Lisle and Koelle Co-leaders (65) After Day 1 of U.S. Amateur

Competitors in this week’s 126th U.S. Amateur Championship have talked about the importance of finding fairways. Whether it was Merion Golf Club or stroke-play co-host venue Philadelphia Country Club, playing from the rough proved to be penal.

While the USGA doesn’t have cost-of-rough statistics at its amateur competitions, balls that nestled into the heavy stuff meant a difficult challenge to make par.

“The rough is gnarly,” said 2024 runner-up Noah Kent, who opened Monday’s first round with a 3-under 67 at Merion. “Making sure you keep it simple and don't overcomplicate things is important. The short game is definitely important for keeping a round and your momentum going.”

William Lisle, 17, of Hong Kong, China, a 2027 verbal commit to the University of Texas, did a good job of keeping his ball in play, shooting a 5-under 65 at Philadelphia C.C. to share the 18-hole lead with University of Washington rising senior Finn Koelle, 21, of Germany. Koelle, who got to 6 under par, bogeyed the iconic 18th hole at Merion after finding the right rough off the tee.

University of Illinois rising senior Max Herendeen, of Bellevue, Wash., made a late run with four birdies over his last seven holes to post a 66 at Philadelphia Country Club, which is measuring 353 yards longer than Merion but playing to the same par of 70. Herendeen is no stranger to this championship, having eliminated former world No. 1 Jackson Koivun in the Round of 32 of last year’s U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club. He’s also hoping to make a late push to make the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team.

Brigham Young incoming freshman Drake Harvey, of Henderson, Nev., was 4 under par with two holes left to play at Merion.

Nine others posted 67s, including the aforementioned Kent and 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Miles Russell, 17, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla. The No. 4 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR® and one of four players already chosen to represent the USA in next month’s Walker Cup Match at Lahinch, played Merion on Monday.

Also shooting 67s at Merion were 2026 U.S. Open qualifier/University of Florida incoming freshman Jackson Ormond, of Rochester, N.Y., 2026 Oregon graduate Aiden Krafft, of Albuquerque, N.M., and 2026 BYU graduate Tyson Shelley, of Salt Lake City.

Recent Liberty University graduate Joshua Ryan, of Norristown, Pa., joined Herendeen, world No. 7/Auburn University rising senior Josiah Gilbert, of Millbrook, Ala., University of North Carolina rising junior Sihan Sandhu, of Pinehurst N.C., and UCLA rising sophomore Joshua Kim, of Danville, Calif., with 67s at Philadelphia C.C.

Play was suspended for 54 minutes due to a late-afternoon thunderstorm. Thirty-nine players were unable to complete their opening rounds due to darkness, which halted play for the day at 8:02 p.m. Play will resume at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, along with the start of Round 2.

Just how penal was the rough?

Koelle stood at 6 under and was trending to match the Merion competitive course record of 64 until his tee shot on the iconic 500-yard, par-4 18th drifted right. He did well to manage a bogey 5.

Shelley faced a similar fate. He was 6 under on Merion’s back nine and poised to shoot a 28 but made a 6 on the hole made famous by Ben Hogan’s 1-iron approach shot in the 1950 U.S. Open that led to him winning an 18-hole playoff the next day.

“You have to keep it in the fairway,” said Koelle, who got sick earlier this summer, limiting his competitive reps to the European Amateur Team Championship in Estonia and the DP World Tour’s BMW Open, where he finished tied for 30th. “With rough that long, it's definitely harder. If you hit good wedges, you can get close to a couple of pins, and then you just have to make putts.”

Lisle is coming off making the match-play cut in the U.S. Junior Amateur three weeks ago at Saucon Valley Country, an hour north of Philadelphia in Bethlehem. He also made match play in May at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Desert Mountain Club, in Scottsdale, Ariz.

He got off to a sluggish start, playing the first four holes in 1 over par before reeling six birdies over the next 14 holes.

“Just got the putter rolling midway through the round and was kind of catching a heat check,” said Lisle. “It was a fun round.”

Russell, a lefty, has seemingly taken up residence atop leaderboards the last month. He was the co-medalist at the U.S. Junior Amateur and then earned medalist honors over the 72-hole, stroke-play portion of the recent Western Amateur, in Chicago, where he fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Jay Leng. And in June, he finished T-39 at the U.S. Open.

All that’s missing is a title, especially at an event conducted by the USGA.

Perhaps that comes this week. He birdied his first two holes on Monday and then settled in nicely to post 3 under par, getting up and down for par on four of his last five holes, the lone blemish coming on No. 16. That puts the 2027 Florida State University verbal commit and 2025 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist in solid position to qualify for match play.

“It's tough because you have a few short holes where you're hitting 4-iron, sand wedge, and the last thing you want to do is hit a 4-iron into the rough,” said Russell of Merion. “You have to stay locked in. Even though you're hitting 4-iron off the tee and it should be an easy tee ball, they're not easy.

“On a lot of the [holes], you can't see the fairway. You have to pick a really good target and commit to it.”

When Ryan woke up Monday morning for his opening round at Philadelphia C.C., there was more excitement than nerves. Just a short 20-minute drive from his residence in Montgomery County, Ryan was eager to please his small rooting section that included older brother Caleb, who used to work at the club, his parents and several friends. A birdie on No. 10 to start gave everyone reason to celebrate and late 15-foot birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 put him at 3 under and in excellent position for Tuesday’s final round of stroke play at Merion.

Some rest and mom’s chicken parmigiana was on the menu Monday night, the perfect way to end a memorable day for the 2026 Pennsylvania Amateur champion. Ryan won that title at venerable Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, arguably one of America’s toughest layouts that hosted its record 10th U.S. Open last June.

If that doesn’t prepare you for the challenge of the U.S. Amateur, nothing will.

“The thing I learned most from Oakmont is you have to be very committed,” said Ryan. “You can't go out and guide the ball. The left rough isn't much better than the right rough, so you just have to hit the fairway. That's good prep for this week. Just trying to hit a lot of fairways and greens and be patient.”

What’s Next

The second and final round of stroke play will take place on Tuesday at both Merion and Philadelphia C.C. Competitors will switch courses from Monday’s opening round after which the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers for match play, beginning on Wednesday at Merion. Should a playoff be necessary to determine the final spots, it will take place Wednesday morning starting on Hole 13 of Merion and playing the course routing until the spots are filled. Peacock and the NBC Sports Network will have live streaming of the Round of 64 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT on Wednesday.

Notable

• The two courses played virtually identical in terms of stroke average: Merion at 73.28 and Philadelphia C.C. at 73.26.
  
  
• Drue Nicholas, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., and a Merion member, had the honor of hitting the opening tee shot on the par-4 first hole at his home club. He opened with a 1-over 71.
  
  
• Some notable names struggled in Round 1 and are in jeopardy of not qualifying for match play, including defending champion Mason Howell (74 at Merion). World No. 1 Preston Stout shot 75 at Merion. Ethan Fang and 2026 U.S. Open co-low amateur Ryder Cowan each shot 74 at Philadelphia C.C. Fang and Stout have already been named to the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team. Stuart Grehan, who claimed The Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool in June and likely will be on the 2026 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup Team, carded a 77 at Merion. Jacob Modleski, a member of the victorious 2025 USA Walker Cup Team, fired a 75 at Merion.
  
  
• A total of 49 mid-amateurs (25 and older) are in the field this week and five bettered par. Shooting 2-under 68s were Stephen Behr and Payne Denman at PCC, while A. Segundo Oliva Pinto shot the same score at Merion. Christian Cavaliere (Merion) and Travis Woolf (PCC) each posted 69s. Three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad is 1 under through 17 holes at Merion.
  
  
• While there is not a USGA champion serving as a caddie, the son of 1973 U.S. Open champion Johnny Miller is on the bag for Brigham Young rising sophomore Kihei Akina. Todd Miller is the Cougars head men’s golf coach. Akina made the cut in this past week’s Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour, flying up from Greensboro, N.C., on Sunday afternoon to make his 8:43 a.m. starting time at Merion. He carded a 1-under 69.
  
  
• Oklahoma State head coach Alan Bratton, a member of the 1995 USA Walker Cup Team, is seeking a third U.S. Amateur title while on the bag for one of his charges, in this case world No. 1 Preston Stout. Bratton carried for Peter Uihlein and Viktor Hovland when they claimed the Havemeyer Trophy in 2010 and 2018, respectively. Stout will compete in his second consecutive Walker Cup Match next month at Lahinch, in the Republic of Ireland.
  
  
• Speaking of Oklahoma State, ex-Cowboy Morgan Hoffmann has returned to Merion this week, where he was a member of the victorious 2009 USA Walker Cup Team. He is caddieing for 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up Jeg Coughlin III.
  
  
• Tennessee assistant coach Derek Ernst, the runner-up in the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links at Bandon Dunes, is carrying for 2025 U.S. Amateur runner-up Jackson Herrington. The big-hitting lefty also was the runner-up with partner Blades Brown in the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at nearby Philadelphia Cricket Club. Brad Nurski, the runner-up in the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur, is on the bag of fellow Missourian Hunter Parrish.
  
  
• Another notable caddie this week is Peyton Mussina, the son of Hall of Fame pitcher Mike Mussina. He is on the bag of Logan Paczewski, of Dallas, Pa., who competes for George Mason University.
  
  
• Each of the 312 competitors received a mini wicker-basket flagstick as part of the player gift from the host club.
  
  
• Former Philadelphia Eagles legendary offensive lineman Jason Kelce has been on the grounds since Saturday mingling with players and officials. He spent all 13 years in the NFL with the Eagles, was a six-time first-team All-Pro and won a Super Bowl title in the 2017 season. George “Buddy” Marucci, a longtime Merion member who captained two victorious USA Walker Cup Teams, including the 2009 Match at Merion, was on the first tee greeting players. Marucci, who lost the 1995 U.S. Amateur final to Tiger Woods, won the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur.
  
  
• University of North Carolina rising junior Sihan Sandu is one of six players carrying his own bag. His younger brother (Samar) and sister (Savera), both twins, competed in this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior. Sihan also played in the PGA Tour’s 3M Open three weeks ago on an exemption for winning the 2026 Augusta Haskins Award Invitational.
  
  
• Arni Sveinsson, who in June became the first player from Iceland to ever compete in a U.S. Open, withdrew 12 holes into his opening round at Merion.

Quotable

“It's all mental. You just have to keep it going. It was a good round today, but tomorrow is going to be a tough challenge. You have to keep it in the fairway, especially out there, and the greens are going to be fast and probably firmer than they were today. It's all about strategizing and keeping the ball in play. That's probably the most important part.” – William Lisle on playing Merion in Round 2

“This is my first U.S. Amateur. I come from Germany, so I usually play all the European [amateur] events. I haven't played anything big here in the States, just some smaller junior tournaments when I was younger.” – Finn Koelle

“It's going to be a different test tomorrow. You could very easily shoot a high number over there. It's nice to have a little bit of a cushion, but we'll see where the field sits at the end of the day and just keep playing good golf.” – Josh Ryan on moving over to Merion for Round 2

“The main thing is getting a lot of rest, sleeping well and getting some good food.” – Miles Russell on how he handles marathon weeks like USGA amateur championships

“Honestly, I didn't think it was too different. I feel like it has the same kind of vibe. You have to keep it in the fairway. It's a little longer on some holes, so you have to make sure you hit those fairways. On the approach shots, you have to stay on the right side, and hopefully putt well, too.” – Tyson Shelley on making the switch from Merion to Philadelphia C.C.

“I think it's prepared me a lot. I've had some pretty amazing opportunities thanks to this tournament. To be back here, I still get so nervous walking to the first tee. And finishing on 18 [at Merion] when you have a good round going still brings those same nerves. To get off to a good start is definitely a good feeling.” – Noah Kent, the 2024 runner-up

“I was really nervous. I was nervous to make contact with the ball. I was really nervous the first six holes and then I settled down and played some good golf after that.” – Merion member Drue Nicholas on hitting the opening tee shot of the championship.

“Morning tee times are easier. I wouldn't say the heat, I would say more of the fresh greens that we got. They rolled really well today, and I was able to make a lot of putts early on.” – Bowen Mauss (2-under 68) on being in the first group off at Philadelphia C.C.

“I hope so. Fingers crossed, but we'll see what happens. The selection is out of my hands. I can just do what I can do.” – World No. 80 Sam Easterbrook, of England, when asked if he’s on the radar for the 2026 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup Team that will face the USA next month at Lahinch

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