US AMATEUR 2026

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The 2026 US Amateur has completed its first phase of Stroke Play at the Merion Golf Club and Philadelphia Country Club courses, both in Pennsylvania (USA), with mixed results for the Spanish representation.

The positive note was provided by Sergio Jiménez, who earned the right to compete in the decisive Match Play phase after solidly completing the first 36 holes and finishing in a remarkable sixteenth position.

The Madrid native, who started the championship with a round of 69 strokes (-1), delivered a card of 70 strokes on the second day, at even par for the course, to establish an accumulated total of 139 (-1), a result that has allowed him to qualify comfortably among the 64 players who continue in the fight for the title.

The best result of this first phase belonged to the American Joshua Ryan, who topped the leaderboard with a total of 132 strokes (-8), after signing two excellent rounds of 67 (-3) and 65 (-5).

The other side of the coin for the Spanish contingent was Alejandro de Castro. The Catalan player failed to find his best form during the two days of Stroke Play and, although he improved his performance compared to the first day, his second round of 76 strokes (+6) was not enough to qualify for the knockout rounds.

Thus, Sergio Jiménez remains the sole Spanish representative in the 2026 US Amateur, which began with 312 players. After the 36 holes of Stroke Play, only the top 64 remain in the competition and now face the Match Play phase, in which each round will be decisive on the path to one of the most prestigious titles in world amateur golf.

Sergio Jiménez, very solid on the first day

Sergio Jiménez missed out on a great chance of reaching the playoffs after completing his first round, in his case at the Philadelphia Country Club, with a more than remarkable round of 69 strokes (-1) that placed him in 28th position. Although he started with a bogey on the 1st hole, the Madrid native quickly straightened out his round with two consecutive birdies before successfully tackling the rest of a round characterized by consistency.

Although the day did not finish completely - thirty-nine players were unable to complete the 18 holes due to lack of light - the Chinese William Lisle and the German Fin Koelle, both with 5 under par, were the best positioned.

Álvaro de Castro fared even worse, effectively losing any chance of making it into the restrictive 64-player field for the title playoffs after the second round. The Barcelona native never found a way to overcome the difficulties of the Philadelphia Country Club course, handing in an 80, devoid of birdies but, even worse, marred by four bogeys and three double bogeys.

Distinguished winners throughout history

The ultimate goal of Alejandro de Castro and Sergio Jiménez is to follow a similar path to that of 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).