Blades Brown is one of the favorites at Oakland Hills (USGA Photo)
Oldest Competitors: Justin Bai (18, born 7-28-2005), Matthew Quinn (18, born 7-29-2005), Dustin Stocksdale (18, born 7-29-2005), Hristo Yanakiev (18, born 8-4-2005).
Youngest Competitors: Matthew Marigliano (13, born 10-24-2010), Luke Chang (13, born 9-17-2010), Jason Yu (14, born 7-11-2010), Lander Lee (14, born 5-30-2010).
Average Age of Field: 16.89
Field breakdown by age:
13: 2 competitors
14: 12 competitors
15: 19 competitors
16: 46 competitors
17: 84 competitors
18: 101 competitors
U.S. States Represented – There are 40 states represented in the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur, as well as Puerto Rico:
California (28), Texas (21), North Carolina (16), Florida (12), Georgia (8), New York (6), Ohio (6), Illinois (5), Oklahoma (5), Pennsylvania (5), Virginia (5), Colorado (4), Indiana (4), Oregon (4), Tennessee (4), Utah (4), Washington (4), Alabama (3), Arizona (3), Kentucky (3), Maryland (3), Massachusetts (3), Minnesota (3), Missouri (3), New Jersey (3), Arkansas (2), Connecticut (2), Michigan (2), Mississippi (2), Nebraska (2), New Hampshire (2), South Carolina (2), Wisconsin (2), Hawaii (1), Idaho (1), Iowa (1), Kansas (1), Louisiana (1), Nevada (1), Vermont (1) and Puerto Rico (1).
International – There are 36 countries represented in the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur:
United States of America (189), People’s Republic of China (11), Thailand (8), Canada (6), Mexico (5), Chinese Taipei (4), Colombia (3), Hong Kong China (3), Australia (2), France (2), Republic of Korea (2), Italy (2), New Zealand (2), Singapore (2), Vietnam (2), Bolivia (1), Bulgaria (1), Chile (1), Costa Rica (1), Czech Republic (1), England (1), India (1), Japan (1), Jordan (1), Malaysia (1), Panama (1), Paraguay (1), Peru (1), Philippines (1), Republic of Ireland (1), South Africa (1), Spain (1), Sri Lanka (1), Switzerland (1), Ukraine (1) and United Arab Emirates (1).
Most U.S. Junior Amateur Appearances (2024 included): Kihei Akina (3), Jake Albert (3), Joshua Bai (3), Finley Bartlett (3), Blades Brown (3), Parker Bunn (3), Edan Cui (3), Erich Fortlage (3), Nicholas Gross (3), Mason Howell (3), Jay Leng Jr. (3), Michael Mikus Vasquez (3), Shiv Parmar (3), Ethan Paschal (3), Jackson Shelley (3), Brady Smith (3).
Drive, Chip & Putt National Finalists (12): Hamilton Coleman (2022, ages 12-13), Carter Gaede (2017 champion, ages 7-9), Nicholas Gross (2018, ages 10-11), Henry Guan (2021, ages 10-11), Will Hennessee (2017, ages 10-11), Lance Hollingshead (2018, ages 12-13; 2021, ages 14-15), Chase Hughes (2019, ages 7-9; 2021, ages 7-9), Jay Leng Jr. (2015 champion, ages 7-9; 2019, ages 12-13), Miles Russell (2018, ages 7-9; 2021, ages 10-11), Bailey Sutter (2022, ages 14-15), Nick Werner (2021, ages 12-13), Tristan Wieland (2015, ages 7-9).
Members of the U.S. National Development Program (9): Blades Brown, Phillip Dunham, Henry Guan, Josiah Hakala, Will Hartman, Logan Kim, Michael Riebe, Miles Russell, Tyler Watts.
Members of the U.S. National Junior Team (7): Blades Brown, Phillip Dunham, Henry Guan, Will Hartman, Michael Riebe, Miles Russell, Tyler Watts.
First Tee Participants (1): Jeep Patrick (First Tee – The Lowcountry)
Players from Michigan (2): Connor Fox (Lake Orion), Ieuan Jones (Ann Arbor).
Played in 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur (48): Kihei Akina, Jake Albert, Kush Arora, Joshua Bai, Finley Bartlett, Jake Birdwell, Blades Brown, Parker Bunn, Xihuan Chang, TK Chantananuwat, Luke Colton, Edan Cui, Billy Davis, Erich Fortlage, Carter Gaede, Gerardo Gomez, Nicholas Gross, Henry Guan, Will Hartman, Zenghao Hou, Mason Howell, Jordan Hwang, Cole Isbell, Sean Keeling, Kristoffer Kuvaas, Chase Kyes, Jay Leng Jr., Alex Malanga, Brady McHenry, Michael Mikus Vasquez, Ajay Morris, Taishi Moto, Shiv Parmar, Beau Petersen, Harry Satterlee, Jackson Shelley, Brooks Simmons, Kartik Singh, Brady Smith, Hunter Stetson, Zack Swanwick, Nicholas Turowski, Juan Velasquez, Yixiang Wang, Tyler Watts, Thad Whitfield, Josh Yan, Hristo Yanakiev.
Played in 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur (31): Billy Abdow, Jake Albert, Supakorn Amornchichan, Joshua Bai, Finley Bartlett, Blades Brown, Parker Bunn, Vincent Cervantes, Edan Cui, Phillip Dunham, Erich Fortlage, Rodrigo Garcia Teruel, Nicholas Gross, Talan Harrison, Lance Hollingshead, Mason Howell, James Lee, Jay Leng Jr., Nicholas Logis, Bowen Mauss, Michael Mikus Vasquez, Shiv Parmar, Ethan Paschal, Liam Pasternak, Miles Russell, Jackson Shelley, Brady Smith, Tristan Wieland, Drew Woolworth, Alex Zhang, Ziqin Zhou.
Played in 2023 U.S. Amateur (11): Joshua Bai, Blades Brown (co-medalist), TK Chantananuwat, Luke Colton, Nicholas Gross, Will Hartman, Chase Kyes, Bowen Mauss, Brody McQueen, Ethan Paschal, Tyler Strong.
Played in 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (3): Blades Brown (runner-up), Brooks Harper, Brayden Miller.
Competed in 2024 U.S. Open Final Qualifying (14): Kihei Akina, Joshua Bai, Blades Brown, John Daniel Culbreth, Billy Davis, Ryan Downes, Nicholas Gross, Braden Herstich, Michael Lugiano, Jonathan Oakes, Ethan Paschal, Miles Russell, Hill Wang, Thad Whitfield.
Rayan Ahmed, 17, of the United Arab Emirates, is the first player from the UAE to play in a U.S. Junior Amateur. Earlier this year, Ahmed won both individual and team gold at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Golf Championship in Qatar, then narrowly missed the cut in the Abu Dhabi Challenge in his European Challenge Tour debut in April. Ahmed also won the 2024 GCC Youth Games at Abu Dhabi Golf Club by 14 strokes.
Joshua Bai, 18, of New Zealand, will make his third U.S. Junior Amateur start after finishing runner-up to Bryan Kim last year at Daniel Island Club in Charleston, S.C. Last month, Bai reached the Round of 16 in the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (Course No. 2). Earlier this year, he finished third in the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and tied for ninth in the Australian Boys’ Amateur. Bai also represented the International Team in the 2022 Junior Presidents Cup.
Blades Brown, 17, of Nashville, Tenn., made the cut and finished tied for 26th in his PGA Tour debut at the Myrtle Beach Classic in May. Brown, a member of the U.S. National Junior Team, reached the finals of the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with his partner Jackson Herrington. He won five times in 2023, including a 12-stroke victory at the Tennessee Junior Amateur and a win at The Elite Invitational. Brown reached the Round of 32 in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club after surpassing Bobby Jones as the youngest stroke-play co-medalist in the championship’s history. He was named the 2023 Tennessee Golf Association’s Player of the Year. His mother, Rhonda Blades, is a former WNBA player and All-American point guard at Vanderbilt University who made the first 3-point shot in WNBA history.
TK Chantananuwat, 17, of Thailand, is the second highest-ranked player (No. 55) in the U.S. Junior Amateur field based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®. TK (first name is Ratchanon) won the 2022 Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup at just 15 years of age, becoming the fifth amateur to win on the Asian Tour and the youngest player ever to win a professional tour event recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking. Chantananuwat, who will attend Stanford University in the fall, made the cut in the DP World Tour’s Porsche Singapore Classic earlier this year. In 2023, he was a semifinalist in The Amateur Championship conducted by The R&A and reached the Round of 64 in the U.S. Junior Amateur.
Luke Colton, 17, of Frisco, Texas, has seven top-five finishes in 2024, including wins in the Byron Nelson Junior Championship and the Terra Cotta Invitational. Colton, a rising junior at Frisco Wakeland High School, won the Texas 5A individual championship as a sophomore this spring. He had an impressive run with notable amateur events in June, which started with a runner-up finish in the 115th Texas Amateur, followed by a tie for 12th in the Northeast Amateur and a trip to the Round of 16 in the North & South Amateur. Colton is right-handed but plays golf left-handed.
Billy Davis, 18, of Spring Valley, Calif., returns to the U.S. Junior Amateur after a semifinal run last year at Daniel Island Club. Davis, who will join his twin sister, Anna, at Auburn University in the fall, Monday-qualified for the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico last November where he made his PGA Tour debut. Last month, he finished second in the Toyota Junior World Cup in Japan. He represented the United States in the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup in Italy alongside Anna, a rising sophomore at Auburn after joining the women’s team in January. Anna has competed in two U.S. Women’s Opens (2022, 2023), won the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and represented the USA in the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship.
Connor Fox, 17, of Lake Orion, Mich., qualified for his first USGA championship via his victory at the 46th Michigan Junior Amateur earlier this month, a year after finishing runner-up. Winning an Allied Golf Association junior title is a new USGA Junior exemption for 2024. Fox, who is committed to play at Michigan State University beginning in the fall of 2025, defeated his future MSU teammate Julian Menser, 7 and 6, in the final match at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Course. Fox is a rising senior at Lake Orion High School and has been selected to the MHSAA All-State Team three years in a row.
Lev Grinberg, 16, of Ukraine, reached the Round of 16 in the The Amateur Championship conducted by The R&A last month. Grinberg, a member of the victorious 2023 European Junior Ryder Cup team in Italy, has competed in four DP World Tour events, including a made cut in the 2022 Soudal Open. He is the top-ranked Ukrainian amateur golfer in WAGR®. Earlier this year, Grinberg won the French Golf Federation’s Grand Prix de Merignies and tied for fifth in the Lytham Trophy at Royal Lytham & St Annes in England.
Nicholas Gross, 17, of Downingtown, Pa., advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2022 U.S. Amateur and reached match play last year. Gross, a member of the 2023 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team, will play at the University of Alabama in the fall. Last month, he reached the quarterfinals of the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club. His parents are both college professors – Shawn at Villanova University (civil and environmental engineering) and Jennifer at Lehigh University (structural engineering).
Will Hartman, 17, of Charlotte, N.C., was a semifinalist in his U.S. Junior Amateur debut last year at Daniel Island Club. The rising senior at Charlotte Catholic High School is committed to play collegiately at Vanderbilt University in the fall of 2025. He has finished in the top 20 of his last four AJGA events, including a fifth-place finish at the RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic, the only match-play event on the circuit. Hartman was a member of the 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup Team and tied for fifth in the 2023 Boy’s Junior PGA Championship. In 2022, he won the individual and team North Carolina State High School Championship at Pinehurst No. 8 as a freshman.
Jordan Hwang, 17, of Canada, qualified for his second U.S. Junior Amateur on June 10 at the Country Club of Lansing (Mich.). Hwang, a 2024 selection to Team Ontario, is verbally committed to play at the University of Michigan beginning in the fall of 2025. He finished tied for fourth in the AJGA Pete & Alice Dye Junior Invitational last month.
Ieuan Jones, 18, of Ann Arbor, Mich., fired a 4-under 68 to earn medalist honors in the Omaha (Neb.) qualifier on May 30 at Champions Run Golf Club. Jones won the 2022 Michigan Division 1 individual state championship as a sophomore by six strokes. He finished as individual runner-up as a freshman and helped Ann Arbor Skyline win the team championship in 2021. Jones was also the runner-up in the The Memorial Junior AJGA last year. His father, Ian, played soccer professionally in England and Wales.
Hugo Le Goff, 16, of France, is competing in his first USGA championship. Le Goff, who represented France in the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship in Abu Dhabi, earned a top-15 individual finish to help secure fourth place for the French team. He finished in a tie for 12th in last month’s European Amateur and posted a top-20 finish in the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in March. Le Goff also reached the semifinals in the 2023 R&A Boys Amateur.
Jay Leng Jr., 18, of San Diego, Calif., reached the Round of 32 in the last two U.S. Junior Amateurs. He represented the United States in the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup and will play for Stanford University this fall. In 2023, he won the Polo Golf Junior Classic at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course, one of four top-five finishes in AJGA events throughout the year. Leng also captured the 2015 Drive, Putt & Chip national championship (ages 7-9 division).
Matthew Quinn, 18, of Holden, Mass., is the second-oldest player in this year’s field, as he’ll turn 19 two days after the championship, making him barely eligible this year. He advanced through a 3-for-2 playoff in the Brewster, Mass., qualifier on June 17 to secure a spot in his first USGA championship. Quinn, a rising sophomore at Lehigh University, played in five events as a freshman, posting a season scoring average of 75.52 with two top-20 finishes, the Lehigh Invitational and ABARTA Collegiate Invitational. Matthew is the nephew of Fran Quinn, who has qualified for five U.S. Opens and four U.S. Senior Opens, including the 2024 U.S. Senior Open at Newport (R.I.) Country Club, where he finished 68th, and the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., where he competed at the age of 57.
Miles Russell, 15, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., became the youngest golfer ever to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this year, finishing tied for 20th at the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and made his first PGA Tour start last month at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Russell, a member of the U.S. National Junior Team, surpassed Tiger Woods as the youngest winner of the AJGA Rolex Boys Player of the Year award last season. In 2023, the left-hander won both the Junior Players Championship and the Boy’s Junior PGA Championship. He is a two-time Drive, Chip & Putt national finalist and is competing in his second U.S. Junior Amateur after reaching match play in 2022.
Tyler Watts, 16, of Huntsville, Ala., has four top-five finishes this season, including runner-up finishes in the Mayakoba Invitational and Terra Cotta Invitational, and a fourth-place finish in the Alabama State Amateur. Last year, he became the youngest player ever to win the Alabama State Amateur and picked up additional wins at the Jones Cup Junior Invitational at Sea Island (Ga.) Golf Club, the Southern Junior Championship and the Mizuno/Keith Mitchell Junior Championship. Watts, a member of the U.S. National Junior Team, is a rising junior at Grissom High School in Huntsville. He is competing in his second U.S. Junior Amateur after reaching the Round of 32 in 2023.
Charlie Woods, 15, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., qualified for his first USGA championship as the medalist at the Coral Springs, Fla., site on June 19. After starting his round with a bogey and double bogey on his first two holes, he rebounded to shoot a 1-under 71 at Eagle Trace Golf Club. Woods is a rising sophomore at The Benjamin School, where the boys team captured its fourth state championship title in school history last November. Charlie is the son of nine-time USGA champion and 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, who won three consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur titles from 1991-93. The two have played together in the last three PNC Championships, finishing runner-up in 2021.