US AMATEUR 2026

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The first round of the 2026 U.S. Amateur, being held at the Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania, did not go well for the Spanish players. Sergio Jiménez, the only Spanish representative to have reached the Match Play stage, was eliminated after losing 4&3 to Canadian Dawson Lee. The trophy ultimately went to Englishman Jack Whaley, who defeated American Jay Leng Jr. 4&3 in the final.

The match once again highlighted the unpredictability of the Match Play format, where what happened during the qualifying rounds quickly becomes irrelevant. Sergio Jiménez reached the playoffs after having achieved a better result than his opponent in the Stroke Play phase, but that advantage did not carry over into their head-to-head match.

The match never went well for the Spaniard, who never managed to take the lead. After tying the opening hole, Dawson Lee took his first advantage on the second hole, although Sergio Jiménez immediately responded to level the score on the third.

From then on, the Canadian gradually began to tip the scales in his favor. Dawson Lee regained the lead on the 4th hole and extended his advantage on the 7th, before moving 3 up on the 9th hole after carding a birdie on that par 3.

Despite facing a difficult situation, Sergio Jiménez didn't give up and found an opportunity to close the gap on the 11th hole, where he capitalized on his rival's bogey to pull within two holes. However, his comeback was short-lived, as Dawson Lee immediately responded with a birdie on the 12th, extending his lead back to three holes.

Holes 13 and 14 ended in a tie, allowing the Canadian to maintain a comfortable lead as the match entered its decisive phase, until he sealed the tie on the 15th hole with another birdie. Sergio Jiménez needed to win the hole to extend the match, but his par wasn't enough, and Dawson Lee secured his passage to the next round with a 4/3 victory.

Distinguished winners throughout history

In this way, Sergio Jiménez will not be able to emulate Josele Ballester, winner in 2024 after overcoming all kinds of adversity in Hazeltime National GC, including Luis Masaveu - his rival in the semi-finals.

It is worth remembering that among the most recent winners of the US Amateur are also Richie Ramsay (2006), Edoardo Molinari (2005), Matthew Fitzpatrick (2013), Bryson DeChambeau (2015) or Viktor Hovland (2018), all of them prestigious professionals today.

Previously, the title was won by great golf figures such as Matt Kuchar (1997), Tiger Woods (1994, 1995 and 1996), Justin Leonard (1992), Phil Mickelson (1990), Mark O'Meara (1979), Arnold Palmer (1954) or Robert T. Jones Jr (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928 and 1930).