Jack Whaley wins US Amateur with 4&3 victory at Merion

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

The victory brings immediate rewards beyond the championship itself. Whaley earned places in the 2027 Masters, US Open and The Open at St Andrews. His name also joins a list of US Amateur champions that includes Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland, giving the Florida State University player one of amateur golf’s most prestigious titles.

Whaley began the final as the lower-ranked player. Leng was 23rd in the world amateur golf ranking, 67 places ahead of the Doncaster golfer, and that advantage appeared to show early. After the opening 18 holes, Whaley was two down and needed to reverse the direction of the match during the afternoon round.

The response came quickly. Whaley made consecutive birdies on the second and third holes of the second round and went on to win four holes in succession. That burst changed the shape of the final, shifting the pressure to Leng as heavy rain added another challenge for both players on one of American golf’s best-known courses.

Each player won two of the following six holes before a mistake on the greens gave Whaley more breathing room. Leng misread a putt on the 12th, leaving the Englishman three holes ahead. Whaley then settled the championship at the 15th with a left-to-right birdie putt, producing the shot that completed a 4&3 win.

The result makes Whaley the first English champion since Matt Fitzpatrick won the event in 2013. Before Fitzpatrick, Harold Hilton had been the last English winner in 1911; Scotland’s Richie Ramsay, champion in 2006, is the only other British winner since 1898. Whaley also secured one of the 10 automatic places on the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team for the match against the United States at Lahinch in Ireland on 5-6 September.