Noah McLauchlan defeats Myles Russell to win 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur

Being 2,040 places behind Miles Russell in the World Amateur Golf Rankings hardly matters to Noah McLauchlan.

The Moseley, Virginia, native entered the week as an alternate in the U.S. Junior Amateur with a WAGR of 2,047th, and shot a 76 in the first round of stroke play qualifying to qualify by two strokes.

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But he cruised through five opponents in just one trip to the 18th hole at Saucon Valley Country Club Old Course, defeating tournament co-medalist and WAGR No. 7 Russell 6-5 in Saturday’s 36-hole championship match to claim the newly named Tiger Woods Trophy as the 78th U.S. Junior Amateur champion.

This matched the fourth-largest margin of victory in a U.S. Junior Amateur final and earned McLauchlan a spot in the next U.S. Amateur in Merion and next year’s U.S. Open in Pebble Beach.

McLauchelan takes the early lead

McLauchlan took control from the start, birdieing three of the first four holes and a fourth on the par-5 sixth to take a three-point lead. Russell, who went 22-under through his first five games and defeated Tyler Mawhinney 2-1 in a brilliant semifinal, won four of five holes in the back nine of the first 18 holes and birdied the par-5 15th to take a 1-up lead.

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But McLauchelan continued to hit the fairways and greens and hit the putts. He closed out the morning tour of the Old Course with birdies on the 17th and 18th, taking a 1-up lead at intermission, and attacked from the get-go in the afternoon round with birdies on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th to move up 5-up.

Russell salvaged his half on the next three holes, but McLauchlan sank a 15-foot putt on the 10th to extend his lead to 6-up. Russell could have won with a par on the 11th, but McLauchlan saved par on the 12th and then pitched from heavy rough on the short par-4 13th for his 13th and final birdie putt of the day.

McLauchlan said hitting the fairway was key.

McLauchlan said the only way to compete with Russell is to aim for more birdies, and that starts with finding the fairway off the tee.

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“As long as we’re putting the ball in the fairway, we’re giving ourselves the birdie look,” he told Golf Channel, citing his team and his brother Liam’s caddy. “And luckily my putter was hot today.”

McLauchlan said he found the course to be a challenge after barely making it through stroke play qualifying and never lost confidence after dominating his first opponent Jonathan Ward over the final five holes of the front nine to win.

“After seeing the score, I knew it was possible,” he said. “As long as I attacked it right and thought about the golf course, I could do it. I love Saucon Valley. It was a perfect fit in my eyes.”

McLauchelan gains momentum

Although Russell struggled with his driver for most of the day, he still found a way to improve his score, posting a 2-under 69 through the first 18 holes, matching McLauchelan’s score.

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Russell was even par through 13 holes in the afternoon, but McLauchlan never faltered, especially on the greens. Counting his final two birdies at 6:00 a.m., McLauchelan played the final 15 holes at 8 under.

Russell led Mawhinney by just one hole in the first five matches and regained the lead within two holes. Once he turned 18, he fell into McLauche Run and never recovered.

Russell rightly took all the credit.

“It’s been a great week,” Russell told Golf Channel. “I wasn’t at my best today, but he played really well. He made a lot of putts, but I just couldn’t get going. At the end of the day, he definitely played better than me. He deserved it.”

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Who is Noah McLauchlan?

Prior to the U.S. Juniors, McLauchelan’s biggest victory was at the American Junior Golf Association Runt Junior Championship in Blacksburg, Virginia, one of his five top-10 finishes at the AJGA this season. McLauchelin is 31st in the AJGA Rolex Rankings (Russell is 1st).

McLauchelan was the first alternate at the U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier in Portsmouth, Virginia (his brother Liam was a co-medalist), but was forced to compete in the main event after another player withdrew.

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After shooting a 76 in the first round of stroke play qualifying, McLauchelan shot a 68 to finish tied for 39th place, three over, and nine strokes behind co-medalist Russell.

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When McLauchelan’s younger brother missed out on match play, he picked up the bag and worked as a caddy for the rest of the week.

McLauchelan opened match play by defeating Jonathan Ward and led by five points on the front nine, with Ward conceding the rest of the match. McLauchlan then defeated Western Junior Amateur champion Andrew Sciortino 3-1, stroke play co-medalist Brayden Jones 2-1, incoming Northwestern player Quan Zhou 4-2 and Cooper Moore of New Zealand 1-up.

What’s next for Miles Russell?

Russell got little rest before starting the Western Amateur, which runs from July 27 to August 27. The first was at Beverly Country Club in Glenview, Illinois.

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He has been exempted from competing in the main draw of the U.S. Amateur, which will be held from Aug. 10 to 16 at Merion Country Club near Philadelphia. Russell earned a return spot by reaching the quarterfinals last year at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Russell, along with the rest of the U.S. team, will then begin preparations for the Walker Cup, which will be held at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland on September 5-6. Russell is one of the first four players selected for the U.S. national team, with the final roster expected to be completed after the U.S. Amateur Championship.

Being selected to the Walker Cup team means Russell will not be able to defend his title at the Junior Players Championship, which will be held Sept. 4-6 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

This article originally appeared in the Florida Times Union. Noah McLauchlan defeats Myles Russell to win 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur