Rough going for most of Oklahoma contingent at U.S. Amateur
Qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship is one thing. Advancing to the final 64 for match among 312 talented amateurs on tests like Merion and Philadelphia Country Club is another level of difficulty entirely, as many of the players with Oklahoma ties are experiencing.
Preston Stout of Oklahoma State, viewed as a favorite by many coming in, seems destined to miss the cut by a large margin after shooting 75 in his opening round at Merion and playing the front nine over par this morning at Philadelphia Country Club. Ryder Cowan of Edmond and the University of Oklahoma, another player who many thought would contend, shot 4-over at PCC and will need a heroic round this afternoon at Merion to advance.
The best round of the day by a player with state ties was a 1-under 69 at Merion by P.J. Maybank III of OU, which put him in 26th place overall.
Also in range of the top 64 are Parker Sands of Edmond, who shot 70 at PCC, Gaven Lane of OSU, who shot 69 at PCC, and Chase Hughes of Edmond, who shot 71 at Merion.
With much work to do today to qualify are Clark Van Gaalen of OU (73), Eric Lee of OSU (73), Ethan Fang of OSU (74), Henry Guan of OSU (75), Collin Bond of Norman and OSU (79), Mike Hearne of Yukon (81) and Jaxon Bandelier of OSU (79).
Competitors in the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship have talked about the importance of finding fairways. Whether it was Merion Golf Club or stroke-play co-host venue Philadelphia Country Club, playing from the rough proved to be penal.
While the USGA doesn’t have cost-of-rough statistics at its amateur competitions, balls that nestled into the heavy stuff meant a difficult challenge to make par.
“The rough is gnarly,” said 2024 runner-up Noah Kent, who opened Monday’s first round with a 3-under 67 at Merion. “Making sure you keep it simple and don’t overcomplicate things is important. The short game is definitely important for keeping a round and your momentum going.”
William Lisle, 17, of Hong Kong, China, a 2027 verbal commit to the University of Texas, did a good job of keeping his ball in play, shooting a 5-under 65 at Philadelphia C.C. to share the 18-hole lead with University of Washington rising senior Finn Koelle, 21, of Germany. Koelle, who got to 6 under par, bogeyed the iconic 18th hole at Merion after finding the right rough off the tee.
University of Illinois rising senior Max Herendeen, of Bellevue, Wash., made a late run with four birdies over his last seven holes to post a 66 at Philadelphia Country Club, which is measuring 353 yards longer than Merion but playing to the same par of 70. Herendeen is no stranger to this championship, having eliminated former world No. 1 Jackson Koivun in the Round of 32 of last year’s U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club. He’s also hoping to make a late push to make the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team.
Brigham Young incoming freshman Drake Harvey, of Henderson, Nev., was 4 under par with two holes left to play at Merion.
Nine others posted 67s, including the aforementioned Kent and 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Miles Russell, 17, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla. The No. 4 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR® and one of four players already chosen to represent the USA in next month’s Walker Cup Match at Lahinch, played Merion on Monday.
Also shooting 67s at Merion were 2026 U.S. Open qualifier/University of Florida incoming freshman Jackson Ormond, of Rochester, N.Y., 2026 Oregon graduate Aiden Krafft, of Albuquerque, N.M., and 2026 BYU graduate Tyson Shelley, of Salt Lake City.
Recent Liberty University graduate Joshua Ryan, of Norristown, Pa., joined Herendeen, world No. 7/Auburn University rising senior Josiah Gilbert, of Millbrook, Ala., University of North Carolina rising junior Sihan Sandhu, of Pinehurst N.C., and UCLA rising sophomore Joshua Kim, of Danville, Calif., with 67s at Philadelphia C.C.