Kemp in Control: Senior Am Medalist Crowned at Oak Hills

John Kemp, of England, is no stranger to collecting hardware on American soil. After sharing co-medalist honors with Roger Newsome in last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur at The Honors Course, in Ooltewah, Tenn., he will be taking home yet another medal from the 70th edition of this championship, posting 7-under-par 135 to earn the honors once again, this time at Oak Hills Country Club.

The solo leader after Saturday’s first round, Kemp backed up his play with six birdies against three bogeys in shooting a 3-under 68 on Sunday. Kemp is the first player to earn medalist honors in consecutive years at this championship since Paul Simson (2008-09).

His 135 total was one shot off the championship record held by Billy Claggett (2005) and Tim Hogarth (2021).

Kemp edged Jon Brown, of Adel, Iowa, by two strokes. Brown posted a 5-under-par 66 on Sunday for a 36-hole total of 137.

As important as it is to celebrate accomplishments like medaling at the U.S. Senior Amateur, the Englishman plans to build off previous scars to help him remain focused on the task at hand. That means switching his mentality from stroke play to match play, which begins on Monday with the Round of 64.

“[Medaling] doesn’t mean anything once tomorrow comes,” said Kemp, who advanced to the Round of 16 in 2024 before losing in 19 holes to Dave Bunker. “Generally, what happens is if you’re a medalist, everybody raises their play when they play you... So, [I'm] going to play quite aggressive, probably more so than I’ve done, because I think you’re allowed to do it. If you lose a hole, you lose a hole.”

Brown, who also fell in the Round of 16 a year ago to eventual runner-up Daniel Sullivan, got off to a sizzling start in Round 2, making six birdies over his first 10 holes. His lone bogey came at the par-4 12th hole.

“I was driving the ball well,” said Brown. “I was putting it in position off the tee and hitting fairways. And then I was really paying attention to where I needed to be on the greens and was hitting good iron shots, keeping myself below the holes and giving myself good opportunities on the greens, and the putter got hot... It was just a great day, and I'm really excited about how I'm playing.”

Coming off a 1-under 70 in the opening round, Greg Sanders, of Anthem, Ariz., carded five birdies against three bogeys to finish tied for third at 3-under-139 with Mike Finster and Texan Terrence Miskell. Sanders tuned up for the 55-and-older championship by competing in the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club, where, at 61 years of age, he was the oldest in the field. The former Alaska resident earned a spot in that field by winning the Alaska Amateur for the 11th time.

“I just hit quality shots today, honestly,” said Sanders. “I made some mistakes, but I putted good. Even though [the greens] were lightning fast – downhill and down grain – my speed was pretty good. So, I'm just going to ride it as long as I can. I'm playing pretty good golf.”

Finster posted an even-par 71, while Terrence Miskell matched Brown with a bogey-free 66.

Only four other competitors finished in red figures for stroke play: 1979 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Jack Larkin Sr., Jack O’Keefe and Steve Mann at 2-under 140 and 2019 champion Bob Royak at 141.  

The cut for match play came at 7-over 149 with a 12-for-5 playoff for the final match-play spots set for Monday morning. It will be the fifth-largest playoff in championship history.

What’s Next

The playoff to determine the final spots in the match-play draw will begin at 7:30 a.m. CDT on the 10th hole. The Round-of-64 matches are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Match play continues through Thursday morning’s 18-hole championship match. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Notable

• Jacobo Cestino is believed to be the first player from Spain to compete in the U.S. Senior Amateur. He shot 6-over 147 to make the Round of 64.
  
  
• Nine USGA champions made the cut: Louis Brown (defending U.S. Senior Amateur champion), Gene Elliott (2021 U.S. Senior Amateur), Tim Hogarth (1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links), Jack Larkin Sr. (1979 U.S. Junior Amateur), Michael McCoy (2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Bob Royak (2019 U.S. Senior Amateur), Rusty Strawn (2022 U.S. Senior Amateur), Todd White (2015 US. Amateur Four-Ball, 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur) and Jeff Wilson (2018 U.S. Senior Amateur). McCoy and White are also past USA Walker Cup competitors, with the former serving as captain for the 2023 match on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.
  
  
• Other notables to advance were Roger Newsom (co-medalist at the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur), Jody Fanagan (1995 GB&I Walker Cup), Dan Sullivan (2024 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up), Juan Angel (only player from Colombia in the field), Matt Sughrue (2016 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up), John Kennedy (2025 R&A Senior Amateur champion) and Mike Sposa (1991 Walker Cup). 
  
  
• Notable players to miss the cut were Nathaniel Crosby (1981 U.S. Amateur champion), Doug Hanzel (2013 U.S. Senior Amateur champion), Dave Ryan (2016 U.S. Senior Amateur champion) and Steve Wilson (2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion).
  
  
• Five of 14 Texans in the field made the cut: Mike Houlihan (San Antonio), Mike Lohner (Southlake), Terrence Miskell (New Braunfels), John Pierce (San Antonio) and Andrew Whitacre (The Woodlands).
  
  
• Joe Sawaia made a hole-in-one with a 9-iron on the 136-yard, par-3 13th. This was the first ace at the U.S. Senior Amateur since 2016 when eventual champion Dave Ryan aced the par-4 14th hole in the third round of match play, and just the 21st known hole-in-one in championship history.
  
  
• All three players who competed in last week’s U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club – Greg Sanders, Daniel Sullivan and Todd White – made it to match play at the U.S. Senior Amateur.
  
  
• 71-year-old Pat O’Donnell, the oldest player in the field, fired a bogey-free 4-under 31 on the front nine and finished stroke play at 3-over 144 to earn a spot in the Round of 64. He shot a 69 on Sunday to better his age by two. O’Donnell was the runner-up in the 2013 U.S. Senior Amateur. 
  
  
• Todd Mostoller saw a 15-stroke improvement between the first and second rounds. After firing an 87 on Saturday, he responded with a 72 on Sunday, but unfortunately missed the cut.
  
  
• Oak Hills Country Club played almost a full stroke easier during Sunday’s round compared to Saturday’s opening round
  
  
• Of the four players in the field who are also members at Oak Hills, John Pierce and Mike Houlihan were the ones who advanced to match play.

Quotable

“With match play, everybody here is great. You can't think, ‘I'm a high seed and I'm [facing] a low seed, so I've got an easy run now.’ There are guys who are great players all through the bracket, so you just have to stay focused on your game and play hard.” – Jon Brown on his experience in match play after making the Round of 16 during last year’s championship

“It's just a different mentality. [The Olympic Club] was too long for me to play good golf. I think I pushed too hard off the tee, just tried to get too much out of the drive, and then it ends up not being as good. Here, it's not necessarily a long course, it's just the trees that are the challenge. So, it's just a more comfortable environment, even though this is tighter [layout] than The Olympic Club.” – Greg Sanders on the difference between his experience during last week’s U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Senior Amateur at Oak Hills

“I don't think too far ahead. I mean, that's what everybody tries to do, so I don't really think too far ahead and just play what's in front of you. You’re going to make the odd mistake, just don't be too hard on yourself.
There are opportunities out there. You've got to drive the ball well around here, and you have to [putt] well. But if you get it in play off the tee, it gives you a chance. If you're not, then you’re on your back foot. So, I just hit a shot, then hit another one.” – medalist John Kemp on how he keeps himself in the moment

“Yeah, I was just really focused on one shot at a time, and never looked at a leaderboard. I had a really good group playing [with me], so it was just a great day. 
I'm really excited about how I'm playing.” –  Jon Brown on his mindset during his hot start

“I felt like the way I hit it, I knew I wasn't going to be too long, because it was more club than I really needed. None of us saw it [go in]. I guess it one hopped and went in. I was getting my putter out of the bag, and they were like, ‘You made it.’ So, it was kind of shocking to our whole group. It would have been nice to see it go in, but more than making a hole-in-one, I needed that for the round to get back to even [par]. To make a hole-in-one in a USGA event is pretty special.” – Joe Sawaia on his ace on the par-3 13th hole

“Today, we had a great group, playing with [Steve Albright and Terrence Miskell]. We all qualified. It was good, competitive golf. There weren’t any really bad mistakes. We didn’t have to do a lot of ball searching...It’s really good when you’re playing with other players that are playing well, so shout out to them.” John Kemp’s thoughts on his two fellow competitors during stroke play

Griffin Genobaga is a USGA communications/content intern. Email him at ggenobaga@usga.org.