USGA CEO Mike Whan on the 2025 U.S. Open: One of the toughest golf courses in the world
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USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Third-seeded Miles Russell knocked out of U.S. Amateur in epic match. What happened?
Russell rallies from early two-down deficit and falls in the quarterfinals in his second USGA national championship this summer Miles Russell didn't make a birdie until the 17th hole on Aug. 15 in his quarterfinal match of the U.S. Amateur at the Olympic Club Lake Course. But the 16-year-old from Jacksonville Beach with a mental game beyond his years was still very much in the match, 1-down against Oklahoma State junior Eric Lee — especially since Lee was in deep rough on the right, seemingly blocked out by two trees while Russell hit a perfect drive in the fairway and had only 103 yards to the middle of the green. What happened next was a simple matter of the quirks of match play. More: Miles Russell deserves a spot on the U.S. Walker Cup team. Here's why Lee miraculously found the green with a sliced pitching wedge and three-putted for bogey and Russell knocked his wedge shot over the green and into deep rough, eventually leading to a bogey when he needed par to extend the match. Lee won 1-up after an exhausting day for both that ended in waning daylight and falling temperatures by the San Francisco Bay. He will play 18-year-old Mason Howell of Thomasville, Ga., who beat John Daly II 1-up with a par at the last. Russell has now been denied in the quarterfinals of a USGA national championship for the second time this summer. He was one victory away from the semifinals of the U.S. Junior in Dallas before falling 4 and 3 to Luke Colton. However, Russell gave Lee, the player who clinched the national championship for the Cowboys with a singles victory over Virginia's Josh Duanganamee, all he could handle. More: U.S. Amateur quarterfinal highlights: Local favorite Niall Shiels Donegan, 63 seed advance Miles Russell rallied from two-down deficit Russell lost the first hole and was 2-down through eight before winning the ninth and 10th holes with pars to even the match. He then won the 12th hole with a par to go 1-up but Lee rebounded to win Nos. 13 and 14 with pars to regain the lead. Both players two-putted the par-3 15th hole for par, and then both parred the 16th, the first of back-to-back par-5 holes at the Lake Course. Russell's drive found a fairway bunker on the right and he was unable to do much more than pitch out about 100 yards. With a third shot of more than 200 yards, Russell hit into a front-right bunker but got out to within 4 feet and made the par putt. In the meantime, Lee hit the fairway and his second shot was just short of the green. He pitched on to 10 feet but missed for birdie and a chance to go two holes up with two to play. Miles Russell and Eric Lee both birdie No. 17 — again Russell found the fairway at the par-5 17th hole and Lee was in on the edge of the first cut of rough. With 236 yards to the hole, Russell put his second shot in the right rough, while Lee, with 234 to the middle, found the left rough, tight to the pin. Russell pitched 12 feet past the hole, but for the second day in a row, Lee hit a marvelous chip to within inches of the hole. Lee chipped in for a birdie in his round of 16 match against Duangamanee and won 2-up. Undaunted, Russell dropped his putt for birdie to match Lee to take the match to the 18th hole. Russell also staged his own brand of heroics on the 17th hole the previous day, making a fast-breaking 25-foot birdie putt to beat Manath Chirrivura 2 and 1. Miles Russell's fortunes rose, then fell at No. 18 It appeared to be advantage, Russell when he split the fairway at the 18th while Lee smothered his drive to the right. Golf Channel announcer Colt Knost pronounced on the air that Lee had no chance to reach the green but Lee, 124 yards from the hole, purposely put a big slice with a wedge shot, with the ball bounding onto the green, 30 feet from the hole. Russell then overcooked his wedge from the fairway, with the ball landing on an embankment behind the hole. Advantage, Lee? Not yet. Eric Lee wins with a three-putt Lee knocked his first putt 6 feet past the hole, while Russell pitched out to 8 feet past the hole. Russell missed the par attempt and Lee had two putts to win. He did it but not without more drama. He hit his par attempt 4 feet past the cup and had to make that to end the match. What happened in the other U.S. Amateur quarterfinals? Niall Shiels Donegan, a native of Scotland whose family lives 30 minutes from the Olympic Club, defeated Jacob Modleski of Noblesville, Ind., in 20 holes and will play Jackson Herrington of Dickson, Tenn., a rising sophomore at the University of Tennessee, in the semifinals. Donegan played two years at Northwestern and has transferred to North Carolina. Herrington derailed Jimmy Abdo's improbable run through the bracket with a 4 and 2 victory. Abdo, 4,292nd on the World Amateur Rankings and a member of the NCAA Division III Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, needed a playoff to reach match play and then won three matches, two by 1-up scores. Herrington won three of the last four holes, two on birdies. How to watch the U.S. Amateur on TV Watch the U.S. Amateur on Fubo
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
U.S. Amateur leaderboard: Updates, what you need to know about quarterfinals Friday
The intensity is being ratcheted up at the 2025 U.S. Amateur. An event that started on Monday with 312 players is down to the great eight, also known as the quarterfinals, at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Get everything you need to know about Friday's action right here in the 125th U.S. Amateur, one of the USGA's premiere events and also the most prestigious amateur events for men in the world. U.S. Amateur 2025 live leaderboard Click here to follow scores from the U.S. Amateur. What happened in the Round of 32 and Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur? Both of those rounds were held Thursday. In the Round of 32, the highlights included John Daly II's advancement to the Round of 16 but also the defeat of two of the top ams in the world. Among those advancing to the quarterfinals out of the Round of 16 include a Cinderella story in the making and a local favorite with incredible crowd support. This has to be one of the greatest post-round interviews in U.S. Amateur you tomorrow, Niall! What are the quarterfinals matchups? All times ET 4:30 p.m.: No. 49 Niall Shiels Donegan vs. No. 56 Jacob Modleski 4:45 p.m.: No. 61 Jimmy Abdo vs. No. 37 Jackson Herrington 5 p.m.: No. 63 Mason Howell vs. No. 26 John Daly II 5:15 p.m.: No. 3 Miles Russell vs. No. 11 Eric Lee Where to watch the 2025 U.S. Amateur on TV, streaming All times ET Where does Olympic Club rank by Golfweek's Raters? Olympic Club is private and has a 9-hole course called the Cliffs as well as two 18-holers: Lake and Ocean. It's the Lake Course where all match-play action is taking place. The Lake Course is ranked 43rd in the Golfweek's Best 2025: Top 200 Classic Courses in the U.S. list and it's No. 8 in California in the Golfweek's Best 2025: Top private golf courses in every state list. Watch Golf Channel for free on Fubo U.S. Amateur format Every player in the field competed in 36 holes of stroke play on Monday and Tuesday, where the field was cut to the low 64 players for match play, which started on Wednesday. A 20-for-17 playoff was needed to to determine the 64 players. Then, it was the Round of 64 on Wednesday, the Round of 32 and Round of 16 on Thursday and now we're at the quarterfinals on Friday. The semifinals will be Saturday and the 36-hole championship final is set for Sunday. What does the winner of U.S. Amateur get? U.S. Amateur ticket information Fans must purchase tickets to attend the U.S. Amateur. For more information, click here.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Olympic Club will keep S.F. in national golf spotlight, even without U.S. Open
The Olympic Club will crown another national champion Sunday. This year's U.S. Amateur winner will hoist the Havemeyer Trophy, and then San Francisco's most storied golf course will turn toward a curious future. Marquee events are still on tap, but with a fresh twist. Olympic's Lake Course, long associated with the U.S. Open, pivots down a fresh path in hosting the 2028 PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup five years later. The club carries the torch for San Francisco golf, a city with rich history in the game. In some ways, this stretches beyond golf. The 125th U.S. Amateur, which wraps up a weeklong run with semifinal matches Saturday and the 36-hole title match Sunday, brought national television coverage this week – not only of the course but also featuring familiar and picturesque (if cloud-covered) shots of the city. Malia Lyle, president of the Olympic Club, pointed to the value of this TV exposure in conversations earlier this year with Mayor Daniel Lurie. 'This is a commercial for San Francisco and the Bay Area,' Lyle said Thursday. 'It's a great opportunity to showcase not just San Francisco golf, but the city and the Bay Area in general … a chance to say we're getting back to where we were before (the pandemic). It's still beautiful.' The biggest showcase is the U.S. Open, which Olympic has hosted five times dating to 1955. But the club shifted gears in agreeing to hold the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup, a decision driven mostly by the profitability of those events (especially the Ryder Cup). Lyle was candid about the financial disparity, saying, 'The revenue gained from a PGA of America event helps offset some of the costs associated with USGA events. Despite it being an honor, we're not making money on the Amateur.' Even so, the club recognizes the prestige of holding the U.S. Open, the USGA's crown jewel. The organization has named future Open venues through 2042 – that's no misprint – and one of their anchor sites is Pebble Beach, only two hours down the coast. But Olympic Club officials remain interested in eventually climbing back into the mix, as they've expressed to the USGA in recent meetings. 'We've made it clear we would love to host a future U.S. Open,' Lyle said. That's unlikely anytime soon, given the USGA's commitments in the years ahead. Olympic will host the U.S. Women's Amateur in 2030, and it's possible the U.S. Women's Open – held on the Lake Course for the first time in 2021 – could return later in the '30s, after the Ryder Cup. The men's Open becomes a trickier proposition. 'There's so much great golf history here, we would always want a long-term relationship with the Olympic Club,' said John Bodenhamer, the USGA's chief championships officer. As for the U.S. Open specifically, he added, 'It's going to be a while. For a women's Open, it could be much sooner.' This conversation unfolds as Harding Park, the well-regarded public course across Lake Merced from Olympic, has fallen off the radar for marquee tournaments. Harding hosted four PGA Tour events from 2005-20, including one won by Tiger Woods and the course's first major (Collin Morikawa captured the 2020 PGA Championship). Harding now has no Tour events on the calendar, partly because of the complications of preparing a public track for a high-profile tournament. That leaves the Olympic Club as San Francisco's best bet. USGA officials tend to embrace California venues, because they offer reliable weather and allow television networks to push coverage into prime time in the East (think: higher ratings). Thursday's telecast of the Amateur went until 10 p.m. ET, and so will Sunday's coverage of the championship match. 'Our broadcast partners love being on the West Coast,' Bodenhamer said. 'If it were up to them, we'd be on the West Coast every year.' They're here now, on a course with history at every turn. Olympic's Lake Course is where Jack Fleck stunned Ben Hogan in the 1955 U.S. Open, Billy Casper chased down Arnold Palmer in 1966 and Scott Simpson ('87), Lee Janzen ('98) and Webb Simpson (2012) also won America's national championship. That tradition provides context for this year's Amateur. There has been much chatter about the Lake Course's thick rough, similar to what U.S. Open competitors have confronted in the past. One photo at the Olympic Club famously shows Hogan chopping it out of crazy-tall rough alongside No. 18 in the '55 Open. USGA executive Ben Kimball figures the picture offers a relevant lesson for today's young players. 'If anybody wants to talk more about the rough,' Kimball said, 'I could send them down to the champions' bar (where the photo is displayed) and say, 'Look what Hogan had to do.''
