Jack Whaley and Jay Leng Jr. clinch their spots in U.S. Amateur final, earn invites to U.S. Open and Masters
Whaley, an Englishman, is the last international player remaining in the tournament, while Leng ranked 23rd in the latest men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. Their 36-hole final starts at 9 a.m. Sunday.
Fifteen months ago, Jack Whaley was a sophomore on Dalton State’s golf team, an NAIA school in Dalton, Ga.
Now, Whaley is one win away from hoisting the U.S. Amateur Championship’s Havemeyer Trophy at Merion Golf Club on Sunday.
It would be the first tournament win for Whaley, who is now at Florida State, since he shot 8-under to become the 2025 NAIA individual national champion last May.
Whaley held off Carter Loflin’s comeback effort on Saturday to win 1-up and secure his place on Sunday.
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Whaley, an Englishman who is the last international player remaining in the tournament, will face Jay Leng Jr. in the 36-hole championship match.
Whaley and Leng will embark on the first 18 holes at 9 a.m., then return to the course for a second round after a short break.
Whaley started strong against Loflin, winning three of the first six holes to build an early lead.
With Merion caddie Jack Hopkins on the bag, Loflin tried to mount a comeback three holes down. Loflin won the eighth and ninth holes with a par and a birdie, respectively.
Loflin’s effort stalled, but as the pair crossed back over Ardmore Avenue for Merion’s back five, Whaley posted bogeys on Nos. 13 and 15, putting Loflin back within one.
Loflin sunk a long par putt on hole 16 to keep Whaley’s lead at 1-up before Whaley drove into the rough on No. 17, allowing Loflin to win the hole and square the match.
Both golfers drove into the rough on No. 18, but Whaley got onto the green before Loflin, who hit his third shot into the rough. Whaley sank a bogey putt to win No. 18 and the match.
“My entire body is shaking,” Whaley said after his round. “I’ve just got adrenaline pumping through. That was probably the longest 4-foot putt I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
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Leng, a rising junior at Stanford, needed 17 holes to close out Logan Reilly, 2 and 1. Leng held a one-hole lead through No. 14 before a sinking a crucial birdie putt to win hole 15.
A two-hole lead with three to play proved too much for Reilly, a rising sophomore at Auburn.
In addition to a spot in the U.S. Amateur finals on Sunday, the four golfers remaining were hoping to gain entry into the U.S. Open and the Masters fields.
The winner and runner-up of the Amateur will be given an exemption for the 2027 U.S. Open and likely invitations to the 2027 Masters, provided each player retains their amateur status.
Leng will return to the Masters in 2027 after winning the 2015 Drive, Chip and Putt competition there as a 9-year-old. He will also get a chance to play the U.S. Open in his home state at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Leng said after his round. “I guess it’ll make it a little easier tomorrow to play more free and confident, knowing whatever happens, I’ve got those two.”
Leng is considered the favorite for Sunday’s championship match. The San Diego native ranks 23rd in the latest men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking and is undefeated in match play since winning the Western Amateur earlier this month.
If Leng wins on Sunday, he will become the latest to win the Western Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in the same year. Other golfers to accomplish the feat include fellow Cardinal Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
Whaley was the lowest-ranked player remaining in the quarterfinal round, coming in at 90th in the latest men’s WAGR.
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Whaley said he felt like an underdog during his match on Saturday, especially considering the large crowd cheering on Loflin.
“I kind of thrive off of that,” Whaley said. “I like being the underdog. I like being able to show what I can do.”
If Whaley tops Leng on Sunday, he would be the first Englishman to win the U.S. Amateur since Matt Fitzpatrick hoisted the trophy in 2013.
International players have a strong record in tournaments at Merion. Edoardo Molinari became the first Italian player to win the U.S. Amateur at Merion in 2005, and Justin Rose became the first Englishman to win the U.S. Open in 33 years when Merion hosted the major championship in 2013.
The winner of the Amateur gets to hoist the Havemeyer Trophy, but he also gets a 10-year exemption for the U.S. Amateur and an exemption into the field of the 2027 Open Championship at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.
“It would be an unbelievable [British] Open to play,” Whaley said. “I want to try and get into that one.”