Merion Gives U.S. Amateur Favorites Nowhere to Hide

U.S. Amateur Format

The Championship Within the Championship

Every player must first survive 36 holes of stroke play. The scorecards then reset, and six rounds of match play determine the champion.

312
Starting field

64
Match play

8
Thursday survivors

2
Sunday finalists

1
Champion

Merion Is Shorter, but Nothing Comes Easily

Merion is listed at 6,939 yards, 262 yards shorter than Philadelphia Country Club. Both are par 70s, and during Monday’s opening round, the difference between them was almost nonexistent. Merion played to a 73.28 scoring average, while Philadelphia Country Club averaged 73.26.

Length was not the separator. Position was.

“The rough is gnarly,” 2024 runner-up Noah Kent said after opening with a 3-under 67 at Merion. “Making sure you keep it simple and don’t overcomplicate things is important. The short game is definitely important for keeping a round and your momentum going.”

That challenge becomes even more demanding once the championship moves exclusively to Merion for match play.

Players will face blind or partially obscured tee shots, fairways that require commitment to a precise line and rough capable of removing control from the next shot. Merion does not require driver on every par 4, but taking less club does not automatically make the tee shot easier.

Russell explained that problem after Monday’s round.

“On a lot of the [holes], you can’t see the fairway,” he said. “You have to pick a really good target and commit to it.”

Merion’s routing also gives match play an intriguing shape.

The 303-yard 10th and 119-yard 13th create opportunities to attack, apply pressure or quickly change the direction of a match. Then comes a closing stretch that becomes progressively less forgiving.

The final five holes measure 448, 419, 426, 246 and 501 yards. A player who gains control around Nos. 10 through 13 still has to defend it across a finish that demands quality shots, not conservative survival.

If Merion is compact, it is never small.

Match-Play Map

Four Holes That Can Flip a Match

No. 10: 303-yard par 4

A potential momentum hole where aggression, position and match status shape the decision.

No. 13: 119-yard par 3

The shortest hole creates pressure because both players expect a legitimate scoring opportunity.

No. 17: 246-yard par 3

A demanding late test where a controlled par may be enough to win the hole.

No. 18: 501-yard par 4

Merion’s iconic finish demands two committed shots and leaves almost no room for a defensive swing.

The Favorites Have No Immunity

Watts and Russell will enter match play among the most compelling players remaining.

Watts, an 18-year-old incoming Tennessee freshman, became the youngest winner in Northeast Amateur history earlier this summer. He also won the 2025 Sunnehanna Amateur with a tournament-record 19-under 261 and reached the championship match of the 2025 North & South Amateur.

Russell has been near the center of nearly every significant amateur event he has played this summer. He shared medalist honors and finished runner-up at the U.S. Junior Amateur, earned medalist honors during the 72-hole stroke-play portion of the Western Amateur and reached the semifinals there.

Still, neither player needs to dominate stroke play to win this championship. He only needs a place in the bracket.

Mason Howell provided the definitive proof last year. Howell survived a 20-for-17 playoff to earn the No. 63 seed at The Olympic Club. He then won six matches and defeated Jackson Herrington, 7 and 6, in the 36-hole final.

One year later, Stout’s elimination supplies the other half of the lesson. He earned medalist honors in 2025 but reached only the Round of 16. This year, he did not make the bracket.

The U.S. Amateur does not reward the best résumé. It rewards the player who keeps answering the next question.

That leaves room for stories extending far beyond the top of the world ranking.

Michael McCoy, the reigning U.S. Senior Amateur champion, is making his 21st U.S. Amateur appearance at age 63. He is the only player in this year’s field who also competed when the championship last visited Merion in 2005.

Merion member Drue Nicholas had the honor of hitting Monday’s opening tee shot. With approximately 40 friends and family members following, he pushed it into the rough and made bogey. He steadied himself, made two back-nine birdies and shot 71.

Those players arrived with different expectations and life experiences. If they earn a place in the match-play draw, those differences stop mattering.

Match Play Changes the Question

Stroke play asks who can manage 36 holes across two courses. Match play asks whether a player can solve six different opponents at Merion.

The scorecard resets Wednesday. A player can make triple bogey and lose only one hole. He can shoot 66 and lose to someone who shoots 65. On Thursday, the survivors must win twice, once in the morning and again in the afternoon.

The player who adapts fastest often lasts longest.

Howell learned that after entering the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur as the No. 1 seed and losing in the opening round. Weeks later, he entered the U.S. Amateur bracket as the No. 63 seed and won the championship.

“On any given day, anyone can beat you,” Howell wrote while reflecting on that run. “Seeding or reputation doesn’t matter.”

Merion should magnify that truth. Its short holes invite decisions. Its rough punishes hesitation. Its closing stretch can make a 2-up lead feel far less secure than the score suggests.

The champion and runner-up earn exemptions into the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, although the runner-up must remain an amateur to use the exemption. Both are also in line for invitations to the 2027 Masters if they retain their amateur status. The champion earns a place in the 2027 Open Championship at St. Andrews, also provided he remains an amateur.

Those rewards can change a young player’s career. Thinking about them too early can also end a match.

Koelle and Shelley learned Monday how quickly Merion’s 18th can take a shot away. By Sunday afternoon, the same hole could decide who carries the Havemeyer Trophy off the property.

First, someone must earn Wednesday.

How to Watch

2026 U.S. Amateur Match Play

All times Eastern

Wednesday: Round of 64, Peacock and NBCSN, 3-6 p.m.

Thursday: Round of 16, Peacock and NBCSN, 3-6 p.m.

Friday: Quarterfinals, Peacock and NBCSN, 3-6 p.m.

Saturday: Semifinals, Peacock from 3-4 p.m.; NBC from 4-6 p.m.

Sunday: Championship match, Peacock from 3-4 p.m.; NBC from 4-6 p.m.

PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on R.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.