Leng conquers Beverly, wins Western Am

Writing from Chicago / Evergreen Park, Illinois

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Jay Leng felt at ease when he stepped on Beverly Country Club’s first tee a few minutes before noon on Sunday. His opponent in the Western Amateur’s 124th championship match was someone he’s been playing golf with and against in the San Diego area since he was 7 years old.

Michael Riebe, a Vanderbilt incoming freshman, had beaten Stanford junior Leng in a friendly game last week. That might have cost Leng a fiver or thereabouts, but he got his pal back, and good, scoring a 5 and 4 victory to win the title and thus lift the George Thorne Trophy to the sky.

Leng may have been playing an old acquaintance in “a friendly match,” as he called it, but did so with spunk, a carryover from his semifinal victory over medalist Miles Russell in the morning.

“On the range it started raining and the wind was kinda weird,” Leng said of his final warmup session. “I looked at it as a good thing because I think I play better in high wind. It was a different direction (from the north) so I had to think about it.”

A birdie 4 earned Leng a 1-up lead over Riebe on the second hole, he extended it to 3 up with a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 event after Riebe made a hash of the sixth hole, and lost only one hole, when he failed to get up and down on the par-4 eighth and took bogey to Riebe’s par. Leng led 2 up at the turn.

“I told myself I was never going to take my foot off the gas,” Lang said. “I know how many birdies he can make.”

It didn’t take long for Leng to press the advantage after a stroll through the tunnel under 87th Street. Leng won the par-3 10th with two putts when Riebe missed the green and couldn’t save par, went 4 up with a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 11th, and went dormie 5 by winning the par-4 13th by two-putting for par from 10 feet.

When Riebe settled for par on the par-4 14th and Leng matched, hats came off and hands were shaken. Leng had not only won, but matched the third-widest margin of victory since the final went to 18 holes in 1961.

“I tried not to think (of the stakes) on the golf course, just stay calm and play my game,” Leng said. “But my jaw does hurt from smiling a lot for all the pictures. When I picked the ball out of the hole on 14, there were a lot of thoughts going through my head – all the tournaments I’ve played that have led up to this. It’s a very happy moment.”

Leng’s 3 and 1 victory over Russell, an old U.S. Junior foe, in the semifinals raced to conclusion as well. Leng sank a 20-foot uphill birdie putt to go 2 up on 13, lost the 14th, won the 15th with a 2-putt par and closed the world’s top-ranked junior out on No. 17, when Russell pounded his tee shot to the back of the treacherously sloping green and then chipped to the front fringe.

Meanwhile, Riebe annexed his place in the title match with a 1 up victory over Virginian Logan Reilly. But he was erratic in the afternoon, hitting only four of 10 fairways to Leng’s seven.

“I guess I just didn’t show up the same way I did in the morning,” Riebe said. “I just wasn’t quiet as clinical – didn’t make the putts, my short game wasn’t as good, and I kinda relied on that all week. But Jay’s a tough competitor. We play all the time at home. He’s a great player – super gritty, a great putter, plays his own game, hits it straight. He’s always going to match you.”

In match play, that’s a recipe for success. 

Semifinals

Jay Leng d. Miles Russell 3 & 1

Michael Riebe d. Logan Reilly 1 up

Championship

Leng d. Riebe 5 & 4 

Around Beverly

Leng is the fifth Stanford student to win the Western Amateur, following Tiger Woods (1994), Joel Kribel (1996), David Chung (2010) and Michael Thorbjornsen (2021). Of that quartet, Woods also won the U.S. Amateur, which is economics major Leng’s next assignment a fortnight hence at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. “It shows how our program can mold players,” Leng said. “It shows I can play with anyone. I’m excited for the U.S. Am and excited to play Merion.” … The gallery of about 250 people was the largest for a championship match in several years. They walked a course that had been drenched by more than 5 inches of rain across the week, enough on Saturday to move the schedule back a day, yet there was only one spot with ground under repair and rarely any mud in the rough. … Next year’s Western Amateur is at Knollwood Club in Lake Forest.

– Tim Cronin

Russell weathers the storm

Writing from Chicago / Evergreen Park, Illinois

Friday, July 31, 2026 

The beatings go on.

Unflappable top seed Miles Russell won both his matches Friday in the 124th Western Amateur, extending his quest to become the second-youngest winner of this grueling championship.

Russell will be a senior in high school in a few weeks. He’ll go to Florida State next fall. NIL money is headed his way or already in his pocket. He’ll be a pro soon enough. For now, he plays with the poise of a pro, not a 17-year-old who is too young to vote, have a beer or rent a car. And perhaps hasn’t shaved either.

He made two bogeys in 33 holes across his Sweet Sixteen and quarterfinal matches, both of them on the front nine in the morning, when he eventually defeated Boston Bracken of St. George, Utah, 3 and 2. He erred not at all in the afternoon quarterfinal against fellow left-hander Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Ala., when a rain-soaked gallery that grew to over 150 watched the soon-to-be Walker Cup teammates commit no errors until Watts’ bogey on the par-3 17th – a failed up and down from the left bunker – settled the issue, 3 and 1.

Russell made an eagle – conceded, but a 3 nonetheless at the par-5 second – and three birdies, including a clincher at the 16th hole, in vanquishing Bracken, then five birdies against Watts, who was 3-under for his first 16 holes himself. Then came the pulled tee shot on the 17th even as a baby cried. Watts and his caddie said they never heard the young’n yelp.

“Playing another great player puts your game to the test,” Russell said. “When I got in trouble I was able to get out of trouble, and was able to scrape in around towards the end when the weather came in.”

Come in it did. The last two holes of his match against Watts were played in a Scottish gale complete with sideways rain from the southwest.

So Russell, fifth in the world amateur rankings, moseys into Saturday morning’s semifinal against Jay Leng of San Diego, who scored a 1-up win over Dean Greyserman of Boca Raton, Fla., and took down Kayun Mudadana of Sydney, Australia., 4 and 3.

“I’ll just go home and get a lot of rest, then try to do it again tomorrow,” Russell said.

He took a 2-up lead on Watts via birdies on the fourth and seventh holes, lost the par-3 10th to a Watts birdie, won the 11th with a birdie of his own, lost the 12th to another bird, then won the 13th to go 2 up, where he stayed until the 17th. Watts made a great par save out of a greenside bunker on the 16th to keep the match alive, but at dormie 2, needed to win the 17th and 18th to force extra holes, and could not.

In the morning, while the lower seed won each of the eight matches, the last Sweet Sixteen match to finish was the best, Australia’s Kayud Mudadana outlasting 14th-seeded Will Hartman of North Carolina in 20 holes. Mudadana made a par on the par-5 second to get the job done. He fell in the quarterfinals, as did Jaden Dumdumaya, denying reporters the opportunity to tout a potential Dumdumaya-Mudadana title match.

Sweet Sixteen Results

1 Miles Russell, Jacksonville Beach, Fla., d. 16 Boston Bracken, St. George, Utah, 3 & 2

8 Tyler Watts, Huntsville, Ala., d. 9 Carson Bertagnole, Pinehurst, N.C., 5 & 4

4 Jaden Dumdumaya, Benicia, Calif., d. 13 Max Herendeen, Champaign, Ill., 5 & 4

5 Jay Leng, San Diego, Calif., d. 12 Dean Greyserman, Boca Raton, Fla., 1 up

2 Josiah Gilbert, Millbrook, Ala., d. 15 Baylor Larrabee, Ferndale, Wash., 1 up

7 Logan Reilly, Lovettsville, Va., d. 10 Daniel Bennett, Pretoria, South Africa, 1 up

3 Kayun Mududana, Sydney, Australia, d. 14 Will Hartman, Marvin, N.C., 20 holes

6 Michael Riebe, Encinitas, Calif., d. Zackary Stanwick, Napier, New Zealand, 2 & 1

Quarterfinal Results

Russell d. Watts, 3 & 1

Leng d. Dumdumya, 5 & 3

Reilly d. Gilbert, 4 & 3

Riebe d. Mududana, 4 & 3

Around Beverly

Galleries were strong even after the rain hit. The forecast is for showers Saturday as well. … Saturday’s semifinals start at 8 and 8:12 a.m., respectively, with the championship match set for 1 p.m. … ESPN+ coverage begins at 9 a.m. and resumes with the full championship match.

– Tim Cronin

Miles ahead, this Russell kid

Writing from Chicago / Evergreen Park, Illinois

Thursday, July 30, 2026

The final day of stroke-play qualifying in the Western Amateur presents three options for players, depending on where they stand as the 36-hole grind begins.

Those at the top can chase the honor of medalist and see their name engraved on the Cameron Eddy Trophy.

Those in 17th place and beyond can try to claw their way into the Sweet Sixteen and the match play portion of the grind, which commences Friday morning.

Those from about 10th place to 16th can, depending on their position of the moment, and their latest birdie or bogey, can pursue the Eddy from a distance or fight to stay within that select 16.

The double round makes for not only a long day physically, but mentally, especially for those in danger of elimination.

For Miles Russell, the mental strain was minimal. The 17-year-old high schooler from Jacksonville Beach, Fla., demolished Beverly Country Club’s course on Thursday, scoring 7-under 64 in the morning and 6-under 65 in the afternoon. His 72-hole total of 21-under 263 was merely a stroke ahead of runner-up Josiah Gilbert, an Australian who goes to Auburn, and surpassed the 14-under 270 posted by medalist Doug Ghim in 2014, the last time the Western Am played through Beverly, by seven strokes.

Those numbers indicate two things. First, elite golfers are more elite than ever, and there are more of them. The four-for-three playoff for the last three spots in the Sweet Sixteen was at 272. The odd man out turned out to be Luke Poulter, son of pro tourist Ian Poulter. 

Russell, runner-up in last week’s U.S. Junior Amateur, didn’t have to worry about that. The second-youngest medalist in Western Am history could put his feet up for a bit after the celebratory dinner.

“There was a lot of good out there and not too much bad,” Russell said after signing for the last of his 13 birdies on the day. “Still got a lot of golf left. Last week was a really long week, so I’ve got a feel of what this will be like by the end of it.”

Russell, should he advance to Saturday afternoon’s final, has 72 holes, more or less, to look forward to. As does Gilbert, now the leader of the Auburn squad with Jackson Koivun on and winning on the PGA Tour.

“Stroke play is something we take pride in, and now (in match play) we’ll try to ride that momentum,” Gilbert said. “You just play good golf, the rest takes care of itself."

Sweet Sixteen Pairings

8 a.m. – 1 Miles Russell vs. 14 Boston Bracken

8:12 a.m. – 8 Tyler Watts vs. 9 Carson Bertsgnole

8:24 a.m. – 4 Jaden Dumdumaya vs. 13 Max Herendeen

8:32 a.m. – 5 Jay Leng vs. 12 Dean Greyserman

8:48 a.m. – 2 Josiah Gilbert vs. 15 Baylor Larabee

9 a.m. – 7 Logan Reilly vs. 10 Daniel Bennett

9:12 a.m. – 3 Kayun Mudadana vs. 14 Will Hartman

9:24 a.m. – 6 Michael Riebe vs. 11 Zackary Stanwick

Around Beverly

Illinois standout Max Herendeen played himself into the Sweet Sixteen with a final round 65 for 271. … Only C.T. Pan, the medalist in 1999, was younger than Russell, and then only by three days. ... The scoring average on the par 71 test was well under par each day. With lift-clean-and place in fact for the first 36 holes, the average was 70.92 for the first round and 70.74 for the second. Thursday, with the ball played down but only 45 players remaining from the original 156, the average plummeted to 68.96 in the morning, which was duplicated in the afternoon. … The Milt Woodard Trophy, incorrectly referenced in Wednesday’s story, goes to the winner of the Western Junior.

– Tim Cronin

The life of Reilly is aces

Writing from Chicago / Evergreen Park, Illinois

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

The former makes up for the latter mathematically, but does a hole-in-one erase a double bogey in the mind?

Logan Reilly was able to answer that question Wednesday at Beverly Country Club. He double-bogeyed the treacherous par-3 17th hole in the second round of Western Amateur stroke play qualifying, but came back seven holes later to ace the equally vexing par-3 sixth.

“The double-bogey wasn’t the best, but I guess it does add up,” Reilly said. “It was a good way to get the juice flowing.”

Reilly’s 5-under 66, which featured seven birdies – including four straight – along with the ace, gave him an aggregate 11-under 131 and the lead at the halfway point of the qualifying test. Thursday’s 36-hole grind will determine the Sweet Sixteen for the match play that begins Friday.

The ace came playing into a 13-mph north wind on the downhill par 3.

“One of the three hardest holes on the course, I’d say. It was playing 188 (yards), and it’s pretty windy out here today. Front tucked left pin, so my caddie and I said, ‘Hit a little flighted 6-iron at the right edge of the green and let the wind take it,” Reilly said. “It literally flew in there, damaged the cup.

“You couldn’t really see it, but you heard something. Everyone kinda went nuts.”

His ace was his third overall and second in as many tournaments, but the first dunk. He made a 1 at the recent Northeast Amateur, where he finished fifth.

Reilly leads Australian Kayun Mudadana, who posted a second round 65, and overnight leader Carson Bertagnole, who added a 68 to his opening 64, by a stroke. In contrast to Reilly’s roller-coaster, Mudadana’s six-birdie round was a snooze. Including the four holes he played in the morning to complete the storm-delayed first round, Mudadana had a seven-birdie day.

“I just tried to keep the ball in the fairway and score from there,” said Mudadana,

Bertagnole saved par from behind the green after “juicing a wedge,” which prevented a bogey-bogey finish. He also eagled No. 7 to spark his round.

“Had 290 (yards) to the flag and hit a high-cut 3-wood to eight or nine feet,” said Bertagnole, who, like the others high on the leader board, has a chance to grab the Milt Woodard Trophy if they win the stroke-play portion of the competition.

“It would be really cool,” Bertagnole said. “There are a lot of good players, but stroke play doesn’t matter unless you win in match play.”

That sums up the Western Am grind. First, there’s a PGA Tour-length tournament across three days. Then the top 16 go into match play, four matches over two days for the finalists. Or, about 144 holes of championship golf over five days. That’s why the last mid-amateur to win the Western Am was Danny Green, 40 when he kicked off Andy Miller – Johnny’s son – on the 19th hole of the 1997 final at Point O’Woods.

The cut to the low 44 and ties came at 4-under 138, the lowest in eight years. It fell at 5-under 137 at Sunset Ridge Country Club, also a par 71 layout, in 2018. It was even par 142 at Beverly in 2014, when Beau Hossler beat Xander Scauffele in a final that capped a match play carnival that included Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Nick Hardy, Brian Campbell and Doug Ghim.

Around Beverly

ESPN+ will have live coverage of the match play beginning Friday morning with the Sweet Sixteen. … The Beverly course record is 10-under 61, established by Wildcat Golf Academy pro Tim Streng in an Illinois PGA stroke play tournament on May 30, 2023. He managed five birdies on each nine.

– Tim Cronin

Bertagnole leads storm-delayed Western Amateur

Writing from Chicago / Evergreen Park, Illinois

Tuesday, July 27, 2026

Carson Bertagnole grew up and lives in Pinehurst, N.C., home to the famed resort and Course No. 2, one of course architect Donald Ross’ most notable creations.

Tuesday, after having played only three holes in a thunderstorm-shortened practice round the day before, Bertagnole went out and scored 7-under-par 64 on another Ross course, the Beverly Country Club, in the first round of stroke play qualifying in the 124th Western Amateur.

The sophomore at North Carolina said there’s little the two layouts share when it comes to Ross trademarks.

“They’re quite different,” Bertagnole said. “No. 2 is a little wider, no rough and the greens are turtlebacks. Here, the greens almost funnel in to the middle. But you can see the similarities on the green with putting. A lot of the deception is still good.”

The differences and the unfamiliarity didn’t stop him from scattering five birdies and an eagle across his scorecard, even with the round delayed 2 hours 40 minutes to finish the cleanup from Monday’s 2.94 inches of rain, which prompted a rare lift-clean-and place ruling from WGA officials.

“It was great,” Bertagnole said of the conditions. “Greens were a little bumpy but they roll fine. If you hit good putts they roll on line.”

Bertagnole parred the par-5 second but otherwise took advantage of his length, especially with the eagle on the 609-yard par-5 home hole, the ninth of his excursion.

“Hit a good drive into the wind and wasn’t close to reaching it, hit a good 3-wood and had 86 yards,” Bertagnole said. “Hit a low draw wedge that spun back in the hole. Good way to finish.”

Even with players allowed to put ball in hand, scores weren’t astonishingly low. Beverly met the challenge of hosting five of the world’s top 10 amateurs and 66 of the top 100. By the time play stopped because of darkness, Bertagnole stood a stroke ahead of a quartet of players who had finished – Josiah Gilbert of Millbrook, Ala., Joshua Bai of Auckland, New Zealand, recent winner of the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst, Arkansas senior Thomas Curry of Texarkana, Ark., and Charlotte senior Seb Cave of Melbourne, England, who scooted in nine minutes before the hooter blew to end play for the day, and 15 minutes before the trio of Malan Potgeiter, Gaven Lane and Erich Fortlage finished 18 in the gloaming at 8:21 p.m.

Forty-two players will finish the first round beginning at 7:10 a.m. and then go right into the on-time second round.

Gilbert, a senior at Auburn, also eagled the 18th but had two bogeys to go with six birdies.

“I played my last 10 holes in 6-under,” Gilbert noted, starting with that eagle on the 18th. “I made a 65-footer and that got me going a little bit.”

Bai, a junior at Florida, was bogey-free with six birdies, including a 4-under 31 on a back nine he’d never seen.

“I hit it really well off the tee, never had to recover from anything,” said Bai, who holed a bunker shot on the par-4 13th for one of his six birdies. “The course is a little quirky in spots, but it’s really fun. There are some short holes where if you hit it in the right spots, you’ve got birdie opportunities.”

Curry was 3-under through two holes courtesy of a birdie on No. 1 and an eagle on the par-5 second, going out in 5-under 31, but after a birdie on the par-3 10th, parred his way around the back nine at dinner hour. Cave went the opposite route, making a birdie at the last to gain a share of second.

Six players are at 5-under, including mid-amateur Stewart Hagestad, who will have three holes to play in the morning.

Around Beverly

Since the Western Amateur was here last in 2014, Beverly’s course has undergone a refurbishment, with thousands of trees removed, the clubhouse was gutted and reimagined inside – and partially outside – in a breathtaking $12.8 million renovation, and after over a century in unincorporated Cook County, the clubhouse and back nine is in Evergreen Park. The front nine has always been in Chicago. … Brandon Holtz of downstate Bloomington scored 4-under 67, as did U.S. Junior runner-up Miles Russell. … Glen Ellyn’s Grant Roscich, owner of the course record on the new Medinah No. 3 (a 61!) is well off the pace at 2-over 73. … Bloodline Dept.: Luke Poulter, son of Ian Poulter, is 3-under with the par-5 18th to play.

– Tim Cronin