ARDMORE, Pa. — Jack Whaley of England used double gloves, needed an umbrella, was stung by a wasp at rainy Merion Golf Club and still pushed through the inconveniences to cap a tremendous tournament and hold off Jay Leng Jr. to win the U.S. Amateur on Sunday.
Whaley should keep the rain jacket.
The 22-year-old English amateur golfer from Doncaster gets to soak up the spoils that come with winning amateur golf’s greatest prize.
With skies finally clear on the rain-slogged course, Whaley sank his final putt to clinch the 36-hole final, 4 and 3, and hugged it out with his caddie — his father, Andy. Whaley’s mother ran out to join them for a family embrace while Andy gripped the famed wicker basket flagstick.
Whaley broke down in tears as he held the Havemeyer Trophy and dedicated the win to his father, who never stopped encouraging his son to play, even as he kept missing cuts as a teenager.
“I don’t think anything’s going to top this,” Whaley said.
Whaley made a rapid rise from NAIA star to Florida State to amateur champion and now has an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Open, and the 2027 Open at St. Andrews and the Masters should he remain an amateur. He wore his Florida State Seminoles cap and team colors for the championship round.
He even gets a Tiger Woods medal.
Whaley won the seventh U.S. Amateur held at Merion and is the first English amateur to win since Matt Fitzpatrick at Brookline in 2013.
Whaley shook off a wasp sting on the fourth fairway in the afternoon session before he rallied his way to the title. Leng, a Stanford junior, held a 2-up advantage through the first 18 holes after both players bogeyed the par-5 18th on an overcast and windy round.
“It was just getting confidence back into my head that I was a good putter,” Whaley said.
The U.S. Amateur does hold a special place in Merion history. Take a look at the rock near the 11th hole tee box at Merion and one of the grandest holes in golf is marked.
“On September 27, 1930, And on this hole, Robert Tyre Jones, Jr., completed his ‘Grand Slam’ by winning the U.S. Amateur Championship.”
It was on that hole where Bobby Jones closed out Eugene Homans, 8 and 7, in the 36-hole final and clinched golf’s only season Grand Slam with a win at the U.S. Amateur.
Of, course, you can’t spell Tyre Jones without Trey Jones — Whaley’s golf coach at Florida State who was at Merion to cheer on his star player.
Ben Hogan also has a plaque that honors his 1-iron on the 18th hole of the 1950 U.S. Open.
“It’s a huge honor to be part of the names of all the famous people,” Whaley said.
Big-time golf continues to boom in Philadelphia area courses
Maybe some of the amateurs in this week’s tournament can make their own mark at Merion.
They’ll get their chance over the next several decades.
Golf in Philadelphia is kind of cool again after PGA Tour stops and majors largely dried up in the region over the last four decades.
David Graham closed with a 67 at Merion for a three-shot win in 1981, becoming the first Australian to win a U.S. Open and then, pretty much nothing. Justin Rose won a soggy 2013 U.S. Open when it returned to the club tucked away in a tony Philadelphia suburb and the first major in the area in 32 years.
The area courses made a late charge on the area sports scene over the last 15 years.
Rose lost a playoff to Keegan Bradley in 2018 at the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club and there were a pair of Tiger Woods-hosted AT&T National events in 2010 and 2011, also at Aronimink.
Aronimink was also the scene when Sei Young Kim won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2020.
Philadelphia’s Cricket Club hosted the Truist Championship last year and a major returned to the Philadelphia suburbs when Aaron Rai won the PGA Championship in May in Aronimink.
Merion is set to host the U.S. Open in 2030, 2040, and 2050, alongside the U.S. Women’s Open in 2034 and 2046.
Consider, Whaley will be only 46 years old in 2050.
Leng gets nice consolation prizes
Whaley is No. 90 in the world amateur golf ranking, while Leng is at No. 23.
Leng gets pretty nice consolation prizes. He also earned a spot on the 2026 U.S. Walker Cup team, in the Masters and the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach next year, provided he is still amateur.
“It shows I can compete with the best,” Leng said. “I can compete with anyone, honestly. I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
