Fanning the Flames: Liberty's Josh Ryan Medalist at U.S. Amateur

Expect a bit more than just rush-hour morning traffic from Norristown, Pa., to the Main Line on Wednesday. The Montgomery County town in the Philadelphia suburbs has a local hero to follow at the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship as the competition moves to the match-play stage at historic Merion Golf Club.

Joshua Ryan, the winner of the 2026 Pennsylvania Amateur, produced a near-record breaking performance in stroke play, posting a 36-hole total of 8-under 132 to earn medalist honors over a stellar field of 311 competitors.

The 22-year-old, who grew up 10.5 miles from this week’s venue, followed up Monday’s 3-under 67 at stroke-play co-host Philadelphia Country Club with a 5-under 65 at Merion on Tuesday to edge 2026 USA Walker Cup competitor Tyler Watts by two strokes.

Ryan’s total was one off the championship record set by Hayden Wood, son of PGA Tour winner and 1977 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Willie Wood, in 2017 at The Riviera Country Club and co-host Bel-Air C.C., in Los Angeles. Seven others have posted 132, including last year’s medalist Preston Stout. Ryan also becomes the first “local” medalist in the U.S. Amateur since Mark Goetz in 2021 at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh.

Two others – 18-hole leader Drake Harvey, an incoming Brigham Young University freshman from Henderson, Nev., and University of Washington rising senior Finn Koelle, of Germany, finished four strokes back at 4-under 136.

Four players posted 137: 2026 USA Walker Cupper and U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Miles Russell, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.; 2026 U.S. Open qualifier and University of Florida incoming freshman Jackson Ormond, of Rochester, N.Y.; University of Georgia’s Carter Loflin, of Duluth, Ga.; and University of Florida rising senior Jack Turner, of Orlando, Fla.

Russell, who tied for 39th in this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, was coming off sharing medalist honors in last month’s U.S. Junior Amateur as well as the Western Amateur two weeks ago, where he posted a 72-hole total of 21-under 263 at Beverly Country Club, in Chicago.

Play was suspended for darkness at 8:09 p.m. with a handful of competitors still on the course at Merion. Every player finished their second round at stroke-play co-host Philadelphia Country Club.

The cut for match play came at 2-over 142. A playoff for the final match-play spots will take place after the second round concludes Wednesday. The exact number has yet to be determined.

Ryan’s supporting cast had approximately 10 followers on Monday, including his parents. His gallery grew much larger for Tuesday’s round at Merion and should increase for his Round-of-64 encounter against the last survivor from the playoff.

Making the short commute hasn’t hurt either. Ryan has been living off mom’s cooking, including chicken parmigiana on Monday night. Plus, he’s coming off winning the Pennsylvania Amateur at Oakmont, a 10-time U.S. Open host site and arguably the toughest venue in America.

Merion, of course, doesn’t take a backseat to most places either. It’s hosting its 20th USGA championship this week, a pedigree that includes five U.S. Opens and now seven U.S. Amateurs.

Ryan, who graduated from Liberty University in May, decided to live up to the school’s nickname (Flames) by catching fire early with a birdie on the par-4 first and an eagle on the par-5 second, holing out a 174-yard shot with a 7-iron.

He would convert five more birdies against just three bogeys, including the 500-yard par-4 18th hole that ranked as the second-most difficult. His drive found the right rough and all he could do was punch out and settle for a two-putt 5.

“It’s awesome,” said Ryan of the crowd support. “There’s a lot of people who’ve never seen me play who were able to get out to [watch me] play this week. So … it was super special. [Some] guys took a bus over here this morning.

“There’s no experience like staying in my own bed, eating my mom’s food. And just excited to be [playing] my style of golf, too.”

Ryan, who is planning to turn professional in the next few weeks, also will celebrate his 23rd birthday on Friday. He took a gap year at Liberty, where he was the 2024 Conference USA Golfer of the Year and 2023 Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year. Incoming freshman Noah Maclauchlan also just won the U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley Country Club, in Bethlehem, Pa., over Russell, the top 17-year-old in the world.

So right now, the Flames are literally hot.

“It’s pretty sweet,” said Ryan of his performance the past two days. “I haven’t been able to play too many USGA championships; this is my second one. So being able to play good golf … it’s been an awesome two days so far.”

Watts, 18, of Huntsville, Ala., an incoming freshman at the University of Tennessee, also has enjoyed a special summer. He won the Northeast Amateur and then reached the quarterfinals of the Western Amateur before losing to Russell, his 2026 Walker Cup teammate. Now No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, Watts decided to withdraw from the U.S. Junior Amateur to keep himself fresh for this week’s championship.

In the past, he’s worn himself out from a grueling summer of high-level competition and travel.

That has paid off this week. He carded a 5-under 65 at stroke-play co-host venue Philadelphia Country Club on Tuesday, playing alongside Russell, the No. 4 player in WAGR and Preston Stout, the world No. 1 who missed the cut. Watts, the left-hander who was the runner-up in the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur, registered six birdies against a lone bogey on the par-4 18th, his ninth of the round.

“I was just picking my spots and playing the course the way I prepared for it,” said Watts. “I ended up shooting a good number.

“I didn't hit my driver great, but the fairways were pretty wide, so it worked out well. I was able to give myself a good amount of birdie putts on my back nine and made a few putts here and there.”

To wipe away the disappointment from his finish – two bogeys sandwiched around a birdie on No. 8 – Koelle, who posted a 1-over 71 at Philadelphia Country Club, planned to get away from golf for a few hours and explore Philadelphia, a city he had previously never visited. A trip to the Art Museum steps to see the Rocky Balboa statue and possibly viewing the Liberty Bell and Independence Square as well.

The first-time U.S. Amateur competitor and University of Washington rising senior took care of the golf part the first two days by easily qualifying for match play. It’s been the perfect way to end the summer competitive season that got off to a rocky start, having to withdraw from The Amateur Championship and European Amateur due to an illness that sidelined him for a couple of weeks.

He did get an exemption into the DP World Tour’s BMW Open, his country’s biggest professional event, where he tied for 30th in his first foray competing against professionals.

Now he hopes to make a strong run against the world’s premier amateurs.

“There was a lot more wind today, especially around the turn for me, which made it a lot more difficult,” said Koelle “The greens are a little bit slower than they are at Merion, so I had to adjust to that a little bit.”

Speaking of Merion, Harvey took away a special memory from the iconic venue when he returned Tuesday morning to complete his suspended opening round. He birdied the final two holes to match the competitive course record of 64 at a place where Ben Hogan won the 1950 U.S. Open and Bob Jones completed his Grand Slam in 1930 by claiming the U.S. Amateur.

Harvey pulled his 4-iron tee shot left on the 243-yard, par-3 ninth but miraculously holed his flop shot from gnarly rough. He finished off the round by making birdie on the 315-yard 10th hole. Before the suspension for darkness, he did drain a 20-footer for par on 16 to keep his momentum going. He then hit his tee shot on the 212-yard, par-3 17th hole to 3 feet to set up a birdie.

“Nothing crazy happened,” said Harvey of his 64, unaware it tied the course record. “I just hit the ball well. I hit it to about two inches three times. It wasn't like I was making 60-footers all day. It was just super steady.”

A short trip over to Philadelphia C.C. didn’t result in a great start with four bogeys over his first 10 holes before steadying the ship with birdies on Nos. 14 and 18 to post a 72 and qualify for match play in his first U.S. Amateur.

“For whatever reason, it was the same thing at the North & South [Amateur at Pinehurst],” said Harvey, who has BYU assistant coach Spencer Dunaway on his bag. “I shot higher on the easier course, Pinehurst No. 4, than I did on Pinehurst No. 2, where I shot around 5 under.

“Maybe on the harder courses I'm just more patient and make pars more often. Maybe that keeps me in a better attitude. I'm excited to go into match play.”

Let the knockout stages begin.

What’s Next

The second round will be completed Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. EDT, followed by the playoff for the final match-play spots at 8:30 a.m., starting at the par-3 13th hole of Merion and continuing on the course routing until the spots are filled. The Round of 64 is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. Peacock and the NBC Sports Network will have live streaming from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT.

Notable

• Drew Harvey’s 64 that was completed on Tuesday morning officially gave him the 18-hole lead by a stroke over Germany’s Finn Koelle and William Lisle, of Hong Kong, China.
  
  
• Josh Ryan wasn’t the only Liberty University product to qualify for match play. Michael Lugiano, of Jackson Township, Pa., posted 1-under 139. He is staying at Ryan’s residence this week.
  
  
• Notables in the playoff include world No. 6 William Jennings; world No. 11 Kihei Akina; 2025 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cupper Luke Poulter; 2026 U.S. Open co-low amateur and world No. 8 Ryder Cowan; U.S. National Junior Team member and 2026 U.S. Open qualifier Giuseppe Puebla; and 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Joshua Bai.
  
  
• Five mid-amateurs did qualify for match play: three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and five-time USA Walker Cupper Stewart Hagestad; 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Evan Beck; 2026 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion Grady Brame Jr.; 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Christian Cavaliere; and 2026 New York State Amateur champion Matthew Lowe.
  
  
• Chase Hughes, 16, the youngest member of the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team, advanced to match play, along with 2025 U.S. Amateur semifinalist/GB&I Walker Cupper Niall Sheils Donegan; 2024 U.S. Amateur runner-up Noah Kent; 2025 GB&I Walker Cupper Eliot Baker; 2026 U.S. Open qualifier Logan Reilly; and 2026 Western Amateur champion Jay Leng Jr.
  
  
• Morocco, which will host the 2027 World Amateur Team Championships for men and women, will be represented in match play by Texas Tech rising senior Adam Bresnu.
  
  
• Mason Howell became the first defending champion to miss the cut since Andy Ogletree in 2020 at Bandon Dunes.
  
  
• World No. 1 Preston Stout, who will play in his second consecutive Walker Cup Match next month, also failed to advance along with two-time USA Walker Cupper Ethan Fang; 2026 British Amateur champion and likely two-time Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cupper Stuart Grehan; 2025 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Eric Lee; 2025 USA Walker Cupper Jacob Modleski; reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion Noah Maclauchlan; 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Brandon Holtz; reigning U.S. Senior Amateur champion/2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Mike McCoy, at 63 the oldest player in the field; 2025 U.S. Amateur runner-up Jackson Herrington; and 2026 U.S. National Junior Team members Tyler Mawhinney, Luke Colton and Ronin Banerjee.
  
  
• Instead of a commemorative coin with the player’s seeding, each golfer making match play at this year’s U.S. Amateur will receive a red flag with the championship logo and their seeding number.
  
  
• Oklahoma State men’s golf coach Alan Bratton did double duty on Tuesday at Philadelphia C.C., carrying in the morning for world No. 1 Preston Stout and then jumping on the bag of redshirt freshman Henry Guan. The 1995 USA Walker Cup competitor carried for two U.S. Amateur champions: Peter Uihlein in 2010 and Viktor Hovland in 2018. Uihlein is the only world No. 1 amateur since WAGR was established in 2007 to hoist the Havemeyer Trophy. The USGA began using WAGR for exemptions in 2012.
  
  
• Alissa (Herron) Super, the 1999 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, was on the grounds this week to watch 20-year-old son Tully compete in his first USGA championship. Alissa’s brother, Tim Herron, a four-time PGA Tour winner and 1993 USA Walker Cupper, caddied for her that week in Atlanta. Tim’s son, Carson, became a fourth-generation Herron to compete in the U.S. Amateur four years ago at The Ridgewood Country Club.
  
  
• Kelly Xu, a member of this year’s victorious USA Curtis Cup Team who is now playing on the Epson Tour, was at Merion on Tuesday following around friend and fellow 2026 Stanford graduate Nathan Wang, of Fremont, Calif.
  

Quotable

“I couldn’t write it up any better. Wasn’t trying to get ahead of myself at all. Didn’t expect it, if I was being honest. Just went out and tried to play quality golf, get to match play and see what happens.” – Joshua Ryan

“I think your preparation is what allows you to play really good golf, but I do think playing with two really good players and two buddies helps. It kept it loose out there, and it was a lot of fun. It always is.” – Tyler Watts on playing the stroke-play portion with fellow 2026 Walker Cup competitors Miles Russell and Preston Stout

“It was an absolute grind. Oh my gosh, it was looking so rough after the bogey on 10. My coach [Spencer Dunaway] just told me I've got to stay in it. I knew if I parred out, I'd probably be fine, but I didn't want to just par out and shoot 4 over. I made a couple birdies coming in and finally hit a couple of good putts. I guess there's a little more confidence in the putting going into tomorrow.” – Drake Harvey

“I got through to match play, that's for sure. I want to play the best I can every day, so to finish like that [with two late bogeys], I don't think anybody would be very happy about it. But now I've got to refresh and regroup for tomorrow.” – Finn Koelle

“Merion's very different. At this golf course (Philadelphia C.C.), you hit a lot of drivers and a lot of 7-irons. It's a big golf course. Merion has a few holes like that, but there are a lot more where you have to plot your way around. You just have to golf your ball there.” – Miles Russell

“Yeah, this is kind of like the golf I play at home. For the guys who are from Florida or Texas, this is probably a little different for them. It definitely feels like home to me.” – Jackson Ormond, a Rochester, N.Y., native on playing tough Northeast layouts like Merion/Philadelphia C.C.

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