England’s John Kemp Holds Solo-Lead (67) at Oak Hills Country Club

As is often the case for golfers in southern Texas during the summer months, scoring trends mirror the rising temperatures. John Kemp, who teed off on the 10th hole in the second group of the morning wave and avoided the mid-afternoon heat, followed that pattern by firing a 4-under 67 to hold the solo lead at Oak Hills. 

After birdieing his opening hole, Kemp continued his strong start with two more birdies on the outward nine, making the turn with a bogey-free 3-under. After picking up another birdie on his 11th hole of the day (No. 2), the Englishman dropped a stroke with his lone bogey on the par-5 fifth. He quickly recovered, birdieing the following hole, wrapping up his day at 4-under. 

“It’s a tee ball golf course,” said Kemp, winner of the 2025 English Senior Men’s Open. “So you've got to put it in play off the tee. If you put yourself out of position off the tee, you struggle. It's as simple as that, because the green complexes are such that you can't get to some of the hole positions. Although everybody talks about the green complexes, I think it starts with a tee ball.”

One shot behind Kemp is Mike Finster, of Saint Petersburg, Fla., who played in one of the final groups of the day. Finster carded five birdies against two bogeys, highlighted by three consecutive birdies on Nos. 14-16 during his bogey-free back nine.  

“The course is just a great, great test,” said Finster who has competed in three U.S. Senior Amateurs and five U.S. Senior Opens. “You got to be in the right position on the greens, because you’ve got to take into account the grains. But yeah, I found a little something on the putting green there.” 

Four players finished the day at 2 under, including former Walker Cup captain Mike McCoy and 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up Jody Fanagan. Defending champion Louis Brown fired four birdies to three birdies to open up stroke play at 1-under 70. 

What’s Next

The 156 competitors will play their final round of stroke play on Sunday with the low 64 scorers advancing to match play, which begins on Monday. Should a playoff be needed to determine the final spots in the draw, it would begin early Monday morning on Nos. 10, 17 and 18, with No. 18 repeating as necessary. Match play continues through Thursday morning’s 18-hole championship match. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Notable

• San Antonio native and Oak Hills Country Club member Thomas Immenschuh hit the first ball on Saturday morning. He is one of four Oak Hills members in the field, along with Neal Barfield, Mike Houlihan and John Pierce.
  
  
• 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur champion and 2013 Walker Cupper Todd White is honoring the memory of 10-year-old Brooklyn Mae Carroll this week by carrying a special “Boat Sober” pin on his golf bag. Brooklyn tragically lost her life just two weeks ago in near Raleigh, N.C., after being struck by an intoxicated boater while swimming in a lake near White’s home. She is the granddaughter of one of White’s close friends from Hilton Head, S.C.
  
  
• Of the 156 players in the field, only six players elected to walk the course rather than use a cart, including former USGA champion Tim Hogarth (1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links). The remaining five players – Roger Haggerty, Kevin Kelly, Jim Patterson, Jerry Pearsall and Derrick Scenna – are all making their U.S. Senior Amateur debuts. Players have the option to ride or walk in the Senior Am.
  
  
• The championship was originally slated to be contested at Biltmore Forest Country Club, in Asheville, N.C., but was relocated to Oak Hills Country Club due to the impact of Hurricane Helene, which caused extensive flooding and damage to the Asheville area. Biltmore Forest will now host the Senior Amateur in 2028.
  
  
• Oak Hills Country Club played host to the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, where the duo of Asterisk Talley and Sarah Lim defeated Brynn Kort and Gracie McGovern, 4 and 2.
  
  
• Derrick Scenna and Brendan Hester, former teammates on the 1987 St. John’s High School golf team in Shrewsbury, Mass., reunited at the U.S. Senior Amateur, where both are making their USGA championship debuts.
  
  
• Gordy McKeown, the back-to-back club champion (2004-05) at Oak Hills, was paired with John Pierce, the 2025 club champion. McKeown shot even par during the first round, while Pierce shot 6-over 77.
  
  
• With a scoring average of 4.96, the par-5 10th was the only hole to average under par and saw four eagles during the first round of play at Oak Hills.

Quotable

“I found something on the range actually before I went out. I wasn't hitting great in practice, and then I really found something. A bit more positive shaft lean with my irons, I think I was getting my hands too far back and just hit it pretty solidly all day. [I] just hit it sensibly left or right of the flags, didn’t try and short side myself too much and putted okay." – John Kemp on his last-minute adjustment before Saturday’s opening round

“I hit a lot of good iron shots and drove it in play. The greens are really challenging, I putt pretty defensively out there, because you don't want to leave yourself a lot of work. I still had two three-putts, even. You just get it in the wrong spot and it's really tough. But the golf course is playing good, beautiful day to play and I'd like to do it again tomorrow.” – Michael McCoy on what makes Oak Hills so challenging

“I was watching the DP World Tour, and I heard Matt Fitzpatrick talking about low expectations, but high confidence. And again, as a fellow Northwestern guy, you know what? That is really good advice. Playing in three U.S. Senior Amateurs and five U.S. Senior Opens, that [experience] has been tremendous.” – Mike Finster shares his mindset as he builds off his previous USGA championship experience

“Just keep everything the same, hopefully I'll play the same, but it depends what side of the bed you get out of. I might have an achy neck tomorrow and be horrible, but, yeah, just try and play the same.” – First–round leader Kemp on his gameplan heading into the second round of stroke play

“Well, we have a long way to go before we start thinking about that, but that’s what us seniors play for. We are a competitive bunch, those of us who keep playing into our 50s, we love competing. That’s the goal at the end of the week, but we have a long way to go.” – Jody Fanagan on what it would mean to win the U.S. Senior Amateur this week

“I'm going to take a little bit more conservative [approach] to try to find fairways and greens. But again, the greens are really tricky, and with the grain, you really got to pay attention. So, you have some makeable putts from a distance perspective, but you're really being pretty defensive, because they can get away from you really quick.” – Finster on his strategy for tomorrow’s final stroke play round as he sits second on the leaderboard