Jack Whaley Wins US Amateur and Secures Three Major Invitations

Jack Whaley became only the second English winner of the US Amateur Championship since 1911 by defeating American Jay Leng Jr 4&3 at Merion. BBC Sport reported that the 22-year-old from Yorkshire completed his victory with a birdie on the 15th hole of the second round in Sunday’s 36-hole final at the Pennsylvania course.

The title brings Whaley entry into three of golf’s major championships in 2027. He has secured places in the Masters, the US Open and The Open, which will be held at St Andrews. The achievement also places the Florida State University player among former US Amateur champions including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland.

Whaley entered the final as the lower-ranked player. Leng was 23rd in the world amateur golf ranking, 67 positions above the player from Doncaster, and made the stronger start. Whaley ended the opening round of the 36-hole contest two holes behind, leaving him with ground to recover when play resumed.

The match changed early in the second round. Whaley made consecutive birdies at the second and third holes during a run in which he won four straight holes. Rain continued to fall as both players claimed two of the following six holes. Leng then misread a putt at the 12th, allowing Whaley to move three holes ahead with six remaining.

Whaley closed out the contest at the 15th with a left-to-right birdie putt, producing the final 4&3 margin. His victory made him the first English champion in the event since Matt Fitzpatrick won at The Country Club in Brookline in 2013. Fitzpatrick later returned to the same venue and won the US Open there in 2022.

Before Fitzpatrick, Harold Hilton had been the last Englishman to lift the US Amateur title, doing so in 1911. Scotland’s Richie Ramsay, the 2006 champion, is the only other British winner since 1898. Whaley’s win also automatically gives him one of the 10 places on the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team scheduled to face the United States at Lahinch in Ireland on 5 and 6 September. After the final, Whaley said the scale of joining the championship’s distinguished list of winners had not yet sunk in and described the achievement as a huge honour.