Niall Shiels Donegan, a Scottish-born resident of nearby Mill River and the local hometown favorite this week, outlasted world No. 15 Jacob Modleski in 19 holes to secure his spot in the semifinals of the 125th U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco, Calif.
“You’ve just got to stay so patient,” said Donegan, a rising junior at Northwestern University. “You can’t get ahead of yourself… one hole is its own event, and it’s just all about staying in the present, not thinking ahead.”
The crowds were out in droves for Shiels Donegan, who bogeyed the first and started the day 1 down. A two-putt par from the Scotsman would be enough to tie the match at the par-3 third, and after the two halved the next three, Modleski struck once again with a winning birdie on No. 7 and another winning par on the eighth to go 2 up ahead of the turn.
Shiels Donegan cut the lead to 1 up twice as the match advanced through the inward nine – he won the eleventh with birdie, which Modleski immediately recovered with a winning birdie of his own on No. 12, and then he notched another birdie against a Modleski par at the par-3 thirteenth before the two halved the next three once again.
Shield Donegan would win the par-5 seventeenth with birdie, and the two halved the theatric par-4 eighteenth before heading back to No. 9 for the playoff hole, where Modleski – who was vying for a spot on the 2025 USA Walker Cup Team this week – failed to get up and down to match Shiels Donegan’s two-putt par.
“Ifeel like with this crowd, I know so many of them, it just feels very natural… I can’t thank them enough for [being] here,” Donegan said. “I’m just trying to enjoy the moment... It’s amazing they’re giving me so much support”
Meanwhile, 2025 U.S. Open qualifier and U.S. Junior Amateur medalist Mason Howell, of Thomasville, Ga., secured his spot in the Saturday semifinals with a 1-up victory over John Daly II, son of two-time major champion John Daly.
Howell, an 18-year-old incoming freshman at the University of Georgia, took the lead with par on the first hole. Though Daly managed to tie the match on three occasions, Howell won the fourteenth with birdie and then held off the 2025 Southern Amateur champion with a win at the fourteenth, halving the last four holes, including the eighteenth where both players stuffed their approaches and tapped in for birdie.
“We knew John was going to make birdie. He’s such a good player,” said Howell, who is competing in his sixth USGA championship. “Total respect to his game… we got pretty aggressive, and it paid off.”
What’s Next
Saturday’s semifinal matches are scheduled to tee off at 11 a.m.and 11:15 a.m. PDT, with the 36-hole championship match set to begin on Sunday at 10:15 a.m. The afternoon portion of the final is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. but could be adjusted by USGA officials. Tickets are available for purchase, and Golf Channel will have coverage from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Notable
All four semifinalists are now exempt into the next two U.S. Amateurs at Merion Golf Club, in Ardmore, Pa., and Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y. Merion has hosted the most USGA championships of any venue (19), including five U.S. Opens and six U.S. Amateurs. Six USGA championships have been contested at Oak Hill, including three U.S. Opens, and it also served as the site of the 2023 PGA Championship, won by two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka.
2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball runner-up Jackson Herrington, a rising junior at the University of Tennessee, eliminated Jimmy Abdo – a rising sophomore at D-III Gustavus Adolphus College who enjoyed a less than likely run to the quarterfinals, having entered the championship ranked No. 4292 in the WAGR – 4 and 2. Herrington will face Shiels Donegan in Saturday’s semifinal.
Eric Lee, who missed the cut by seven strokes in 2024 at Hazeltine, took down 16-year-old Miles Russell, the highest ranked junior in the world at No. 16 in the WAGR, 1 up. Lee will take on Mason Howell in the semifinals.
Before arriving at The Olympic Club, Shiels Donegan’s best WAGR performance was a T-4 finish in the StAndrews Links trophy earlier this summer. This week, his road to the semifinals included victories over this year’s medalist and world No. 4 Preston Stout (Round of 16), world No. 9 Christian Maas (Round of 32), world No. 15 Jacob Modleski (Quarterfinals) and world No. 28 Luke Poulter (Round of 64)
In a championship where the average age of the field was 23.2, the oldest player remaining is 20-year-old Eric Lee, of Fullerton, Calif., while the youngest is 18-year-old Mason Howell, of Thomasville, Ga.
Quotable
“I was texting [UNC men’s golf head coach Andrew] DiBitetto yesterday, and I was just saying this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to play U.S. Am at Olympic Club, 30 minutes from where I live, and just enjoy the moment. Who cares what happens? You made it this far already.” – Niall Shiels Donegan on staying present during the championship’s biggest moments in front of his hometown crowd
“His family has so much legacy, I understand it. I’m just a boy from south Georgia… I hope a lot of people got their eyes opened to my golf game today.” – Mason Howell on the Olympic crowd’s support of John Daly II during their Friday afternoon quarterfinal match
“I feel good… sucks to come up short. He played a great round. A couple things didn’t go my way… It’s been an awesome week. The support was awesome. Just blessed to be here.” – John Daly II on his takeaways from his quarterfinal exit
“I like the fact that it’s just me and one other guy. I don’t really need to worry about what I shot. Just need to worry about beating the other guy.” – Eric Lee on his approach to match play “
“It was pretty cool to see some people from my home club fly out just for today’s round. Pretty thankful they were out here too… I feel like I put my name out there and played some really good golf for everyone to see. Hopefully my name gets recognized.” – Jimmy Abdo on his run to the quarterfinals coming to an end
“I feel great. I didn’t play too well today. I was pretty mad at myself for that. I felt like I kept him in it a little too long, but I got the job done.” – Jackson Herrington on his play en route to his quarterfinal victory
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