Michigan, United States: Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh will square off with China’s Chang Xihuan on Friday with a place in the semi-finals at the 76th US Junior Amateur Championship up for grabs.
Anh Minh and Chang both safely negotiated their ways through two rounds of match play at Oakland Hills Country Club on Thursday to progress to the quarter-finals.
They are the only two non-Americans to make it through to the final eight with China’s Wang Yixiang bowing out to Trevor Gutschewski in the Round of 16.
In Thursday morning’s Round of 32, Korean An Seong-hyeon, China’s Wang Zihao and New Zealand’s Joshua Bai were all eliminated.
An, winner of last week’s R&A Junior Boys’ Open in Scotland, was beaten 3&1 by Edan Cui, while Wang Zihao fell 2&1 to Owen Coniaris.
Bai, runner-up in the 2023 US Junior Amateur, saw his hopes of reaching the final for a second year in succession ended by CJ Winchenbaugh, going down 2&1.
But Anh Minh, a team-mate of Bai in last year’s triumphant Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation Bonallack Trophy team in Spain, remained on course to become the first Vietnamese winner of a United States Golf Association title.
In the Round of 32, Anh Minh led from the first hole and was always ahead against American Brady Smith, prevailing 3&2.
Although he lost the opening hole of his last 16 tie to an eagle-three from Ukraine’s Lev Grinberg, Anh Minh drew level at the sixth, went ahead and the seventh and then pulled clear to win 5&4.
Eyebrows were raised when Anh Minh arrived at the venue with his own caddie from Vietnam. But the partnership has proved pivotal in Anh Min’s progress.
“I met him at a golf course in Vietnam, and then we always played together every weekend. He’s always been kind of family to me, and to have him come here is really special,” said Anh Minh, 78th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
“I’m hitting lots of fairways, which is giving me lots of opportunities to hit on the green and then try and make putts. If not, just two-putting it and get out of there. Par is always your friend,” added the Vietnamese who tied for seventh at last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) in Australia.
Of the set-up at Oakland Hills’ South Course, Anh Minh, who has committed to play at Oregon State University in 2025, said: “The experience is great. There is nothing compared to it. Course is looking good, as always. Good condition, everything is pure. The rough is just really hard if you’re in there.”
Standing between Anh Minh and a place in the last four is Chang, at 39th in the WAGR the highest-ranked player in the field.
Last year’s China Amateur Open runner-up, the 16-year-old played solidly on Thursday, seeing off William Lisle 3&2 in the Round of 32.
In the Round of 16, Chang had to work harder against American Cui, a quarter-finalist last year and conqueror of Korean An on Thursday morning.
Chang raced into a three-up lead through six but was pegged back to all square after nine holes. Cui won the par-five 12th to lead for the first time, but the Chinese struck back immediately winning the next two holes with pars to regain control.
Another par at the short 17th sealed a 2&1 victory for Chang, who is now hoping to go on to emulate the success he enjoyed in the IMG Junior Golf World Championships in San Diego, where he won the seven-eight age group category in 2017 and the nine-10 segment in 2019.