Dallas, Texas, United States: Nguyen Anh Minh suffered an agonising 2&1 defeat to American Hamilton Coleman in the 36-hole championship match at the 77th US Junior Amateur.

Bidding to become the first player from Vietnam to claim any USGA championship, Anh Minh produced a typically gutsy performance at Trinity Forest Golf Club.

However, it was not to be for the 18-year-old with a number of putts refusing to drop at crucial moments, notably at the 28th and 34th holes.

Only the 14th international player to reach a US Junior Amateur final, Anh Minh, who played six-under golf, was three-down at the lunch break. But he chipped away at Coleman’s advantage in the afternoon round, reducing the margin to one hole.

After narrowly failing to convert a birdie opportunity at the 35th – the 99-yard, par-three 17th – Anh Minh could only watch on as his opponent sank a 15-footer to clinch the win.

Anh Minh, the fourth-highest-ranked player in the field at 52nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and an incoming Oregon State freshman, said: “For some reason, I was picking my lines, I felt good about my lines, and just going nowhere near that [with my putts]. My speed was okay for most of the day. I’ve definitely got to work on the putting.”

Despite the pressure being applied by Anh Minh, Coleman maintained his composure.

Before his match-clinching putt at the 35th, he had not won a hole since converting a five-footer for birdie on the par-four 25th hole.

Anh Minh claimed wins on the 26th, 29th and 30th to tighten the screws until Coleman ended the festivities by converting on the penultimate hole, a putt that just snuck in the left portion of the hole.

As runner-up, Anh Minh received a silver medal and an exemption into next month’s US Amateur, which he had already secured by his position among the top 100 in the WAGR.

Anh Minh has been a member of two triumphant Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation teams in the Bonallack Trophy (2023 and 2025) and also won individual and team honours at last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Team Championship for the Nomura Cup. He was also selected to represent the International Team at last year's Junior Presidents Cup.

Coleman, a future University of Georgia Bulldog – he will matriculate at the Athens campus in 2026 – joins a list of illustrious US Junior Amateur champions that includes Tiger Woods, current world number one Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Johnny Miller, David Duval, Will Zalatoris and Nick Dunlap. He is also the fourth future Georgia golfer to win this title along with Madden Hatcher (1976), Jack Larkin Sr (1979) and Major champion Brian Harman (2003).

The victory earns Coleman, a member of the US National Development Program’s Georgia State Team, a spot in the 2026 US Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, as well as exemptions into next month’s US Amateur at The Olympic Club, and the 2026 championship at Merion Golf Club. He’ll also get a chance to defend his Junior Amateur title next July at Saucon Valey Country Club.

“It's really cool just seeing the names that are also on that trophy,” said Coleman. “Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods, all the great players of the game have come through this tournament. Just to be on that level with them is a great feeling.

“I know I haven't had the best season coming into this [championship], but I know that my game can stack up to those quality of golfers if I just keep hitting quality shots and putting pressure on. It also helps that I do hit it slightly shorter than most because I'm hitting most of the [approach] shots first, so just being able to put that pressure on [my opponents] and then just hitting quality shots.”