Whaley and Leng Advance to U.S. Amateur Title Match at Merion

Jack Whaley defeated Carter Loflin on the 18th hole while Jay Leng Jr. secured a 2-and-1 victory over Logan Reilly to reach the U.S. Amateur final.

Jack Whaley of England holed a 5-foot bogey putt on the 18th hole at Merion to defeat Georgia senior Carter Loflin and advance to the championship match for the U.S. Amateur title. Whaley, a senior at Florida State, will face Stanford junior Jay Leng Jr., who earned a 2-and-1 victory over Auburn sophomore Logan Reilly. By reaching the final, both competitors secured invitations to the Masters and the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach next year, provided they maintain their amateur status.

Whaley, ranked No. 90 in the world amateur golf ranking, enters the final seeking to become the first English winner of the event since Matt Fitzpatrick at Brookline in 2013. During his Saturday semifinal, Whaley twice surrendered 3-up leads before reaching the final hole all square. On the par-4 18th, both players missed the fairway and landed in the rough, subsequently falling short of the green on their approach shots to a front pin location.

Dramatic Finish on Merion’s 18th Hole

Loflin played first from the front of the green, hitting a lob wedge that cleared the false front but rolled into the shaggy grass behind the putting surface. His subsequent chip came up short, and he missed a 12-foot par-saving attempt. Whaley’s pitch shot traveled 45 feet, stopping just inside the green’s edge. He lagged the long putt to within 5 feet and converted the bogey attempt to clinch the match. Whaley described the winning moment by stating he felt like he closed his eyes and hoped for the best, adding that he was "absolutely over the moon."

Jay Leng Jr., the world No. 23 amateur, reached the final without trailing in his semifinal match. Leng has now played 42 consecutive holes without trailing, a streak that began on the sixth hole of his round-of-16 match against third-ranked Tyler Watts. In his Saturday victory over Reilly, Leng did not record a birdie until the par-3 10th hole and finished the round with only two birdies total.

Leng’s Path Through the Semifinals

The match turned in Leng's favor on the 12th hole when Reilly suffered a significant misfortune. Reilly’s approach shot struck the pin on a single hop but ricocheted off the green, through the fairway, and into the rough. The resulting bogey put Reilly 2 down. Leng extended his lead by hitting a wedge to 5 feet on the 15th hole for his second birdie of the day. The contest concluded on the par-3 17th hole, where both players recorded pars to finalize the 2-and-1 scoreline.

Leng admitted he did not have his best stuff during the round but relied on the confidence gained from his play throughout the summer. He noted that the magnitude of the achievement would likely take until the evening to sink in. The finalists will now meet for one final round to determine the champion at Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

Statistical Breakdown and Rankings

Whaley’s resilience was tested as Loflin rallied from two separate three-hole deficits to square the match before the final hole. The 18th hole at Merion presented a specific challenge due to its sloping fairway and a green featuring a false front and a back that runs away from the golfer. Whaley’s successful bogey save on the difficult finishing hole ended the match against the Georgia senior.

Leng’s consistency remains his primary asset heading into the Sunday showdown. Since his match against Tyler Watts, he has maintained a lead or a tie for over two full rounds of match play. While Leng struggled to find birdies early in the semifinal, his par-saving ability and the birdie on the 15th allowed him to close out the Auburn sophomore before reaching the 18th tee. The upcoming match features a significant gap in world rankings, pitting the 23rd-ranked Leng against the 90th-ranked Whaley.