Ardmore, Pennsylvania – The iconic Merion Golf Club just outside of Philadelphia is set to host the 126th United States Amateur Championship (August 10th – 16th) on the same grounds where Bobby Jones claimed the 1930 Grand Slam, and in 1950 Ben Hogan had his legendary triumph not long after returning to golf from a horrific auto accident.
Format:
Stroke Play Qualifying: 312 players complete 18 holes on day one and 18 holes on day two across two courses; the low 64 scorers advance.
Match Play Rounds: Rounds of 64, 32, and 16 are played over the next two days (18 holes each).
Quarterfinals and Semifinals: Single-elimination 18-hole matches
Championship Final: 36-hole head-to-head match to determine the champion.
Philadelphia Country Club (site of the 1939 U.S. Open) will serve as co-host for the field of 312 (stroke play rounds).
The Amateur will mark 20 USGA championships at Merion – 7 U.S. Amateurs, 5 U.S. Opens, and 4 U.S. Women’s Amateurs. Along with this summer’s Amateur, the land of the wickers is slated to host the 2030, 2040, & 2050 U.S. Opens as well as the 2034 & 2046 U.S. Women’s Opens.
Merion East underwent a comprehensive restoration in 2018 by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. The duo was able to access several aerial images from the club’s historical archives to re-establish the original green dimensions and bunker placement from Hugh Wilson’s design. The entire property was regrassed, new drainage was installed, and the result is magnificent. Superintendent Paul B. Latshaw Jr and his Agronomy team have the course in flawless condition for the championship.
Merion East is annually ranked among the ten best courses in the U.S., and if you’re fortunate enough to be a member of the club, or a guest… then you know just how special this layout (set on a diminutive 117-acre site) really is. The routing and the variety of its par 3 and par 4 designs are what separate Merion from other Northeast Golden Age classics. The design doesn’t favor length, or any one type of shot shape, since there is an equal number of holes that move right to left and left to right. Merion will once again play just under 7000 yards for the championship, as it did 13 years ago for the U.S. Open – where 1 over par won the title for Justin Rose.
The members and caddies at the club refer to the course as a three-part play: the first six are referred to as the drama – The tough and long opening stretch that sets a challenging stage. The middle six are the comedy – A lighter, more scoreable or quirky middle section… and the final six holes are the tragedy – A brutal and demanding closing sequence where disaster lurks on the scorecard.
The shortest hole on the property is the thirteenth, playing just 130 yards – it requires the utmost precision, as Phil Mickelson found out in the final round of the 2013 U.S. Open – when he flew his tee shot over the green into deep rough. He failed to get up and down, and with it his last decent chance at capturing the career grand slam.
The sixteenth, known as the Quarry hole (pictured above), is another world-class par 4. The ideal tee shot is just right of the left fairway bunker, leaving a mid-iron approach over the quarry to a two-tiered green.
The 18th at Merion East is a proper finishing test, can’t fake it here. Justin Rose showed his mettle winning his lone major 13 years ago.
Players to Watch:
Preston Stout: World No. 1-ranked American amateur and Oklahoma State standout who earned an early U.S. Walker Cup selection.
Tyler Watts: Incoming Tennessee freshman, Northeast Amateur champion, and high-ranked rising talent named to the Walker Cup team.
Miles Russell: Elite junior star and multiple-ranking leader who secured his spot via committee selection after dominant AJGA and amateur performances.
Ethan Fang: Oklahoma State rising senior ranked among the top U.S. competitors in the WAGR and named to the Walker Cup squad.
Mason Howell: Defending champion returning to the field after winning the 2025 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club.
Local Philadelphia Players to Watch:
Drue Nicholas – 2025 Philadelphia Amateur Champion
Hunter Stetson – Delaware Amateur Champion
For more info: https://championships.usga.org/usamateur.html
