The fickle nature of match play usually doesn’t produce the kind of chalky results people expect when the draw first is released. Top seeds can tumble – as folks following the 77th U.S. Junior Amateur at Trinity Forest Golf Club saw on Wednesday with the No. 64 seed advancing for the first time in 23 years – and other “favorites” can be unexpectedly tripped up.
Great stroke-play rounds don’t always translate into a deep match-play run.
But this week in the extreme heat of north Texas – the Heat Index has reached triple digits every day since players arrived for the first official practice round last Saturday – the so-called “cream” has risen.
Three of the four highest-ranked players in the field, according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, have all managed to survive three matches to reach the quarterfinals.
That group is headlined by No. 18 Miles Russell, the 2023 American Junior Golf Association’s player of the year and member of the 2024 U.S. National Junior Team. The 16-year-old left-hander from Jacksonville Beach, Fla., who recently committed to attend Florida State University for 2027, rolled to a 4-and-2 victory on Thursday over Miguel Garcia, of Mexico. Earlier in the day, Russell, a quarterfinalist last year at Oakland Hills Country Club, eliminated Lucas Latimer, of Rockwall, Texas, 3 and 2.
Russell is joined in the final eight by No. 26 Luke Colton, 17, of Frisco, Texas, and 2024 quarterfinalist and world No. 52 Nguyen Anh Minh, 18, of Vietnam. Also making the final eight were Hamilton Coleman, 17, of Augusta, Ga.; Sohan Patel, 16, of Weston, Fla.; No. 2 seed Ben Bolton, 18, of England; Qiyou Wu, 16, of the People’s Republic of China; and Nicholas Gross, 18, of Downingtown, Pa.
On Wednesday, Russell was a 35-foot putt away from departing the championship. But the diminutive southpaw and winner of this year’s Junior Invitational at Sage Valley converted the birdie chance and advanced against Jackson Ormond on the second extra hole.
It was a little less stressful on Thursday. He never trailed in either match. Against Garcia, he only needed to play the equivalent of 1-under-par golf – with the usual match-play concessions – in eliminating his opponent.
Now he gets another shot at fellow left-hander Colton, who also rolled to a 6-and-5 win in the Round of 32 (against fellow Texan Shiv Parmar) and was the equivalent of 4 under par in a 3-and-1 victory over 15-year-old Chase Bauer in the Round of 16. Russell and Colton met in the second round of match play of last month’s North & South Amateur at Pinehurst, where Colton prevailed in a 21-hole thriller.
It will be the first time since the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur final at Bandon Dunes that the top two players in the WAGR face each other. That year, Wenyi Ding (No. 19) beat Caleb Surratt (No. 20). Both are now playing professionally after brief college careers at Arizona State and Tennessee, respectively.
“Probably be very similar to how it was in Pinehurst,” said Russell. “But just go out and try to play my game and make some birdies…. It's just good to play with another player that's really good. Helps to see good shots. Gives you something to aim at.”
Added Colton, a member of the U.S. National Junior Team who has committed to attend Vanderbilt University in 2026: “It was a good match. [I have to] go out and try to play my game and make some birdies…Looking forward to tomorrow.”
Anh Minh, a quarterfinalist last year, is bidding to become the first Vietnamese-born player to win a USGA title. The incoming Oregon State freshman grinded out a pair of 2-and-1 victories on Thursday, including Round-of-16 foe Ayden Fynaut, of Fresno, Calif., who on Tuesday posted the championship’s lowest round, a 6-under 64 at stroke-play co-host Brook Hollow Golf Club.
Coleman registered the biggest “upset” of the day when he rallied from 3 down after 11 holes to eliminate 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up and world No. 42 Tyler Watts, of Huntsville. Ala., 2 and 1. Watts came into the championship off a win at last month’s Sunnehanna Amateur and a runner-up finish in the North & South Amateur, also contested in June. The two have known each other since they were 10 years old.
But standing on the 12th tee, Coleman briefly thought he might be headed home. Then again, he survived a 25-hole marathon on Wednesday, the longest U.S. Junior Amateur match in 23 years. A brief chat with his caddie, Mitchell Blackburn, got the 2026 University of Georgia commit refocused. He birdied Nos. 12, 14, 15 and 16, and then safely two-putted for par from 20 feet on 17 to produce one of the biggest wins of his fledgling career.
“I haven't had the best track record with coming from behind,” said Coleman, a member of the U.S. National Development Program’s Georgia State Team. “My caddie just told me when I got 3 down that if I got back to all square that I was probably going to win this thing. I did that.
“Considering the circumstances, definitely one of the most memorable rounds.”
Patel and Tyler Mawhinney, 17, of Fleming Island, Fla., are no strangers to big matches. Each were among the final 64 at last year’s U.S. Amateur (Mawhinney reached the final 16), and the latter claimed the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title in May with partner and fellow USNJT member Will Hartman. Mawhinney also won the 2024 Canadian Amateur and made the 36-hole cut in the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open in June.
The two had a back-and-forth Round-of-16 affair with Patel finally taking the lead for good with a birdie on the drivable, 317-yard 14th hole. This came after Mawhinney, who made an all-world par from 50 yards behind the ninth green to tie the hole, had birdied 12 and 13 to tie the match. Patel, one of three lefties in the quarterfinals (with Colton and Russell), chipped it to a foot for a conceded 3. They tied the remaining four holes; Patel, a rising high school junior, calmly two-putting from 25 feet on 18 to close out a tough 1-up win. This past season, Patel also edged Mawhinney for the Florida 2A high school state title.
“I wasn't nervous,” said Patel, who has posted a couple victories on the Minor League Pro Tour in Florida. “We played an amazing match. I have nothing but respect for Tyler and it was just amazing to win like that on 18.”
Wu produced his second extra-hole victory of the week, defeating 2025 USNJT member Ronin Banerjee, of Irvine, Calif., in 21 holes. In the opening round, he rallied from 3 down to oust Taeyoung Lim in 19 holes. Banerjee, who produced a 9-and-8 win on Wednesday and a 5-and-4 decision in the Round of 32 on Thursday morning, had chances to win on Holes 18 and 20, but missed putts from inside 10 feet. He failed to get up and down for par from a greenside bunker on the 169-yard, par-3 21st hole. Wu then converted his par attempt from 7 feet.
Bolton, the No. 2 seed, continued his march to become the first player from England to win the Junior Amateur. He outlasted 2025 Florida Junior Amateur champion Mingbo Jiang, 1 up. He defeated another Chinese player, Zenghou Hou, 2 and 1, earlier on Thursday.
Gross, a rising sophomore at the University of Alabama, defeated Sage Bradshaw, of Bluffton, S.C., 2 and 1. Bradshaw had not trailed in his two previous matches: wins of 8 and 6 (Round of 64) and 6 and 5 (Round of 32). This is his first quarterfinal appearance since making the final 8 at the 2022 U.S. Amateur at The Ridgewood Country Club as a 15-year-old.
WHAT'S NEXT
The quarterfinal matches on Friday will commence at 7:30 a.m. CDT and continue in 12-minute intervals. They will be followed by the two semifinal matches at 1 p.m. and 1:12 p.m. Saturday’s 36-hole final will begin at 8 a.m. Peacock has live streaming of the semifinal matches from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT, with Golf Channel broadcasting the afternoon portion of the final on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.
NOTABLE
- All eight quarterfinalists are now exempt into the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley Country Club, in Bethlehem, Pa., provided they are still age eligible.
- The tee at the par-4 1st hole was moved up more than 100 yards for Thursday’s matches to make it drivable at 310 yards. Tees were also moved forward on Nos. 8 and 17 to 108 and 124 yards, respectively.
- Given the extreme heat this week – temperatures in the 90s and Heat Indexes reaching triple digits – players, caddies and officials are having to stay hydrated. More than 20,000 bottles of water have been consumed since the first official practice round last Saturday, according to the USGA’s Macy Bell.
- Five of the eight quarterfinalists are Americans. The three international competitors remaining are Ben Bolton (England), Nguyen Anh Minh (Vietnam) and Qiyou Wu (People’s Republic of China). Wu could be the second player from his country to claim the U.S. Junor Amateur following Wenyi Ding in 2022. England’s last USGA title also came in 2022 when Matt Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Open at The Country Club. Vietnam has no USGA titles.
- Chase Bauer is more than just a talented 15-year-old golfer from Florida. Bauer, who was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Luke Colton, also swims competitively and plays baseball. But the rising high school sophomore also plays a major role at home, helping his mom, Christine, who has multiple sclerosis.When his father is working, Chase often handles various responsibilities to assist her.
QUOTABLE
“I mean, to do what I did yesterday [in the Round of 64] definitely kind of just like boosts like maybe it happens for a reason. But…you still got to just go play four more good rounds of golf.” – Miles Russell when asked about holing key putts in a 20-hole, first-round victory, bringing possible karma to a championship run
“I think rest is the most important. Try to get to bed as early as I can. Try and stay hydrated. When you get dehydrated you get a little more tired. So, staying hydrated and keeping my energy up during the round has been really important.” – Luke Colton
“Having a caddie on the bag really helps. It's 100 degrees out here, you're walking 30 something holes depending how many [holes] you play. It's a [physical] battle as much as it is mental…Playing 36 in college [events] definitely helped me prepare for this a little bit.” – Nicholas Gross
“Wow, that's really cool. I didn't know that. I'm super grateful for that [2026 U.S. Junior Amateur exemption] and grateful for all the coaches that came and watched me for 36 holes today. It's not the easiest thing to walk out here, so I'm forever grateful for everyone that put in the time and effort.” – Sohan Patel
“To be the first from like a small country to actually win a USGA event would be amazing. I mean, it would be a dream come true. You know, kids talk about that and USGA is, as you know, a really big deal. They always have the best tournaments.” – Nguyen Anh Minh
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