74th U.S. Junior Amateur: Meet the Quarterfinalists

74th U.S. Junior Amateur Home

Luke Clanton, 18, Miami Lakes, Fla.

 Instagram: @lukeclanton

• No. 100 in World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR®

• Competing in his fourth USGA championship and third U.S. Junior Amateur

• Overcame a 2-down deficit in the Round of 16 to defeat Johnnie Clark

• Semifinalist in last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur at The Country Club of North Carolina

• Incoming freshman at Florida State University

• Won the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2 and Azalea Invitational in 2022

• Qualified for his second U.S. Amateur with rounds of 66 and 67 on July 12

• Three-time Florida Class 2A individual state champion and led American Heritage High School to a team title in 2021

• His cousin is LPGA player Cydney Clanton, who has competed in five U.S. Women’s Opens, and a member of the 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team

Road to the Quarterfinals

• Shot 74-68–142 in stroke play to earn the No. 43 seed
• R64: Def. Zhengqian Li, 7 and 5
• R32: Def. Akshay Anand, 5 and 4
• R16: Def. Johnnie Clark, 3 and 1

Wenyi Ding, 17, People's Republic of China

 Instagram: @dingwenyigolf

• No. 20 in World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR®

• Competing in his first USGA championship

• Entered the championship as the highest-ranked player in the field (surpassed this week by Caleb Surratt)

• Three-time Chinese Amateur Open champion (2019, 2020, 2021)

• Runner-up in the 2020 Volvo China Open

• One of four players in this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur field who was exempt from qualifying into the 2022 U.S. Amateur at The Ridgewood C.C. in Paramus, N.J.

Road to the Quarterfinals

• Shot 69-70–139 in stroke play to earn the No. 16 seed
• R64: Def. Rocco Salvitti, 5 and 4
• R32: Def. Shubham Jaglan, 5 and 4
• R16: Def. John Broderick, 5 and 3

Nick Dunlap, 18, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

 Instagram: @nick.dunlap10

• No. 110 in World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR®

• Competing in his fifth USGA championship and second U.S. Junior Amateur

• Won the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur at The Country Club of North Carolina and became the first Alabama player to win the title

• Attempting to become the first back-to-back champion since Tiger Woods (1991-1993)

• Incoming freshman at the University of Alabama

• Competed in the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.

• Named the 2021 AJGA Rolex Golfer of the Year

• Earned runner-up finishes at the Junior PGA Championship and Junior Players in 2021

• National finalist in the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition

Road to the Quarterfinals

• Shot 70-71–141 in stroke play to earn the No. 30 seed
• R64: Def. Collin Hodgkinson, 2 and 1
• R32: Def. Grant Lester, 3 and 2
• R16: Def. William Love, 1 up

Jeffrey Guan, 18, Australia

 Instagram: @jeffrey_guan14

• No. 115 in World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR®

• Competing in his first USGA championship

• Two-time Australian Junior champion (2021, 2022)

• Two-time New South Wales Junior champion (2020, 2021)

• Won the 2022 UNIQLO/Adam Scott Junior Championship by eight strokes

• Runner-up in the 2021 Australian Amateur

• Attempting to become the second Australian to win the U.S. Junior Amateur (Min Woo Lee, 2016)

Road to the Quarterfinals

• Shot 72-70–142 in stroke play to earn the No. 37 seed
• R64: Def. Tiger Christensen, 7 and 5
• R32: Def. Nicholas Gross, 1 up
• R16: Def. Charlie Palmer, 5 and 4

Eric Lee, 17, Fullerton, Calif.

 Instagram: @e.ric.lee

• No. 139 in World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR®

• Competing in his first USGA championship

• Youngest player in the U.S. Junior Amateur quarterfinal round

• Won the 2021 Rolex Tournament of Champions

• Runner-up in the 2022 CIF State Boys Golf Championship

• Tied for second in the 2021 Boys Junior PGA Championship

• Named 2021 AJGA Rolex first-team All American

• Verbally committed to attend the University of California, Berkeley in the fall of 2023

Road to the Quarterfinals

• Shot 72-70–142 in stroke play to earn the No. 45 seed
• R64: Def. Jose Luis Ballester, 2 up
• R32: Def. Justin Hastings, 1 up
• R16: Def. Jack Cantlay, 2 and 1

Luke Potter, 18, Encinitas, Calif.

 Instagram: @lukepottergolf

• No. 104 in World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR®

• Competing in his sixth USGA championship and third U.S. Junior Amateur

• Defeated his high school teammate Caden Pinckes in the Round of 16

• Qualified for his third consecutive U.S. Amateur with rounds of 70 and 65 on July 19

• Semifinalist in last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur at The Country Club of North Carolina

• Incoming freshman at Arizona State University

• Won the Maridoe Amateur and SCGA Amateur in 2020

• Runner-up in the 2021 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley

• He and Sun Devil teammate Preston Summerhays, the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, reached the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball quarterfinals at Chambers Bay

• Only player in this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur field who competed in the 2020 U.S. Amateur at Bandon Dunes

Road to the Quarterfinals

• Shot 69-69–138 in stroke play to earn the No. 9 seed
• R64: Def. Liam Pasternak, 2 and 1
• R32: Def. Nicholas Prieto, 5 and 3
• R16: Def. Caden Pinckes, 7 and 5

Preston Stout, 18, Dallas, Texas

 Instagram: @prestonstout_golf

• No. 731 in World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR®

• Competing in his first USGA championship

• Runner-up in 2021 and 2022 Texas 6A UIL state championship

• Two-time Junior Byron Nelson champion (2021, 2022)

• Won AJGA Carolina Trace Tournament in 2021

• Did not play golf competitively until age 11

• Hole-in-one on No. 8 at Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course) in IMG Junior Worlds

• Shortstop and pitcher in baseball; point guard in basketball; quarterback, running back and linebacker in football through 10th grade

Road to the Quarterfinals

• Shot 69-71–140 in stroke play to earn the No. 23 seed
• R64: Def. Bryan Lee, 2 and 1
• R32: Def. Zachery Pollo, 5 and 3
• R16: Def. Joshua Koo, 3 and 2

Caleb Surratt, 18, Indian Trail, N.C.

 Instagram: @calebsurratt1

• No. 19 in World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR® (currently highest-ranked player in field)

• Competing in his third USGA championship and second U.S. Junior Amateur

• Advanced to Round of 16 in last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur at The Country Club of North Carolina

• Will play in his second consecutive U.S. Amateur after reaching the Round of 32 last year

• Incoming freshman at the University of Tennessee

• Won the 2022 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley

• Became the first back-to-back winner of the Terra Cotta Invitational in May

• Has top-5 finishes in the Northeast Amateur (3rd), Sunnehanna Amateur (4th) and Pacific Coast Amateur (T-2nd) in 2022

• His father, Brent, was a RE/MAX Long Drive Championship competitor

Road to the Quarterfinals

• Shot 68-73–141 in stroke play to earn the No. 31 seed
• R64: Def. Ismael Encinas, 8 and 7
• R32: Def. Oscar Bach, 3 and 1
• R16: Def. Ethan Fang, 7 and 5