RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Jack Whaley etched his name into Florida State golf history by winning the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship on Sunday, with a 4-and-3 win over Stanford's Jay Leng Jr at Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania .
Whaley battled both rainy conditions and some incredible golf from Leng to become the first Seminole in program history to earn the Havemeyer Trophy. He's just the third Englishman to win the prestigious amateur honor, and the first since current PGA Tour pro Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013.
With his father on the bag, Whaley navigated a 36-hole final day with precision and confidence. Down two strokes after the first 18 holes, Whaley drained putt after putt, including a run of four straight hole wins, in the final 18 to come back and hold off Leng for the championship.
Whaley won in front of FSU men's golf head coach Trey Jones, who flew up to watch the final day of action early Sunday morning. His victory earns him a spot in the 2027 Masters Tournament, British Open and US Open.
The win captured the attention of the Seminole faithful and golf fans around the globe. Here are a few reactions to Whaley's U.S. Amateur Championship.
'Fire up the War Chant' FSU fans react to Jack Whaley's U.S. Amateur win
FIRE UP THE WAR CHANT AND PLANT THE SPEAR!!! JACK WHALEY OF @FSUGOLF HAS WON THE US AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
— Jeff Culhane (@jeffculhane) August 16, 2026 Good luck holding back the tears when Jack Whaley begins talking about his dad pic.twitter.com/H3GhGaOZSt
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) August 16, 2026 Hold it high, Jack! 🏆 Jack Whaley is the 126th U.S. Amateur Champion! pic.twitter.com/sPQUH6eaze
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) August 16, 2026 Congrats to @FSUGolf ’s Jack Whaley on winning the US Amateur! https://t.co/uJw6PBH0Fb
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 16, 2026 𝕌.𝕊. 𝔸𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕦𝕣 ℂℍ𝔸𝕄ℙ𝕀𝕆ℕ Jack Whaley becomes the first Seminole in HISTORY to take home the Havemeyer Trophy after defeating Jay Leng Jr. 4&3 #NoleFamily | @USGA pic.twitter.com/Qggqa0ABFm
— FSU Golf (@FSUGolf) August 16, 2026 Jack Whaley needed a playoff just to get into match play. He trailed 2 down at the break Now he's the third Englishman to win the U.S. Amateur. What an unreal run at Merion for the @FSUGolf senior pic.twitter.com/ZWjlN7kyy0
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) August 16, 2026 Jack Whaley putting down the Havemeyer to sign some autos for a young lad pic.twitter.com/YegCFLB5j2
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) August 16, 2026 Congrats, Jack! Go Noles!!! https://t.co/xYQlH1HFhb
— Luke Loucks (@lukeloucks) August 16, 2026 U.S. Amateur Match Play: 5-0
Round of 64: Jack Whaley def. No. 5 Jackson Ormond (Florida)– 1 Up, 22 holes
Round of 32: Jack Whaley def. No. 37 Bowen Mauss (Arizona State) – 2&1
Round of 16: Jack Whaley def. No. 53 Christian Cavliere – 4&3
Quarterfinal: Jack Whaley def. No. 29 Adam Bresnu (Texas Tech) – 5&4
Semifinal: Jack Whaley def. No. 8 Carter Loflin – 1 Up
Final: Jack Whaley def. No. 15 Jay Leng Jr. – 4&3
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney .
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Jack Whaley wins the U.S. Amateur title: Florida State fans react
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