Union Jack: England's Whaley Shows His Mettle at Merion

Ardmore, Pennsylvania, United States: It was a seminal moment for a Seminole. Florida State University rising senior Jack Whaley defeated Stanford University rising junior Jay Leng Jr 4&3 in the 36-hole final of the 126th US Amateur Championship at historic Merion Golf Club.  

England’s Whaley, who spent the first two years at NAIA Dalton State College before transferring last spring, became the first Florida State golfer to hoist the Havemeyer Trophy. Drew Kittleson (2008) and A. Downing Gray (1962) had reached the championship match. 

By winning the title, 22-year-old Whaley, 90th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), earns exemptions into the 2027 US Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links and The Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews as well as a likely invitation to the Masters Tournament next April. He also automatically earns one of the 10 spots on the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup Team that will take on the USA at Lahinch, in the Republic of Ireland on September 5-6. That team will be announced on today by The R&A. 

Whaley joins Harold Hilton (1910) and Matt Fitzpatrick (2013) as Englishmen to have claimed the Havemeyer Trophy. He’s also the first player since Tyler Strafaci in 2020 to trail after the morning 18 and win the title.  

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” said Whaley of joining the likes of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Bob Jones as a US Amateur champion. “But it’s definitely a huge honour to be able to be part of the names of all the famous people and unbelievable golfers that have come through this golf course and won. I don’t really have words for it right now.”  

American Leng Jr, aged 20, also was among the final six players named to the USA Team on Sunday afternoon. A winner of the Western Amateur two weeks ago, Leng Jr was bidding to join Woods and Lawson Little as US Amateur champions from Stanford. He was the first player from the school to make a final since David Chung in 2010. 

“Right now, it doesn’t feel too great losing in the finals,” said Leng Jr, 23rd in the WAGR. He also was the runner-up in the Northeast Amateur and tied for fifth in the Southern Amateur this summer. “But I’m sure I’ll be okay in a few days.”   

Whaley, meanwhile, followed the same script as the last player to win this championship at Merion, who also happened to be a European. Edoardo Molinari, of Italy, survived a 19-for-17 play-off after holing out a bunker shot on the par-three ninth at Merion on his final hole of stroke play, then used that momentum to win six matches, including the final over Dillon Dougherty by the same 4&3 margin. 

Early Wednesday morning, Whaley was part of a 16-for-11 play-off for the final match play spots and nearly aced the par-three 13th hole to secure his place in the draw. He survived his opening-round match in 22 holes over 2026 US Open qualifier Jackson Ormond and rolled from there, ending the championship match on the 15th green with a 10-foot birdie. 

For the first time all week, a bit of fall enveloped Merion. Temperatures dropped into the 70s and the competitors encountered the stiffest wind. Rain also fell shortly after the start of the afternoon round, adding a further challenge to not only the players but the two caddies. 

Whaley, being from England, was much more used to playing in such adverse conditions than the Southern Californian Leng Jr, who found himself switching out gloves every other hole just to keep the club from slipping out of his hands. He also had to put on raingear for the first time. After hitting his tee shot out of bounds on the 22nd hole, Whaley pulled out his black rain gloves very similar to the ones countryman Aaron Rai used to win this year’s PGA Championship down the road at Aronimink Golf Club.  

That provided a better grip and Whaley, who trailed two-down after the morning 18, began to slowly pull away from Leng, who lost his first head-to-head match since the quarter-final round of the NCAA Championships to Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert. 

Whaley claimed four consecutive holes from the par-five 20th to take a two-up lead. Leng got one back on the 24th, thanks to Whaley’s wayward tee shot. But when Whaley drained a 25-foot birdie on the 26th hole and a 15-footer at number 28, his lead ballooned back to three-up. 

Knocking his approach shot on the 29th, the hole where Bob Jones closed out his 1930 US Amateur win to complete the Grand Slam, into the penalty area wound up costing Whaley a hole, but he immediately recovered with a winning two-putt par on the 30th hole to regain his three-up advantage. The match would end three holes later.  

That final 10-footer at the 33rd hole sent off a wild celebration that included an emotional hug with his father/caddie Andy Whaley, his mom (Kerry), girlfriend (Sara Burger, transferred from Dalton State to Middle Tennessee State for golf), and coaches at both Florida State and Dalton State College, where he won the 2025 NAIA Championship and was named the Jack Nicklaus Award recipient for that level.

“It's just off the charts. I’m not very emotional as a rule, but this is a very emotional,” said Andy Whaley. “Never in our wildest dreams did we think that this was possible. Jack has just achieved the impossible, frankly. That’s what this is about. I just can’t be proud enough of the guy.”