Stewart Hagestad and Gordon Sargent

With so many opportunities for amateurs to play various events, both professional and amateur, during the summer, the U.S. Amateur brings everyone together. 

With so many great players, interesting storylines and matchups will arise over the course of the week.

The Round of 16 is when things really get interesting and allow for stories to emerge. These 16 players would make for an incredible Round of 16. The beauty of the U.S. Amateur is that unknowns arise and play spoiler, which is another great part of the event.

Here's a Round of 16 wish list.

Blades Brown

Incredibly, Blade Brown was not exempt for the U.S. Amateur. He shot a 65 at Mid Pines to qualify. Brown was medalist in the 2023 U.S. Amateur, which apparently doesn’t earn you an spot in the next U.S. Amateur. Brown has played a mix of pro and amateur events this year. He made the Myrtle Beach Classic, finishing 26th. He recorded a third-place finish in the Ralph Lauren Junior Classic and reached the Round of 32 in the U.S. Junior Amateur before losing to eventual champion Trevor Gutschewski. 

Luke Clanton

It’s been the summer of Clanton. Since wrapping up his sophomore year at Florida State, he’s played in only professional events. He battled with Neal Shipley for low amateur at the U.S. Open, coming up one shot short. He also had two top tens, his tenth at the Rocket Mortgage earned him a spot in the John Deere where he finished runner-up. He also made the cut in the ISCO Championship. 

Luke Colton

The rising high school junior from Texas had a strong showing in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills. He reached the Round of 16 before falling to Matthew Diehl. He won the Terra Cotta and the Byron Nelson Junior this year and also finished 12th in the Northeast Amateur and made the Round of 16 in the North & South. The Round of 16 is always more entertaining with a variation of ages and Colton would be a great addition if he can make a run through the first two rounds of match play.

Wenyi Ding

The Southern Amateur champion would love to add a second USGA championship to his resume. Ding was the first Chinese male to win a USGA championship when he beat Caleb Surratt in the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes. Of course, the additional storyline is that he’d join Tiger Woods and Nick Dunlap as the only players to win both events. He has the ability to go low and broke the college scoring record in his first college event this spring; he shot 189 in 54 holes at the Amer Ari. Last November, he narrowly missed out on winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur, losing in a playoff to Jasper Stubbs. 

David Ford

The 2022 Jones Cup champion and 2023 Southern Amateur champion has picked his spots this summer. He played in the Northeast Amateur and Southern Amateur has hasn’t been too competitive. He did reach the Round of 16 in last year’s U.S. Amateur losing a great match to fellow Walker Cup player Ben James. 

Maxwell Ford

Maxwell Ford has been grinding this summer on the amateur circuit. He has teed it up in four events and the Palmer Cup. His best finish was a sixth place in the Dogwood. He also recorded a 19th-place finish in the Northeast Amateur. Last year he lost to Parker Bell in the Round of 16. There was a world where he would have faced his brother in the Quarterfinals.

Lev Grinberg

The 16 year old from Ukraine has had quite a summer, and if he were to make a deep run in the U.S. Amateur it would be quite the story. He reached the Round of 16 in the U.S. Junior Amateur and the the Amateur Championship. A win in the Grand Prix de Merignies is probably the highlight of his season. 

Trevor Gutschewski

Only two golfers have ever won the U.S. Junior and U.S. Amateur. Nick Dunlap joined Tiger Woods in that small club last year. No player has ever won both in the same year. So of course, the deeper Gutschewski gets into the U.S. Amateur, the more the pressure builds. It would make for a great story. 

Stewart Hagestad

College golfers have dominated the U.S. Amateur this entire century. Buddy Marucci and Mark Plummer made deep runs in the 1995 U.S. Amateur as golfers in their 40s. They both lost to Tiger Woods at Newport CC. Hagestad reached the 2022 Quarterfinals at Ridgewood before losing to the eventual champion, Sam Bennett. This stretch of 6 weeks always puts Hagestad in the spotlight as he’s won three U.S. Mid-Amateur championships and competes in the Crump Cup. So far this year, he has competed in five events: The Azalea, The Masters, Coleman, The U.S. Open, and the Northeast Amateur. 

Tommy Morrison 

After becoming the first American to win the European Amateur. It would be a great storyline if Morrison could cap off his summer with a U.S. Amateur win. The rising junior at Texas has been playing some very good golf in high leverage situations. He reached the Round of 16 in the Amateur Championship and finished 60th in the Open Championship at Royal Troon. Last summer, he reached the quarterfinal in the U.S. Junior Amateur. 

Luke Potter

Potter is starting fresh this fall at Texas after two years at Arizona State. The junior sensation finished sixth in the Southern Amateur. Last year, Potter lost in the Round of 64 to Carson Bacha. A good week for Potter would ignite some chatter about Texas this college season, especially if Tommy Morrison has a strong week, too. 

Miles Russell

Russell hit most people’s radar in the winter when he finished 20th in the LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour. The 15 year old then made the cut the following week on the Korn Ferry Tour. Impressive stuff. The lefty reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur. 

Gordon Sargent

This is Sargent’s fifth straight U.S. Amateur appearance. He missed match play in 2020 and lost in the Round of 64 in each of the last three years. Last year’s loss was to Nick Dunlap in a battle that many would have liked to see occur deeper in the tournament. This summer has been quiet for Sargent. He missed the cut in the U.S. Open and Open Championship, finished ninth in the Northeast Amateur, and helped Team USA win the Palmer Cup. Expectations are always high for Sargent and it would be exciting to see him make a deep run and take on some of the other best amateurs in the world. 

Calum Scott

The Scotsman is playing some of the best golf of his life. He earned a spot in the Open Championship through the Open Amateur Series. He finished second in the St. Andrews Links and fourth in the European Championship along with a quarterfinal appearance in the Amateur Championshp. The rising senior at Texas Tech earned the silver medal at the Open Championship as low amateur. 

Preston Summerhays

Another U.S. Junior champion in the field, Summerhays, finished second in the European Championship and won the Arnold Palmer Cup with Team USA. His only other competitive rounds came on the Korn Ferry Tour in the Utah Championship. He missed the cut. 

Jackson Van Paris

The Vanderbilt star has embraced amateur golf this summer. He competed in the Northeast Amateur, the North & South, and the Western Amateur. He reached the North & South final in his hometown before falling to Davis Ovard. He also helped Team USA win the Palmer Cup at Lahinch. With a bunch of match play under his belt this summer, Van Paris should be in the hunt for the title at Hazeltine along with his teammate Gordon Sargent.