Expect a bit more than just rush-hour morning traffic from Norristown, Pa., to the Main Line on Wednesday. The Montgomery County town in the Philadelphia suburbs has a local hero to follow at the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship as the competition moves to the match-play stage at historic Merion Golf Club.
Joshua Ryan, the winner of the 2026 Pennsylvania Amateur, produced a near-record breaking performance in stroke play, posting a 36-hole total of 8-under 132 to earn medalist honors over a stellar field of 311 competitors.
The 22-year-old, who grew up 10.5 miles from this week’s venue, followed up Monday’s 3-under 67 at stroke-play co-host Philadelphia Country Club with a 5-under 65 at Merion on Tuesday to edge 2026 USA Walker Cup competitor Tyler Watts by two strokes.
Ryan’s total was one off the championship record set by Hayden Wood, son of PGA Tour winner and 1977 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Willie Wood, in 2017 at The Riviera Country Club and co-host Bel-Air C.C., in Los Angeles. Seven others have posted 132, including last year’s medalist Preston Stout. Ryan also becomes the first “local” medalist in the U.S. Amateur since Mark Goetz in 2021 at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh.
Two others – 18-hole leader Drake Harvey, an incoming Brigham Young University freshman from Henderson, Nev., and University of Washington rising senior Finn Koelle, of Germany, finished four strokes back at 4-under 136.
Four players posted 137: 2026 USA Walker Cupper and U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Miles Russell, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.; 2026 U.S. Open qualifier and University of Florida incoming freshman Jackson Ormond, of Rochester, N.Y.; University of Georgia’s Carter Loflin, of Duluth, Ga.; and University of Florida rising senior Jack Turner, of Orlando, Fla.
Russell, who tied for 39th in this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, was coming off sharing medalist honors in last month’s U.S. Junior Amateur as well as the Western Amateur two weeks ago, where he posted a 72-hole total of 21-under 263 at Beverly Country Club, in Chicago.
Play was suspended for darkness at 8:09 p.m. with a handful of competitors still on the course at Merion. Every player finished their second round at stroke-play co-host Philadelphia Country Club.
The cut for match play came at 2-over 142. A playoff for the final match-play spots will take place after the second round concludes Wednesday.
What’s Next
The second round will be completed Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. EDT, followed by the playoff for the final match-play spots at 8:30 a.m., starting at the par-3 13th hole of Merion and continuing on the course routing until the spots are filled. The Round of 64 is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. Peacock and the NBC Sports Network will have live streaming from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT.
Notable
Drew Harvey’s 64 that was completed on Tuesday morning officially gave him the 18-hole lead by a stroke over Germany’s Finn Koelle and William Lisle, of Hong Kong, China.
Josh Ryan wasn’t the only Liberty University product to qualify for match play. Michael Lugiano, of Jackson Township, Pa., posted 1-under 139. He is staying at Ryan’s residence this week.
Notables in the X-for-X playoff include world No. 6 William Jennings; world No. 11 Kihei Akina; 2025 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cupper Luke Poulter; 2026 U.S. Open co-low amateur and world No. 8 Ryder Cowan; U.S. National Junior Team member and 2026 U.S. Open qualifier Giuseppe Puebla; 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Joshua Bai; 2025 U.S. Amateur runner-up Jackson Herrington; and 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur semifinalist Christian Cavaliere.
Four mid-amateurs did qualify for match play: three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and five-time USA Walker Cupper Stewart Hagestad; 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Evan Beck; 2026 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion Grady Brame Jr.; and 2026 New York State Amateur champion Matthew Lowe.
Chase Hughes, 16, the youngest member of the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team, advanced to match play, along with 2025 U.S. Amateur semifinalist/GB&I Walker Cupper Niall Sheils Donegan; 2024 U.S. Amateur runner-up Noah Kent; 2025 GB&I Walker Cupper Eliot Baker; 2026 U.S. Open qualifier Logan Reilly; and 2026 Western Amateur champion Jay Leng Jr.
Morocco, which will host the 2027 World Amateur Team Championships for men and women, will be represented in match play by Texas Tech rising senior Adam Bresnu.
Mason Howell became the first defending champion to miss the cut since Andy Ogletree in 2020 at Bandon Dunes.
World No. 1 Preston Stout, who will play in his second consecutive Walker Cup Match next month, also failed to advance along with two-time USA Walker Cupper Ethan Fang; 2026 British Amateur champion and likely two-time Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cupper Stuart Grehan; 2025 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Eric Lee; 2025 USA Walker Cupper Jacob Modleski; reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion Noah Maclauchlan; 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Brandon Holtz; reigning U.S. Senior Amateur champion/2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Mike McCoy, at 63 the oldest player in the field; and 2026 U.S. National Junior Team members Tyler Mawhinney, Luke Colton and Ronin Banerjee.
Instead of a commemorative coin with the player’s seeding, each golfer making match play at this year’s U.S. Amateur will receive a red flag with the championship logo and their seeding number.
Oklahoma State men’s golf coach Alan Bratton did double duty on Tuesday at Philadelphia C.C., carrying in the morning for world No. 1 Preston Stout and then jumping on the bag of redshirt freshman Henry Guan. The 1995 USA Walker Cup competitor carried for two U.S. Amateur champions: Peter Uihlein in 2010 and Viktor Hovland in 2018. Uihlein is the only world No. 1 amateur since WAGR was established in 2007 to hoist the Havemeyer Trophy. The USGA began using WAGR for exemptions in 2012.
Alissa (Herron) Super, the 1999 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, was on the grounds this week to watch 20-year-old son Tully compete in his first USGA championship. Alissa’s brother, Tim Herron, a four-time PGA Tour winner and 1993 USA Walker Cupper, caddied for her that week in Atlanta. Tim’s son, Carson, became a fourth-generation Herron to compete in the U.S. Amateur four years ago at The Ridgewood Country Club.
Kelly Xu, a member of this year’s victorious USA Curtis Cup Team who is now playing on the Epson Tour, was at Merion on Tuesday following around friend and fellow 2026 Stanford graduate Nathan Wang, of Fremont, Calif.
Quotable
“I couldn’t write it up any better. Wasn’t trying to get ahead of myself at all. Didn’t expect it, if I was being honest. Just went out and tried to play quality golf, get to match play and see what happens.” – Joshua Ryan
“I think your preparation is what allows you to play really good golf, but I do think playing with two really good players and two buddies helps. It kept it loose out there, and it was a lot of fun. It always is.” – Tyler Watts on playing the stroke-play portion with fellow 2026 Walker Cup competitors Miles Russell and Preston Stout
“It was an absolute grind. Oh my gosh, it was looking so rough after the bogey on 10. My coach [Spencer Dunaway] just told me I've got to stay in it. I knew if I parred out, I'd probably be fine, but I didn't want to just par out and shoot 4 over. I made a couple birdies coming in and finally hit a couple of good putts. I guess there's a little more confidence in the putting going into tomorrow.” – Drake Harvey
“I got through to match play, that's for sure. I want to play the best I can every day, so to finish like that [with two late bogeys], I don't think anybody would be very happy about it. But now I've got to refresh and regroup for tomorrow.” – Finn Koelle
“Merion's very different. At this golf course (Philadelphia C.C.), you hit a lot of drivers and a lot of 7-irons. It's a big golf course. Merion has a few holes like that, but there are a lot more where you have to plot your way around. You just have to golf your ball there.” – Miles Russell
“Yeah, this is kind of like the golf I play at home. For the guys who are from Florida or Texas, this is probably a little different for them. It definitely feels like home to me.” – Jackson Ormond, a Rochester, N.Y., native on playing tough Northeast layouts like Merion/Philadelphia C.C.
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