Dallas, Texas, United States: Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh will square off with American Hamilton Coleman in Saturday’s 36-hole championship match at the 77th US Junior Amateur at Trinity Forest Golf Club.

Anh Minh, bidding to become the first player from his country to claim any USGA championship, rolled to a 4&3 win over China’s Wu Qiyou in the semi-finals after knocking out University of Alabama rising sophomore and 2022 US Amateur semi-finalist Nicholas Gross 3&1 earlier on Friday.

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, improved his showing from last year at Oakland Hills when he was eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Taking advantage of a player who had been extended to 18 and/or beyond in three of his first four matches, Anh Minh won five of the first six holes against Wu and cruised from there. Wu cut the deficit to four with a birdie on eight, but the two tied the next seven holes.

“I really wanted redemption. That’s what I was aiming for this year. I was very grateful that I got this far,” said Anh Minh, a member of two triumphant Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation teams in the Bonallack Trophy (2023 and 2025) and winner of individual and team honours at last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Team Championship for the Nomura Cup.

“It’s definitely special,” said 18-year-old Anh Minh of his accomplishment. “To say I’m the first one to make it to the final of a USGA event, it’s remarkable and really special.”

Among other things, Saturday’s champion will receive an exemption into the 126th US Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Both finalists are exempt into next month’s US Amateur at The Olympic Club. Anh Minh was already in the field based on being among the top 100 in WAGR.

This will be the 14th time overall – and 13th since 1994 – that an international player has made the championship match with a record of 5-8.

China’s Ding Wenyi is the last winner (2022 at Bandon Dunes). The others are Min Woo Lee (Australia, 2016), Andy Shim Hyeon-bo (Korea, 2012), Kim Sih-wan (Korea, 2004) and Terry Noe (Korea, 1994). Enrique Sterling Jr, of Mexico, was the first international finalist in 1964, losing to Johnny Miller.

The two 2025 finalists were invited as pre-game guests of the Texas Rangers before their game Friday night at Globe Life Field. The team’s opponent happened to be the Atlanta Braves, the team Coleman grew up rooting for. Anh Minh, who still has a couple of high school finals to take before heading to Oregon State next month, eschewed the invite to study for his exams.

In the quarter-finals, Wu eliminated second seed Ben Bolton, of England, one-up. Bolton had a chance to force Wu to his third extra-hole match of the week, but lipped out a seven-foot birdie attempt on the 18th green.

As a semi-finalist, Wu received a bronze medal and a two-year exemption into the US Junior Amateur, provided he remains eligible.

Reflecting on his performance this year, Wu said he needs to improve his stamina. “I feel like my fitness is not really good. Next year I’m going to play this again, so I want to do some fitness and get stronger and prepare for the next stage,” he said.

Coleman, a rising high school senior who has committed to play for the University of Georgia in 2026, eliminated a pair of left-handers on Friday, including local favourite and US National Junior Team member Luke Colton, 5&4, in the semi-finals.

In the quarter-finals earlier in the day, he took out Sohan Patel, 2&1. This came on the heels of defeating another southpaw and 2024 US Junior Amateur runner-up Tyler Watts in the Round of 16 on Wednesday afternoon, a match in which he rallied from three-down after 11 holes to advance.

Both finalists have managed to win five matches in searing north Texas heat. Temperatures once again hit the high 90s for a fifth consecutive day with the Heat Index reaching triple digits.

Coleman, who got into this year’s championship based off winning the 2024 Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in a play-off over 2024 US Junior Amateur medallist Blades Brown, certainly hasn’t looked like the number 625 player in the WAGR.

In fact, he has eliminated two of the three highest-ranked players over the last two days; Watts, the winner of this year’s Sunnehanna Amateur, is currently 42nd and Colton, the 2025 Terra Cotta Invitational champion from nearby Frisco, Texas, is 26th.

A 2022 Drive, Chip & Putt national finalist at Augusta National Golf Club, just a short drive from his residence, Coleman showed tremendous touch on the greens.

“Honestly, I have not had the best summer coming into this, but I started to hit it better and then the putter is finally starting to warm up,” said Coleman, the first future Georgia Bulldog to make a US Junior Amateur final since Brian Harman won the title in 2003. “So, I knew I had a good chance coming in, and now to see it coming to fruition is pretty cool.

“I know that my ranking doesn't really show how good I am and I know I can compete with anybody out here.”