Meet The Quarterfinalists In the 76th US Junior Amateur

The quarterfinalists in the 76th US Junior Amateur are: Nguyen Anh Minh, Xihuan Chang, Matthew Diehl, Trevor Gutschewski, Jay Leng, Miles Russell, Brooks Simmons and Tyler Wats.

Some notes on each are below, via the USGA.

Nguyen Anh Minh, 17, of Vietnam

• WAGR: 78
• Competing in first U.S. Junior Amateur
• 2024 Vietnam Amateur Open champion
• 2024 Taiwan Amateur champion
• Finished T-11 at the 2024 Terra Cotta Invitational and T-22 at 2024 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley
• Finished T-7 in the 2023 Asian-Pacific Amateur Championship, the best-ever finish by a Vietnamese player in championship history
• Committed to play at Oregon State University in 2025
• Would be first player from Vietnam to win any USGA championship

Road to the Quarterfinals:  

Shot 72-71 – 143 in stroke play to earn No. 52 seed
R64: Def. Parker Sands, 5 and 3
R32: Def. Brady Smith, 3 and 2
R16: Def. Lev Grinberg, 5 and 4
 

Xihuan Chang, 16, of People’s Republic of China  

• WAGR: 39
• Competing in second U.S. Junior Amateur; MC in 2023 at Daniel Island Club
• Attends Beijing Huijia Private School
• Highest-ranked player in this year’s field (via WAGR)
• Reached the Round of 32 in the 2024 North and South Amateur Championship at Pinehurst
• 2023 China Amateur Open runner-up
• Won the 2017 (age 7-8) and 2019 (age 9-10) IMG Junior Golf World Championships in San Diego

Road to the Quarterfinals:  

Shot 71-71 – 142 in stroke play to earn No. 37 seed
R64: Def. Ayden Fynaut, 4 and 3
R32: Def. William Lisle, 3 and 2
R16: Def. Edan Cui, 2 and 1 
 

Matthew Diehl, 18, of Redlands, Calif.   

• WAGR: 1115
• Competing in first U.S. Junior Amateur
• T-3 at the 2024 IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championship at Torrey Pines (South Course)
• Reached the Round of 16 in the 2024 North & South Junior Amateur at Pinehurst
• 2023 Desert Amateur runner-up
• Incoming freshman at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz.

Road to the Quarterfinals:  

Shot 69-72 – 141 in stroke play to earn No. 26 seed
R64: Def. Gerardo Gomez, 1 up
R32: Def. Davis Hartwell, 4 and 3
R16: Def. Luke Colton, 2 and 1
 

Trevor Gutschewski, 17, of Omaha, Neb.  

• WAGR: 3570
• Competing in first U.S. Junior Amateur
• Rising senior at Omaha Westside High School where he helped the Warriors win back-to-back Class A state titles the last two seasons
• 2024 Nebraska Junior Match Play champion
• Finished T-12 at the 2024 Nebraska Amateur Championship
• Finished T-18 at the 2023 North and South Junior Amateur
• 2022 Nebraska Junior Amateur champion
• Committed to play at the University of Florida
• Son of PGA Tour player Scott Gutschewski, who owns 150 career Tour starts and three victories on the Korn Ferry Tour
• Brother Luke (Iowa State) shared medalist honors in 2022 U.S. Amateur at The Ridgewood C.C. in Paramus, N.J.

Road to the Quarterfinals:  

Shot 71-71 – 142 in stroke play to earn No. 33 seed
R64: Def. Rich Wills, 23 Holes
R32: Def. Blades Brown, 2 and 1
R16: Def. Yixiang Wang, 4 and 2
 

Jay Leng Jr., 18, of San Diego, Calif.  

• WAGR: 359
• Competing in third U.S. Junior Amateur; reached Round of 32 in 2022 and 2023
• Represented the United States in the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup in Italy
• 19th at 2024 Sunnehanna Amateur
• 24th at 2024 Terra Cotta Invitational
• 10th at Junior Invitational at Sage Valley
• Two-time Drive, Chip & Putt national finalist; champion in 2015 (age 7-9)
• Two-time AJGA First-Team Rolex All-American
• Signed to play at Stanford University this fall

Road to the Quarterfinals:  

Shot 70-72 – 142 in stroke play to earn No. 32 seed
R64: Def. Zhengda Li, 2 and 1
R32: Def. Alex Holder, 5 and 4
R16: Def. Liam Pasternak, 3 and 2
 

Miles Russell, 15, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.   

• WAGR: 117
• Competing in second U.S. Junior Amateur; reached Round of 64 in 2022
• Member of the USGA’s inaugural U.S. National Junior Team
• Surpassed Tiger Woods as the youngest winner of the AJGA Rolex Boys Player of the Year award last season
• Became the youngest player ever to make cut on Korn Ferry Tour earlier this year, finishing T-20 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic
• Made first PGA Tour start last month at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Mich.
• In 2023, won both the Junior Players Championship and Boy’s Junior PGA Championship
• Two-time Drive, Chip & Putt national finalist
• Plays left-handed

Road to the Quarterfinals:  

Shot 68-71 – 139 in stroke play to earn No. 14 seed
R64: Def. Hamilton Coleman, Concession
R32: Def. Billy Davis, 2 up
R16: Def. CJ Winchenbaugh, 2 up
 

Brooks Simmons, 17, of Dallas, Texas  

• WAGR: 1867
• Competing in second U.S. Junior Amateur; reached Round of 64 in 2023
• Rising senior at Highland Park High School in Dallas
• Has not trailed once in his first three matches of the championship
• Finished runner-up at the Mayakoba Invitational the last two years
• Finished fifth at the 2024 Western Junior Championship
• Finished seventh at the 2024 Byron Nelson Junior Championship
• Committed to play at the University of Texas in fall of 2025

Road to the Quarterfinals:  

Shot 69-73 – 142 in stroke play to earn No. 40 seed
R64: Def. Davis Ovard, 5 and 3
R32: Def. Jaxon Bandelier, 3 and 2
R16: Def. Bailey Sutter, 5 and 3
 

Tyler Watts, 16, of Huntsville, Ala.  

• WAGR: 121
• Competing in second U.S. Junior Amateur; reached Round of 32 in 2023
• Member of the USGA’s inaugural U.S. National Junior Team
• Four top-five finishes this season, including runner-up at Mayakoba Invitational and Terra Cotta Invitational
• 2023 Alabama State Amateur champion; youngest winner in event’s history
• 2023 Jones Cup Junior Invitational champion
• 2023 Southern Junior champion
• 2023 AJGA Mizuno/Keith Mitchell Junior champion
• Rising junior at Grissom High School in Huntsville
• From same hometown as 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur and 2023 U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap
• Plays left-handed

Road to the Quarterfinals:  

Shot 65-70 – 135 in stroke play to earn No. 2 seed
R64: Def. Ieuan Jones, 3 and 2
R32: Def. Chase Hughes, 4 and 3
R16: Def. Owen Coniaris, 1 up