final round. Soong joined the likes of Tiger Woods, Sahith Theegala, Patrick Cantlay and Beau Hossler as champions of this prestigious competition. Soong came into the competition as the reigning SCGA Junior champion. Two weeks earlier, Soong advanced to the semifinals of the California Amateur at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. At just 13 years old, Soong advanced through U.S. Open local qualifying. This will be Soong's first USGA championship.
Preston Summerhays, 22, of Scottsdale, Ariz., won the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur, which earned him an exemption into the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Summerhays, who has played in six U.S. Amateurs, is the son of former PGA Tour player Boyd, the nephew of PGA Tour player Daniel and the great nephew of Bruce, who won three PGA Tour Champions events. Preston's sister, Grace, qualified for last year's U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach and this U.S. Women's Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club, and his uncle, Joe, was in the field at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open. Preston partnered with Luke Potter to reach the quarterfinals of the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. He also won the 2020 Sunnehanna Amateur, becoming the youngest champion in tournament history. In 2022, Summerhays was named Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year after recording eight top-10s during his first year at Arizona State University.
Evan Thompson, 25, of Atlanta, Ga., is a former star linebacker and golfer at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. At KSU, he became the first player in school history to record 10-plus tackles in three consecutive games, and he set a school mark for most tackles in a season with 118. On the golf course, Thompson finished 12th in the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship after placing 21st a year earlier. In 2022, he placed third in the Peach Belt Conference Championship while playing for Division II Florida Tech. This will be his first USGA championship.
Sam Udovich, 17, of Inver Grover Heights, Minn., is a rising high school senior at Cretin-Derham Hall (same school that produced Hall of Famer Joe Mauer) who posted a 66 in the Brook Hollow Golf Club final qualifier in Dallas, Texas, on July 22. He's verbally committed to Texas Christian University in Fort Worth starting in 2025. Udovich qualified for the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes but failed to advance to match play from an 11-for-5 playoff. Udovich is a three-time national Drive, Chip & Putt finalist at Augusta National Golf Club, winning the Boys' 12-13 division in 2021. Udovich claimed his first American Junior Golf Association victory in the 2023 Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Sugarloaf in Maine. He also was the runner-up in this year's Discover Puerto Rico Junior Championship.
Jackson Van Paris, 20, of Pinehurst, N.C., became the youngest player since Bob Jones in 1916 to win a first-round match in the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach in 2018 at the age of 14. The rising senior at Vanderbilt University finished runner-up at the 2024 North & South Amateur Championship and was a member of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup Team. He lost in the Round of 16 of the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur to eventual semifinalist Luke Clanton at The Country Club of North Carolina, his home club. He organized and hosted the Carolinas Cup through the American Junior Golf Association's Junior Leadership Program, raising more than $250,000 for charity. This will be his fifth U.S. Amateur appearance.
Brendan Valdes, 21, of Orlando, Fla., is a rising senior at Auburn who helped the Tigers claim the 2024 NCAA title at La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif., defeating 2024 U.S. Open qualifier Frederik Kjettrup of Florida State, 4 and 3, in the championship match. Valdes qualified for the U.S. Opens at Pinehurst and The Los Angeles Country Club and advanced to the Round of 32 of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club. He joined teammate Jackson Koivun on the victorious 2024 U.S. Palmer Cup Team and as a first-team All-American. Prior to Auburn, Valdes won the Boys' 14-15 division of the 2018 Drive, Chip & Putt National Championship at Augusta National Golf Club. Currently No. 11 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Qualified for the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club.
Ben Warian, 22, of Stillwater, Minn., started his preparation for the U.S. Amateur by playing in the PGA Tour's 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in late July. The 2024 University of Minnesota graduate earned his place in the field via one of the USGA's new exemption categories for winners of Allied Golf Association/major amateur competitions when he claimed the 2024 Sunnehanna Amateur in June by one stroke over Jace Summy. The No. 45 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 North & South Amateur at Pinehurst. He was also the runner-up in the NCAA Stanford Regional to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships as an individual, where he placed 25th. In 2023, Warian won the Saguaro Amateur and finished fifth in the Big Ten Championship.
Tyler Watts, 16, of Huntsville, Ala., nearly became the third left-hander to win the U.S. Junior Amateur, falling to Trevor Gutschewski in the 36-hole championship match, 4 and 3, at Oakland Hills Country Club. Watts was one of eight boys named to the USGA's inaugural U.S. National Junior Team in March. In 2023, Watts became the youngest-ever champion of the Alabama State Amateur. He later won the 2023 Jones Cup Invitational and Southern Junior Championship. In the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur at Daniel Island Club, he advanced to the Round of 32. In 2024, he was the runner-up in the Terra Cotta Invitational and finished fourth in the Alabama State Amateur, while also representing the victorious East Team in the Wyndham Cup and participating in the inaugural match between the USNJT and Australia at SentryWorld. Watts is from the same hometown as 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur and 2023 U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap.
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