Drake Harvey shot a 6-under 64 at Merion Golf Club on Monday, becoming just the third player in history to card that number on the East Course, as 312 golfers battled through storms and darkness in the opening round of the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship in Ardmore.
The incoming BYU freshman from Henderson, Nev., joined Lee Mackey Jr. (1950 U.S. Open) and Ben Crenshaw (1981 U.S. Open) in Merion's record book, according to Golfweek.
Stroke-play qualifying wraps up Tuesday, Aug. 11, with the low 64 scorers advancing to single-elimination match play starting Wednesday, Aug. 12, at Merion. The bracket rounds run through Sunday's 36-hole championship final, and the winner earns invitations to the 2027 Masters, U.S. Open and The Open Championship.
Round 1 leaders and local names
William Lisle, 17, of Hong Kong and University of Washington rising senior Finn Koelle, 21, of Germany shared the 18-hole lead at 5-under 65. Koelle reached 6 under at Merion before bogeying the 18th after finding the rough. Lisle played his round at Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne.
"Just got the putter rolling midway through the round and was kind of catching a heat check," Lisle said after his round Monday. "It was a fun round."
Max Herendeen of the University of Illinois sat one back at 4-under 66.
Two players with local ties posted strong openers. Joshua Ryan of Norristown, the 2026 Pennsylvania Amateur champion and recent Liberty University graduate, shot a 3-under 67 at Philadelphia Country Club. Drue Nicholas, a Merion Golf Club member and Drexel University graduate, had the honor of hitting the championship's opening tee shot at his home club and finished at 1-over 71, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Nicholas qualified for the field with a 2-under round at U.S. Amateur Final Qualifying at Llanerch Country Club in Haverford Township.
Big names struggling, storms delay play
World No. 1 Preston Stout of Oklahoma State shot 75 at Merion, and defending champion Mason Howell carded 74. Both face an uphill climb in Tuesday's second round to crack the 64-player bracket.
A late-afternoon thunderstorm suspended play for 54 minutes, and darkness halted the round at 8:02 p.m. with 39 players still on the course. Play resumed at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
The two courses played nearly identically: Merion's stroke average was 73.28, Philadelphia Country Club's 73.26.
Scene at Merion
Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce has been on the grounds since Saturday. George "Buddy" Marucci, a longtime Merion member who captained two victorious USA Walker Cup teams and lost the 1995 U.S. Amateur final to Tiger Woods, greeted players on the first tee. Each competitor received a miniature wicker-basket flagstick as a player gift, a nod to Merion's iconic course markers.
This is the seventh U.S. Amateur at Merion's East Course and the first since Edoardo Molinari won here in 2005. The club becomes the first to host 20 USGA championships.
What's next
Match play begins Wednesday, Aug. 12, with the Round of 64. Thursday features two rounds (Round of 32 and Round of 16), quarterfinals are Friday, semifinals Saturday and the 36-hole final is Sunday, Aug. 16. Coverage airs on Peacock and NBC Sports Network through the week, with NBC picking up Saturday's semifinals and Sunday's final from 4 to 6 p.m. Road closures around the club continue from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Sunday, and SEPTA is running extra M Line trains to Ardmore Avenue Station adjacent to the course.
