78th U.S. Junior Amateur: Inside the Field

WHO’S HERE: A breakdown of the 264 players competing in the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa.:

Youngest Competitor: Riku Takase, from Japan, will be 13 years, 8 months and 16 days old at the start of the championship. He is the lone 13-year-old in the field.

Oldest Competitor: Eli Weidmann, from Murphys, Calif., will be 18 years, 11 months and 22 days old at the start of the championship. He is one of 98 18-year-olds in the field.

Average Age of Field: 16.94

Field breakdown by age:

13 years old: 1
14 years old: 8
15 years old: 18
16 years old: 49
17 years old: 89
18 years old: 99

International – There are 30 countries represented in the championship: United States (180), Canada (11), People’s Republic of China (8), Colombia (8), Thailand (6), Republic of Korea (5), France (3), Mexico (3), Vietnam (3), Hong Kong (3), Brazil (3), Netherlands (2), Japan (2), Czechia (2), Singapore (2), New Zealand (2), Malaysia (2), Spain (2), Argentina (2), Chile (2), Australia (2), Germany (1), Sri Lanka (1), Bolivia (1), Indonesia (1), Paraguay (1), Pakistan (1), India (1), Guatemala (1), Philippines (1)

U.S. States Represented – There are 39 states represented in the championship: California (28), Florida (21), Texas (15), Georgia (11), North Carolina (8), Arizona (6), Ohio (5), Michigan (5), Virginia (5), Pennsylvania (5), Iowa (4), New Jersey (4), Tennessee (4), New York (4), Wisconsin (4), Minnesota (4), Colorado (4), Massachusetts (3), Illinois (3), Washington (3), Oklahoma (3), Missouri (3), Indiana (3), Utah (3), South Carolina (3), Idaho (2), Maryland (2), Alabama (2), Arkansas (2), Louisiana (2), Connecticut (2), Maine (1), Alaska (1), Kansas (1), Delaware (1), New Hampshire (1), Mississippi (1), Kentucky (1), and Oregon (1)

USGA Champions (2): Hamilton Coleman (2025 U.S. Junior Amateur), Tyler Mawhinney (2025 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball)

Players in the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking® as of July 15 (4):

• Miles Russell — WAGR No.7 (United States)
• Oscar Couilleau — WAGR No. 33 (France)
• Louis Klein — WAGR No. 65 (Czechia)
• Tuan Anh Nguyen — WAGR No. 98 (Vietnam)

Players from Pennsylvania (5):

• Charlie Barrickman (West Chester)
• Declan Conner (Swarthmore)
• Dane Mohap (Nazareth)
• Nico Ward (Coraopolis)
• Chase Yenser (Douglassville)
             

Players in the field with the most U.S. Junior Amateur starts:

4: Alex Zhang (2022, 2024-26), Miles Russell (2022, 2024-2026), Henry Guan (2023-26), Zenghao Hou (2023-2026), Xiuhan Chang (2023-2026)

Current college players in the field (6):

• Henry Guan (Oklahoma State University)
• Reed Arnaldo (University of San Diego)
• Dylan Boenning (Washington State)
• Eli Weidmann (St. John’s University)
• Gabriel Mainella (Longwood University)
• Luke Smith (University of Tennessee)

Players in the field who have signed with colleges for fall 2026 (59):

• Hamilton Coleman (University of Georgia)
• Oscar Couilleau (Arizona State University)
• Guus Lafeber (University of Arkansas)
• Lapassapon Heras-Gomez (University of Nevada)
• Zenghao Hou (University of Southern California)
• Tyler Mawhinney (Vanderbilt University)
• Luke Ringkamp (Pepperdine University)
• Max Emberson (Georgia Tech)
• Hamish Farquharson (University of Washington)
• Franco Fernandez (University of Southern Mississippi)
• Samuel Gonzalez (Texas Tech University)
• Martin Ramirez (University of Kansas)
• Aj Colonna (Villanova University)
• Thomas Constantine (Bryant University)
• Samson Landers (Occidental College)
• Aidan Tudor (Sewanee: The University of The South)
• Andrew Sciortino (Lipscomb University)
• Landon Ashcraft (Texas A&M University)
• Phillip Dunham (University of Alabama)
• Cole Pregler (University of Texas at San Antonio)
• Kuan Zhou (Northwestern University)
• Henry Johnson (North Dakota State University)
• Will Mangas (Ohio University)
• Cole Packingham (University of North Georgia)
• Quinn Burwell (University of Washington)
• Michael Madden (Siena University)
• Von Gordon (University of Oregon)
• Ethan Hoffmann (Loyola Marymount University)
• Jaxson Henegar (Sam Houston State University)
• Cooper Riner (College of Coastal Georgia)
• Reed Weekley (Palm Beach Atlantic University)
• Cody Weaver (University of Iowa)
• Hampton Beebe (Auburn University)
• Juan Saavedra (Flagler College)
• Ryan Xie (Santa Clara University)
• Will Pizza (University of Utah)
• Austin Shelley (Brigham Young University)
• Erik Erlenkeuser (Georgia Southern University)
• Jackson Ormond (University of Florida)
• Ben Wheeler (Iowa State University)
• Michael Asselta (Loyola University Maryland)
• Joseph Nelson (University of Arizona)
• Eli Wessel (University of Cincinnati)
• Brayden Forte (San Diego State University)
• Elijah Johnson (Colorado Christian University)
• Paxton Lane (University of Arkansas)
• Chase Yenser (Baylor University)
• Peyton Albers (North Dakota State University)
• Easton Oliva (University of North Florida)
• John Markow (University of Southern Mississippi)
• Shane Moncrief (California Lutheran University)
• Noah Maclauchlan (Liberty University)
• Michael Clifford-Levy (Brown University)
• Austin Perkins (University of Florida)
• Kye Hanks (University of Louisiana at Lafayette)
• Graham Christopher (University of California-Berkeley)
• Hung Khanh Le (University of Illinois)
• Zilin Gao (University of Central Florida)
• Tomas Restrepo (Ole Miss)
• Charlie Barrickman (Bucknell University)  

Players in the field who competed in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club (12):

• Hamilton Coleman (2022)
• Miles Russell (2018, 2021)
• Beckett McLaughlin (2023)
• Elijah Lemmon (2023)
• Tyler Mawhinney (2017)
• Dawson Lew (2023)
• Michael Jorski (2018)
• Aiden Tiet (2019)
• Henry Guan (2021)
• AJ Colonna (2021)
• Hudson Justus (2025)
• Anthony Wu (2023, 2025)

Players in the field who competed in the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur at Trinity Forest Golf Club, Dallas, Texas (51):

• Ajalawich Anantasethakul
• Ronin Banerjee
• Chase Birdwell
• Xihuan Chang
• Hamilton Coleman
• Owen Coniaris
• Ledger Conley
• Tripp Depoy
• Phillip Dunham
• Stephen Eastman
• Ash Edwards
• Max Emberson
• Brayden Forte
• Zilin Gao
• Liangliang Gu
• Henry Guan
• Anh Huy Ho
• Zenghao Hou
• Michael Jorski
• Brayden Jones
• Guus Lafeber
• William Lisle
• Evan Liu
• Louis Mahakan
• Drew Madigan
• Noah Maclauchlan
• Tyler Mawhinney
• Anshul Mishra
• Cooper Moore
• Anson Munzlinger
• Cole Packingham
• Sohan Patel
• Tommy Preston
• Sevren Quinn
• Tomas Restrepo
• Miles Russell
• Andrew Sciortino
• Luke Smith
• Troy Storm
• Rawlin Sutter
• Aidan Szentanai
• Emilio Velez
• Jonathan Ward
• Hill Wang
• Kade Wieland
• Charlie Woods
• Qiyou Wu
• Ryan Xie
• Alex Zhang

Players in the field who competed in the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y (4):

• Miles Russell (T-39)
• Giuseppe Puebla (MC)
• Hamilton Coleman (MC)
• Jackson Ormond (MC)

Players in the field who competed in the 2026 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. (4):

• Tyler Mawhinney
• William Lisle
• Max Emberson
• Nicholas Canitano

U.S. National Junior Team members in the field (7):

• Ronin Banerjee
• Hamilton Coleman
• Phillip Dunham
• Jessy Huebner
• Tyer Mawhinney
• Sohan Patel
• Giuseppe Puebla

U.S. National Development Program Grant Athletes in the field (5):

• David Kim
• Arnold Pouncy
• Sevren Quinn
• Cooper Smith
• Nico Ward

U.S. National Development Program State Team Athletes in the field (31):

• Peyton Albers (Team Wisconsin)
• Carson Andreoni (Team Tennessee)
• Charlie Barrickman (Team Pennsylvania)
• Chase Birdwell (Team Minnesota)
• Bodie Brumlow (Team Georgia)
• Thomas Constantine (Team Massachusetts)
• Francisco Cupp (Team New York)
• Brayden DeStefano (Team Colorado)
• Stephan Eastman (Team North Carolina)
• Ash Edwards (Team Colorado)
• Max Emberson (Team Southern California)
• Erik Erlenkeuser (Team South Carolina)
• Samuel Forslund (Team Wisconsin)
• Brayden Forte (Team Colorado)
• Ryder Haskins (Team Minnesota)
• Jake Hollerback (Team Delaware)
• Brayden Jones (Team Southern California)
• Hudson Justus (Team Georgia)
• Chase Larson (Team Minnesota)
• Evan Liu (Team Southern California)
• Will Mangas (Team Ohio)
• Evan Menges (Team Ohio)
• Luke Ringcamp (Team Southern California)
• Andrew Sciortino (Team Tennessee)
• Hill Wang (Team Southern California)
• Nico Ward (Team Pennsylvania)
• Kade Wieland (Team Wisconsin)
• Connor Wolfe (Team South Carolina)
• Davis Wotnosky (Team North Carolina)
• Chase Yenser (Team Pennsylvania)
• Maxx Zides (Team Massachusetts)
  
  

PLAYER PROFILES

Bodie Brumlow, 17, of Cartersville, Ga., holds the record for the lowest round in an AJGA invitational after firing a 9-under 61 in the first round of the Team TaylorMade Invitational in May. Brumlow, a 2027 University of Georgia verbal commit, is in his first year as a member of the USNDP's Team Georgia.

Carson Andreoni, 17, of Jackson, Tenn., shot the lowest score in qualifying, an 8-under 63 at Vestavia Country Club, in Birmingham, Ala. Andreoni recorded nine birdies, including four in his last five holes, to earn medalist honors.

Hamilton Coleman, 18, of Augusta, Ga., returns to defend his title. He earned a 2-and-1 victory over Minh Nguyen, of Vietnam, in the 36-hole final of the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship held at Trinity Forest Golf Club, in Dallas, Texas. He needed 25 holes – the longest U.S. Junior Amateur match in 23 years – to oust his Round-of-64 foe, then defeated three consecutive lefties with remarkable résumés, and held on to outduel world No. 52 Minh Nguyen in the final. Already a member of the Georgia State Team as part of the U.S. National Development Program, Coleman was elevated to the U.S. National Junior Team at the start of 2026, joining fellow Georgian and 2025 U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell, who will be his roommate this fall at the University of Georgia. Coleman made his debut in a professional event at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah, Ga., in March. He missed the cut at the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.

Oscar Couilleau, 18, of France, finished third individually at the World Amateur Team Championships in Singapore last fall and helped France finish top five. The incoming Arizona State Sun Devil is No. 38 in the WAGR and finished fourth at the 2026 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. He made his debut in a PGA Tour event at the 2025 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Louis Klein, 16, of Czechia, became the youngest player to participate in a DP World Tour event when he teed it up as a 12-year-old in the D+D Real Czech Masters in 2022. He shot two rounds at even par to become the youngest player to make the cut in a Challenge Tour event at the Kaskada Golf Challenge at age 13. Klein finished tied for sixth at the 2026 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. He is making his U.S. Junior Amateur debut.

Gabriel Mainella, 18, of Canada, is a rising sophomore at Longwood University in Virginia. He began playing golf at the age of 15 after being a highly ranked junior tennis player. Both of his parents played collegiate tennis, with his mom playing at Auburn and his dad at Texas Pan American. His brother, Christian, plays tennis at Rhodes College. In his first season at Longwood, Mainella was a Big South All-Freshman Team selection, securing one individual victory.

Tuan Anh Nguyen, 17, of Vietnam, was recently named to the Junior Presidents Cup International Team as the leading player in the WAGR at No. 98. He is coming off runner-up and fourth-place finishes in professional events in Vietnam. He won a professional event as an amateur in 2025, the Vietnam National Championship Vinfast Cup.

Giuseppe Puebla, 18, of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., is a first-year member of the U.S. National Junior Team and made his U.S. Open debut at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in June after advancing through both stages of qualifying. This is his first U.S. Junior Amateur. He was runner-up in the 2025 Boy's Junior PGA Championship and a member of the victorious 2025 United States Junior Ryder Cup Team.

Luke Ringkamp, 18, of Palm Desert, Calif., won the Team TaylorMade Invitational in March at Pelican Golf Club, in Belleair, Fla. Ringkamp is signed to play at Pepperdine University in the fall and made his Korn Ferry Tour debut in June at the Memorial Health Championship at Panther Creek Country Club, in Springfield, Ill.

Miles Russell, 17, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., is fresh off making the cut and finishing T-39 in his U.S. Open debut at Shinnecock Hills. He will make his Walker Cup debut in September at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland. The left-hander, who was a member of the inaugural U.S. National Junior Team, recently finished fifth at the Northeast Amateur, T-2 at the Jones Cup and won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. The 2027 Florida State commit currently holds the No. 5 position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. In 2024, Russell became the youngest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to make a cut, doing so at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida. He was also named the 2023 and 2025 American Junior Golf Association's Player of the Year. Russell reached the quarterfinals of the 2025 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills. He also received sponsor invites into the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic and Bermuda Championship, narrowly missing the cut in both PGA Tour events.

Samar Sandhu, 15, of Ashburn, Va., will make his U.S. Junior Amateur debut the week after caddieing for his twin sister, Savera, at the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Old Chatham Club, in Durham, N.C. The twins made the cut for match play. Samar, the elder twin by two minutes, shot a 67 at Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club, in Portsmouth, Va., to secure one of five qualifying spots. He will make the trip to Saucon by his lonesome after older brother Sihan Sandhu, a member of the University of North Carolina golf team, earned his first PGA start at the TPC Twin Cities, in Blaine, Minn.

Riku Takase, 13, of Japan, is the youngest competitor in the field at 13-years-old. Takase shot a 71 at the Koloa, Hawaii qualifier. The Japanese phenom also won the AJGA Boys Junior All-Star at Toftrees Golf Resort, in State College, Pa., for his first AJGA win, two weeks ago. 

Charlie Woods, 17, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., qualified at the Heathrow, Fla., site to earn a third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur start. Woods beat Eric Zhoa and Nathan Erickson in a playoff to earn the fifth spot at Heathrow Country Club. Woods is a rising senior at The Benjamin School. Woods is the son of nine-time USGA champion and 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, who won three consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur titles from 1991-93. The two have played together in five PNC Championships, finishing runner-up in 2021 and 2024. The U.S. Junior Amateur trophy is now officially named the Tiger Woods Trophy.