Sure, you’re getting outdated.
Competing on this week’s U.S. Junior Newbie at Trinity Forest Golf Membership in Dallas are 4 sons of present or former PGA Tour gamers – Jackson Byrd, Trevor Gutschewski, Cameron Kuchar and Charlie Woods.
Byrd is the 18-year-old son of Jonathan Byrd, who gained 5 occasions on the PGA Tour and was rookie of the 12 months in 2002. He was runner-up to Russell on the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley earlier this 12 months. He begins this fall at Clemson, the place his uncle, Jordan Byrd, is the top coach.
Gutschewski, 18 and the center son of three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Scott Gutschewski, returns to defend his title, marking the primary U.S. Junior champion to get that chance since Nick Dunlap in 2022 (Dunlap made the semifinals that 12 months). Gutschewski missed the lower eventually month’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, although he rebounded shortly to win the Western Junior. He’ll start his school profession at Florida this fall.
Kuchar, 17, makes his USGA debut after just lately ending runner-up to Gutschewski on the Western Junior and verbally committing to TCU. His dad, Matt Kuchar, is a nine-time PGA Tour winner, nine-time Ryder and Presidents Cupper, Olympic bronze medalist and USGA champion (1997 U.S. Newbie).
After which there’s Woods, the 16-year-old son of 15-time main champion Tiger Woods. Woods certified for his second straight U.S. Junior, a event his dad gained 3 times amongst his 9 USGA titles. Woods is a rising junior on the Benjamin College in North Palm Seaside, Florida, and the Class of 2027 recruit can formally speak to school coaches as of final month. He’s additionally shot up the AJGA rankings, cracking the highest 20 after successful the Crew TaylorMade Invitational in Might, beating top-ranked junior Miles Russell by six pictures within the course of.
Woods shot 22 over in final 12 months’s U.S. Junior debut at Oakland Hills, tying for 240th within the 264-player discipline.
This 12 months’s discipline can be 264 gamers deep with 38 states and 33 international locations represented. The highest 64 gamers after 36 holes of stroke play will advance to Wednesday’s first spherical of match play. The 36-hole remaining is slated for Saturday.
Listed below are the opposite large storylines coming into the 77th version of the U.S. Junior:
Lefty takeover
Not solely are the highest three gamers on this discipline – Miles Russell, Luke Colton and Tyler Watts – all ranked within the prime 50 of the Official World Golf Rating, however all three are lefthanded.
Russell, 16, is the best ranked of the trio, at No. 18. The Class of 2027 star just lately gave his verbal dedication to Florida State and owns victories this 12 months on the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and AJGA Simplify Boys Championship, plus a runner-up on the Northeast Newbie. He additionally has gained the Boys Junior PGA and AJGA Junior Gamers, so the U.S. Junior is the final main junior title nonetheless eluding him.
Colton, an 18-year-old Vanderbilt commit from Frisco, Texas, is ranked No. 25 on this planet. He’s already taking part in his fifth USGA championship and has twice reached match play on the U.S. Junior. He’s the two-time defending champion of the Terra Cotta Newbie.
No. 45 Watts, 17, is arguably having the most effective summer time of the three. He gained the Sunnehanna Newbie in June with a file 18-under rating and some weeks later reached the ultimate of the North and South Newbie. He additionally misplaced to Trevor Gutschewski is final 12 months’s U.S. Junior remaining at Oakland Hills. He’s verbally dedicated to Tennessee.
Can he Mawhinney?
It’s arduous to consider that is Tyler Mawhinney’s U.S. Junior debut.
The 17-year-old from Fleming Island, Florida, already has a USGA title underneath his belt, teaming with future Vanderbilt teammate Will Hartman, who can be on this week’s discipline, to win this 12 months’s U.S. Newbie 4-Ball Championship. Mawhinney additionally gained final 12 months’s Canadian Males’s Newbie after which took benefit of his exemption into the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open final month, tying for sixty fifth.
Mawhinney additionally reached the Spherical of 16 eventually summer time’s U.S. Newbie.
Qatar, not a drawer
At 14 years outdated, Daniil Sokolov is without doubt one of the youngest gamers within the discipline. Solely 13-year-olds Luka Tiger Peterman Castillo and Salem Alabdallat are youthful.
Sokolov can be the primary participant from Qatar ever to play a USGA championship.
Sokolov was born in South Korea to Russian mother and father and moved to Qatar when he was 5 years outdated. He was a bronze medalist on the 2024 Arab Junior Championship and has twice performed within the DP World Tour’s Qatar Masters, lacking the lower each occasions.
Residence cooking
There are 17 Texans teeing it up this week, second most of any state behind solely California (24). Amongst them is 18-year-old Reese Roberts of Dallas.
Roberts is a Missouri signee and attended the identical highschool as two-time U.S. Junior champion Jordan Spieth, Jesuit School Prep in Dallas. Roberts has gained Spieth’s AJGA occasion, doing so final 12 months, the identical 12 months that he gained the Texas State Newbie at Trinity Forest.
