U.S. Junior Amateur Championship 2026: Round of 64 Results; Round of 32 Matches

Miles Russell's bid for his first U.S. Junior Amateur title gathered momentum on Wednesday as the fan favourite and co-medalist eased into the Round of 32 with an impressive 6&5 victory at Saucon Valley Country Club.

The 17-year-old from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, who recently made history by becoming the second youngest player to make the cut at a U.S. Open before earning a place on the 2026 U.S. Walker Cup team, looked every bit one of the tournament favourites despite challenging conditions on the Old Course.

Russell defeated Indianapolis' Eli Wessel in just 13 holes, producing a composed display after describing the windy conditions as tougher than expected.

"The course played tough today," Russell said. "It was windy and the greens were a little softer and slower than I expected. My irons were pretty solid and I started hitting my driver a little better on the back nine. I burned a lot of edges, but it was a good day."

Russell, who has twice won the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, will now face California Amateur runner-up Evan Liu in Thursday morning's Round of 32.

Elsewhere, fellow co-medalist Brayden Jones also enjoyed a comfortable opening victory. The No. 1 seed defeated Hudson Kutchma 4&3 to set up an intriguing all-California showdown with Ronin Banerjee, who advanced with a 5&4 win over Max Emberson.

The biggest drama of the day belonged to No. 3 seed Sohan Patel, who produced one of the comebacks of the championship after finding himself three down through just four holes against Luke Ringkamp.

Patel, a member of the U.S. National Junior Team and Vanderbilt commit, refused to panic before gradually working his way back into the match. The turning point came with a conceded eagle on the drivable par-4 13th before the pair traded blows down the closing stretch.

With the match all square standing on the 18th tee, Patel rolled in a superb 25-foot birdie putt to claim a memorable 1-up victory, prompting an emotional fist pump as the galleries erupted around the green.

"I learned today that I could come back from three or four down if I needed to," Patel said. "Luke was one of the favourites to win this thing, so I knew it was going to be an absolute grind."

Among the other notable winners, eighth seed Michael Asselta progressed with a 4&2 victory over Cole Pregler and now faces Texan Tripp Depoy, while Tyler Mawhinney, Louis Klein, Henry Guan and Dylan Boenning all booked their places in Thursday's last 32.

Two rounds of match play are scheduled for Thursday, with the Round of 32 followed by the Round of 16 as the race to lift the prestigious Tiger Woods Trophy gathers pace. 

Friday features the quarter-finals and semi-finals before Saturday's 36-hole championship match.

GolfMagic has listed all of Wednesday's round of 64 results below, as well as the round of 32 tee times for Thursday morning. 

U.S. Junior Amateur Championship 2026 – Round of 64 Results (Wednesday)

U.S. Junior Amateur Championship 2026 – Round of 32 Matches (Thursday)