2017 U.S. Amateur: Junior Golfers Well Represented

The Havemeyer Trophy is up for grabs this week, just outside of Los Angeles at Riviera Country Club.  The champion will be crowned following a 36-hole match play contest next Sunday, August 20 - a day before the Solar Eclipse. The finalists in that match, typically receive an invitation to the next years first major, the Masters Tournament.  This year, 57 "junior golfers" will be in the field of 312.  Many of these are recent high school graduates, but 2018, 2019 and 2020 classes are fairly well represented in the field as well.

The Florida Gators have the most junior golfers that will be teeing it up tomorrow at Riviera and Bel-Air Country Club.  (Bel-Air serves as the second course for the stroke play portion.  All match play will take place at Riviera).  They have incoming freshman John Axelsen and Won Jun Lee, to go with the class of 2018's Eugene Hong.  Both of their 2019 commits, Ricky Castillo and Clay Merchent, also qualified.  Alabama, Florida State, LSU, SMU, Southern Cal and Texas also have multiple commits (or incoming freshman).  Notables in the field, have to include the 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, Noah Goodwin, who won last month in Kansas by defeating Matthew Wolff, 1 up, in the 36-hole final. He rallied from 4 down with eight holes to play. Goodwin became the third player to win after being runner-up the previous year and is competing in his seventh USGA championship,  He qualified for match play in the 2015 and 2016 U.S. Amateurs, and is a 2018 commit for SMU.  Wolff is enrolling at Oklahoma State this month, and is back at the U.S. Am a year after making match play last year.

The two Alabama 2017 signees in the field, Davis Shore and Wilson Furr reached the Round of 16 at this year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. They were also teammates at last year's Junior Ryder Cup.  (Goodwin was also a member the winning Team USA in Minnesota last fall).  Not to be out done, Auburn has an incoming freshman in Brandon Mancheno playing his second U.S. Am.  He's been medalist at a U.S. Junior Am (2015), and has represented the US in a team competition earlier this summer in Japan.

A few more incoming freshman of note in the field are Mason Anderson (Arizona State) and Walker Lee (Texas A&M).  Each played in this years U.S. Open.

Then, you have some younger players, who have yet to decide on a college.  Canon Claycomb, 2020, of Orlando, Fla., is the second-youngest player in the U.S. Amateur field. He was one of five 15-year-olds to compete in this year’s U.S. Open sectional qualifying. He has played on the Greenwood High School team in Bowling Green, Ky. since fourth grade. Claycomb led the team to a second-place finish in the state championship last October when he tied for second. He is scheduled to play high school golf this year in Florida.Alex Nachmann, 2020, of Boca Raton, Fla., is the youngest player in the U.S. Amateur field. He shot 69 and 71 in the Delray Beach, Fla., sectional qualifier on July 24. His 14-year-old sister, Elle, qualified for this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur one week earlier. Alex earned his boating license at age 14 and is now studying for his pilot’s license. Then there is Tyler Isenhart, 2019, of Geneva, Ill., tied for third in the 2016 Class 3A state championship and was second in the Illinois State Junior Amateur. Isenhart is a two-time Upstate Conference Player of the Year.

Luke Kluver, a 2019 verbal commit to Nebraska is playing his first US Am and is believed to be the first Nebraska high school golfer to reach U.S. Open sectional qualifying since Tom Sieckmann in 1972. Kluver won the 2016 Class A state championship by making a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole and finished as runner-up this year. He also helped Norfolk High win the 2017 Class A state basketball title.

WAGR = World Amateur Golf Rankings
JGS = Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings
Rolex = Rolex AJGA rankings
GW = Golfweek rankings