3 Things to Know: 124th U.S. Amateur, Match Play

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The largest USGA championship in terms of field size has been officially whittled from 312 to 64 competitors, as the 124th U.S. Amateur has reached the match-play portion. From now until Sunday’s 36-hole championship match, competitors will go head-to-head at Hazeltine National Golf Club with the ultimate goal of becoming the next name engraved on the Havemeyer Trophy.

Hazeltine proved to be the ultimate championship test during stroke play, playing to an average of 76.1. Stroke-play co-host Chaska Town Course, a par 70 that measured 697 yards shorter, was four strokes easier (71.2).

But that’s all in the rearview mirror now. Everyone starts from Ground Zero. Previous records or résumés are discarded at the first tee. Each round – and hole for that matter – is its own separate competition.

The beauty of match play is its more about heart than hubris. Players such as Tiger Woods, who won an unprecedented three consecutive titles from 1994-96, succeeded not only on talent, but guts, guile and gumption.

So with Wednesday’s 14-for-11 playoff for the final match-play spots now complete, here are 3 Things to Know:

Cream Rising

The championship began with 18 of the top 20 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR® – only Wenyi Ding (injury), of the People’s Republic of China, and 2024 British Amateur champion Jacob Skov Oleson (withdrew last month), of Denmark, weren’t here – and 14 managed to advance to match play. That includes the new world No. 1 Luke Clanton, the Florida State All-American who surpassed Gordon Sargent this week thanks to a solo fifth finish in the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship on Sunday. Clanton played 39 holes on Sunday, took a private plane from Greensboro, N.C., to Minneapolis, and posted 3-under 139 without the benefit of a practice round.

Sargent, meanwhile, had to grind his way to a 1-under 141. The Vanderbilt University All-American and 2023 McCormack Medal recipient for being No. 1 in the WAGR after last year’s U.S. Amateur, was sitting at 3 over par through 21 holes before rallying to shoot a 3-under 69 at Hazeltine on Tuesday. The Birmingham, Ala., native, however, has never gone past the Round of 64 in his previous U.S. Amateur starts, including a first-round defeat to eventual champion Nick Dunlap a year ago at Cherry Hills Country Club. He opens match play against University of Arizona standout and 2023 Open Championship qualifier Tiger Christensen, of Germany.

Besides Sargent, three other members of the victorious 2023 USA Walker Cup Team – and top-10 players in the WAGR – advanced to match play: University of Virginia All-American Ben James (No. 5), Arizona State All-American Preston Summerhays (No. 6) and University of North Carolina All-American David Ford (No. 8).

The other top-20 players to land a Wednesday tee time are Jackson Van Paris (No. 7), Jose Luis Ballester (10), two-time U.S. Open qualifier Brendan Valdes (11), 2023 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cupper Calum Scott (12), Christiaan Maas (13), 2024 Latin America Amateur runner-up Omar Morales (14), 2024 U.S. Open qualifier Jackson Buchanan, 2024 European Amateur winner Tommy Morrison (18) and 2023 U.S. Open qualifier Bastien Amat (19).

Exemption Validation

Anyone who doubted the USGA’s decision to add state/Allied Golf Association amateur champions to its exemptions for the U.S. Amateur (and three other championships) were definitely muted after eight of the 52 in the field advanced to match play. That included 39-year-old medalist Jimmy Ellis, of Atlantic Beach, Fla., who nearly matched Billy Horschel’s USGA 18-hole scoring mark with a 9-under 61 at Chaska Town Course on Tuesday. Horschel carded a 60 there in the 2006 U.S. Amateur.

Ellis, an oil and gas landman, won this year’s Florida State Amateur with a final-round 64. Ellis will look to become the first medalist to win the title since Ryan Moore 20 years ago at Winged Foot Golf Club.

Another mid-amateur, 36-year-old Christian Brand, also made the cut as a state champion. Brand, of Scott Depot, W. Va., won this year’s West Virginia Amateur. Zach Adams (South Carolina Amateur), Wheaton Ennis (Arizona Amateur), Tom Fischer (Alabama Amateur), Patrick Sheehan (Pennsylvania Amateur), Caden Fioroni (California Amateur) and Nate McCoy (Iowa Amateur), the son of 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and 2023 USA Walker Cup captain Mike McCoy, also qualified for match play.

Rare Double?

Tyler Mawhinney, a 16-year-old high school rising junior from Fleming Island, Fla., and one of eight boys on the USGA’s inaugural U.S. National Junior Team, wasn’t even in the U.S. Amateur until late Thursday afternoon. That’s when he held off defending champion and 2024 U.S. Open qualifier Ashton McCulloch and 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up/NHL hockey referee Garrett Rank by a stroke to win the 119th Canadian Amateur to garner the final exemption into Hazeltine.

Mawhinney, with USNJT head coach Chris Zambri on his bag and assistant coach Tiffany Joh there to support the cause, went wire-to-wire in shooting 15-under 275 at Riverside Country Club in Saskatchewan.

The victory altered Mahwinney’s travel plans. Scheduled to start classes at Fleming Island High, the 2023 Florida 3A champion flew to Minneapolis, got two practice rounds under his belt and then posted 2-under 140 to join fellow U.S. National Junior Team member Henry Guan, of Irving, Texas, in match play. Fellow members Blades Brown, Miles Russell, Michael Riebe and U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Tyler Watts failed to advance.

Now Mawhinney has a chance to become the first player to win both the U.S. and Canadian Amateurs in the same calendar year. Others such as Gary Cowan, Dick Chapman and Ross Somerville have won both titles, but not in the same year.

In 1950, Bill Mawhinney won the Canadian Amateur, but is not related to Tyler.

David Shefter is a senior staff writer at the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.