LOGIN  |  JOIN  |  INFO  |  BENEFITS
U.S. Junior Amateur: Meet the Quarterfinalists
Miles Russell (USGA Photo)
Miles Russell (USGA Photo)

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

Latest in 

Amateurgolf.com, Inc.
6965 El Camino Real 105-631
Carlsbad, CA 92009

Instagram X Facebook YouTube