2026 U.S. Senior Amateur: Mike Sposa Wins at Baltimore CC — Results & Recap
Champion crowned: Mike Sposa beat Spartanburg neighbor Todd White 3 and 2 to win the 2026 U.S. Senior Amateur at Baltimore CC. Final scoring, results and recap coverage inside.
Sposa wins it: 3-and-2 over White for the U.S. Senior Amateur title
Mike Sposa is your 2026 U.S. Senior Amateur champion. The 57-year-old from Spartanburg, S.C., closed out fellow Spartanburg resident and 2023 champion Todd White 3 and 2 in Thursday's all-Spartanburg final at Baltimore Country Club's East Course to capture his first USGA title.
The championship caps a remarkable arc for Sposa — a former University of Tennessee star who won the 1998 Boise Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, made 174 PGA Tour starts and played two U.S. Opens before stepping away from the game and regaining his amateur status just two years ago. A member of the victorious 1991 USA Walker Cup team, he improves on last year's semifinal run at Oak Hills, where he had beaten White in the Round of 64 en route.
White's bid to become the first multiple-time U.S. Senior Amateur champion since Paul Simson in 2012 falls just short. Both Spartanburg finalists earned a stack of exemptions this week, and as champion, Sposa adds spots in the 2027 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Jupiter Hills and the 2028 U.S. Amateur at Whistling Straits. A full recap is on the way.
UpdateSep 2, 10:54 PM UTC
It's an all-Spartanburg final: Sposa vs. White for the title
It's set — and it's all Spartanburg. The 71st U.S. Senior Amateur will crown its champion in an all-Spartanburg, S.C., final between Mike Sposa and Todd White, exactly the title match the bracket teased all week. The two residents of the same South Carolina city, both Walker Cup alumni on opposite sides of the draw, could only meet with the trophy on the line — and now they will.
Sposa, 57, the 2025 semifinalist and a 1991 Walker Cupper, closed out Corby Segal 2 and 1 in his semifinal. White, 58, the 2023 champion chasing a second Senior Amateur title, ended 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Tim Hogarth's run by the same 2-and-1 margin. The two met in the opening round of last year's championship at Oak Hills; now they meet for a national title.
The 18-hole championship match is set for Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EDT at Baltimore Country Club's East Course. Admission is free and the public is encouraged to attend.
UpdateSep 2, 8:42 PM UTC
All-Spartanburg final in reach: Sposa and White lead their semifinals
The quarterfinals are complete and the semifinals are on the course — and the all-Spartanburg final the bracket teased is suddenly within reach. Mike Sposa (9) and Todd White (18), both of Spartanburg, S.C., each won their morning quarterfinals and each hold semifinal leads: Sposa is 2 up through 9 on Corby Segal, and White is 1 up through 10 over Tim Hogarth.
The quarterfinal results: Sposa edged Tony Wise 1 up, Segal outlasted Mark Small in 20 holes, White beat Brendan Hester 1 up, and Hogarth ended 2019 champion Bob Royak's week 4 and 3. That sets up a semifinal four of Sposa vs. Segal and White vs. Hogarth — with two past USGA champions in White (2023 Senior Amateur) and Hogarth (1996 Amateur Public Links) still standing.
If Sposa and White both close out, they'll meet in Thursday's 18-hole final — a title match between two Spartanburg residents and Walker Cup alumni who could only face each other with a trophy on the line.
UpdateSep 2, 2:26 PM UTC
Quarterfinals underway: Wise, White lead tight; Segal, Royak pull ahead
The quarterfinals are underway at Baltimore, and all four matches are on the course. Tony Wise (16) has edged in front of 2025 semifinalist Mike Sposa, 1 up through 14, in the tightest match of the morning. In the Spartanburg-tinged bracket, past champion Todd White (18) holds a 1-up lead through 12 over Brendan Hester.
The two bigger early margins belong to Corby Segal (13), 4 up through 13 on Mark Small, and 2019 champion Bob Royak (46), 4 up through 11 over the week's last remaining low seed, Tim Hogarth (59). Winners advance to this afternoon's semifinals, with the 18-hole championship match set for Thursday morning.
UpdateSep 1, 10:34 PM UTC
Final eight set: White ousts Quackenbush as past champs headline the quarterfinals
Tuesday's two rounds are complete and the quarterfinal field is set. The bracket's Cinderellas are both gone: No. 64 Niketan Desai, who felled medalist Trae Cassell, was beaten by Tony Wise 4 and 2, and No. 62 D Scott Mackesy, the man who ousted 2024 champ Louis Brown, lost 1 up to 2019 champion Bob Royak.
Into the final eight: past champion Todd White (18), who birdied his way past both Rick Stimmel and No. 2 seed Brian Quackenbush (2 and 1); 2025 semifinalist Mike Sposa (9); Tony Wise (16); PGA Tour caddie Corby Segal (13); Mark Small (44), who beat Jon Brown 3 and 2; Brendan Hester (42), a 20-hole winner over Daniel Sullivan; Bob Royak (46); and Tim Hogarth (59), who ended Round 1 leader Andy Bernatovicz's run 3 and 2. Spartanburg, S.C., residents White and Sposa are on opposite sides of the bracket and can only meet in Thursday's final.
Wednesday's quarterfinals begin at 7:30 a.m. EDT: Wise vs. Sposa, Segal vs. Small, White vs. Hester, and Royak vs. Hogarth. The semifinals follow around 1 p.m., with the 18-hole championship match Thursday.
UpdateSep 1, 8:52 PM UTC
Desai's run ends in Round of 16 as Wise, Sposa reach quarterfinals
The Cinderella run is over. No. 64 seed Niketan Desai, who had knocked off medalist Trae Cassell and Don Martone, was finally stopped in the Round of 16, falling to Tony Wise 4 and 2. Mike Sposa (9) also booked a quarterfinal spot, beating Arnold Cutrell 4 and 3.
The rest of the round is still on the course and tightly contested. No. 2 seed and top remaining seed Brian Quackenbush is 1 up through 15 on Todd White, Daniel Sullivan (7) is 2 up through 12, and Jon Brown holds the day's biggest lead at 3 up through 14. Corby Segal, the PGA Tour caddie, is 1 up through 16 in a tense one with Joe Sawaia, while underdog D Scott Mackesy is all square through 13. Round 1 leader Andy Bernatovicz is 2 up through 10 on Tim Hogarth.
Winners advance to Wednesday's quarterfinals and semifinals, with the 18-hole championship match set for Thursday.
The USGA's championship summer closes the way it so often does — with the game's best senior amateurs chasing a national title in match play. From August 29 to September 3, the 71st U.S. Senior Amateur comes to Baltimore Country Club's East Course in Lutherville, Md., a 1898-vintage A.W. Tillinghast layout that has quietly hosted more championship golf than almost any club in America.
A field of 156 players, all 55 or older and carrying a Handicap Index of 5.4 or lower, will play 36 holes of stroke play before the low 64 advance to a single-elimination match-play bracket. Waiting at the end: the Frederick L. Dold Trophy, a gold medal, and a stack of exemptions that shapes the next decade of a senior amateur's career. This is our home base for all of it — the field, the format, how to watch, the course, the history, and links to every story we publish from Baltimore.
Mike Sposa wins the 2026 U.S. Senior Amateur
Updated Thursday, Sept. 3 — championship complete. Mike Sposa is your U.S. Senior Amateur champion.
Mike Sposa, 57, of Spartanburg, S.C., is the 2026 U.S. Senior Amateur champion, defeating friend, neighbor and 2023 winner Todd White, 58, 3 and 2 in Thursday's all-Spartanburg final at Baltimore Country Club's East Course. It is Sposa's first USGA title — the capstone to a path that ran from 174 PGA Tour starts and a Korn Ferry Tour win back to the top of the amateur game.
He had somewhere to be. Sposa had booked a red-eye out of JFK for Thursday night to get across the pond for the 51st Walker Cup Match at Lahinch, and he made quick work of the morning. White drew first blood with a birdie at the uphill first, but Sposa answered with a par at the second — the East Course's most difficult hole — to square the match, then won Nos. 3, 5, 6 and 7 to go 4 up through seven. He never trailed again.
Overnight rain had softened Baltimore, and the greens were friendlier than the speedy surfaces the field fought all week. "Yeah, that helped a lot today, especially when I woke up this morning, got in the car and saw it was wet and it had been raining," Sposa said. "I was like, it's going to be similar to yesterday afternoon."
White got one back at the difficult par-3 ninth after Sposa sent a tricky downhill par putt off the green, failed to chip in for bogey and conceded White's short par putt, sending the match to the inward nine with Sposa 3 up. The 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion — alongside current USA Walker Cup captain Nathan Smith — trimmed it again with a par at the par-4 11th. But Sposa won the par-5 14th with a par to restore the three-hole cushion and closed out the match two holes later.
"Todd is such a steady player," Sposa said. "He has a great mental game, and his short game is really second to none, so to come out ahead is — I'm lucky, honestly."
The two have shared decades of golf in the Palmetto State, and at times the final had the feel of an exhibition between friends. They also met in this championship a year ago at Oak Hills, five rounds earlier, when Sposa put out the reigning 2023 champion on his way to the semifinals. Both finalists were treated to a breakfast of their choosing Thursday morning; both took the brown sugar bacon that became the week's clubhouse favorite at Baltimore.
"Yeah, well, as disappointed as I am right now, I'm equally as happy for Mike," White said. "He's obviously a great player, but he's an even better friend. It's good to see good things happen for good people."
"I tell the golfers on the girls' and boys' teams at school, any time you tee it up, the real competition is the golf course you're playing," added White, who was denied a bid to become the first multiple-time U.S. Senior Amateur champion since Paul Simson in 2012. "Today, just like all week, my competition was Baltimore Country Club, and it just so happened that Mike played the course better than I did today and he's the champion."
For Sposa, a member of the victorious 1991 USA Walker Cup team and a reinstated amateur who won the 1998 Boise Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, the gold medal carries a longer-range meaning. "Now, winning this with the Walker Cup meaning so much to me and really putting a potential future captaincy on the plate is likely not going to happen if you're not a USGA champion," he said. "It was for sure one of the biggest reasons that I got my amateur status back. Now that I'm a USGA champion, I think that my chances went up greatly to hopefully get a nod one year."
The flight to the Walker Cup has become something of a U.S. Senior Amateur tradition: a year ago, Mike McCoy headed to Cypress Point shortly after winning the title at Oak Hills.
What the champion earned: a gold medal, possession of the Frederick L. Dold Trophy for one year, exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Senior Amateur Championships, the 2027 U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree National, the 2026 and 2027 U.S. Mid-Amateurs (Sand Valley's The Lido and Jupiter Hills Club), the 2027 and 2028 U.S. Amateurs (Oak Hill and Whistling Straits), an exemption from local qualifying for the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and his name on the 2026 USGA Champions' plaque in the Hall of Champions. At Oak Tree National next summer he will be paired with defending U.S. Senior Open champion Padraig Harrington and 2026 British Senior Open winner Jerry Kelly.
What the runner-up earned: White takes home a silver medal plus exemptions into the 2026 U.S. Mid-Amateur, the 2027 U.S. Senior Open, the 2027 U.S. Amateur and the next three U.S. Senior Amateur Championships.
Notable: Sposa joins a short list of Walker Cup alumni to win this championship — William C. Campbell (1979, 1980), William Hyndman III (1973, 1983), Dale Morey (1974, 1977), Gene Andrews (1970), Marvin "Vinny" Giles (2009) and White (2023). Each of the last three Walker Cup years has produced a U.S. Senior Amateur champion who played in the Match: White (2013), McCoy (2015) and now Sposa (1991). Potomac's Marc Ehudin, the No. 63 seed and the only Maryland player to reach match play — he survived a 13-for-3 playoff before losing to No. 2 seed Brian Quackenbush, who was in turn beaten by White — came out Thursday to support both finalists. The 2027 championship goes to Seattle Golf Club. More on the all-Spartanburg final →
Championship match set: an all-Spartanburg final
Updated Wednesday, Sept. 2 — semifinals complete, 18-hole final set for Thursday. We'll keep refreshing this hub through the championship.
The bracket's teased subplot is now reality: the 71st U.S. Senior Amateur will crown its champion in an all-Spartanburg, S.C., final between 2023 champion Todd White, 58, and Mike Sposa, 57. Both are victorious Walker Cup alumni — White in 2013, Sposa in 1991 — and they met in the Round of 64 a year ago at Oak Hills, where Sposa won before advancing to the semifinals.
Neither had an easy Wednesday. White built a 3-up lead through 14 on 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Tim Hogarth, weathered a Hogarth rally at 15 and 16, then delivered a clutch birdie at the par-4 17th — a hole he played in every match this week — to close out a 2-and-1 win. Sposa beat Corby Segal by the same 2-and-1 margin, sealing it with a long birdie at the par-3 17th, a hole where he made a hole-in-one in stroke play and won three times in match play. Earlier in the day, White edged Brendan Hester 1 up and Sposa beat Tony Wise 1 up, while Hogarth ousted 2019 champion Bob Royak 4 and 3.
The story of the semifinal round, though, was Segal's morning quarterfinal: down 6 with 11 to play to Mark Small, the PGA Tour caddie stormed back to force extra holes and won at the 20th — one of the greatest 18-hole comebacks in USGA history, and he did it without making a single birdie. If White wins Thursday, he'll become the first multiple-time U.S. Senior Amateur champion since Paul Simson in 2012.
The 18-hole championship match begins Thursday at 7:30 a.m. EDT at Baltimore Country Club's East Course. Admission is free. Meet the finalists: White vs. Sposa →
Final eight set: past champs headline the quarterfinals
Updated Tuesday, Sept. 1 — Rounds of 32 and 16 complete, quarterfinals set for Wednesday. We'll keep refreshing this hub throughout the championship.
The bracket's underdog magic finally ran dry on Tuesday. No. 64 seed Niketan Desai, who had knocked out medalist Trae Cassell and was bidding to become both the first No. 64 seed to win a USGA title and this championship's first international champion, was stopped by Tony Wise (16), 4 and 2. Fellow giant-killer D Scott Mackesy (62), the man who ousted 2024 champion Louis Brown, gave 2019 champion Bob Royak his toughest test of the week before falling 1 up.
The final eight has a decidedly veteran, decorated feel — and a Spartanburg, S.C., subplot. Past champion Todd White (18), the 2023 winner and a Walker Cup alum, birdied his way past both Rick Stimmel (1 up) and No. 2 seed Brian Quackenbush (2 and 1) to advance, while fellow Spartanburg resident and 2025 semifinalist Mike Sposa (9), a 1991 Walker Cupper, beat Michael Ketcham and Arnold Cutrell without losing a hole in the afternoon. On opposite sides of the bracket, White and Sposa can only meet in Thursday's final.
Rounding out the quarterfinalists: Corby Segal (13), the PGA Tour Champions caddie who rallied from 1 down with two to play to beat Joe Sawaia; Mark Small (44), playing in the hometown of his late brother Scott and carrying his “Music Man” bag tag; 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Tim Hogarth (59), who has not been pushed past the 16th hole all week; and Brendan Hester (42), who won the day's most dramatic match on a 20-foot birdie at the second extra hole against 2024 runner-up Daniel Sullivan. All eight are now exempt into the 2027 U.S. Senior Amateur at Seattle Golf Club.
Wednesday's quarterfinals (7:30 a.m. EDT, 15-minute increments): Wise vs. Sposa; Segal vs. Small; White vs. Hester; Royak vs. Hogarth. The semifinals follow at approximately 1 p.m., with the 18-hole championship match Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Read our deep dive on the final eight →
Round of 64: Cassell stunned as match play begins
Updated Monday, Aug. 31 — Round of 64 complete, Rounds of 32 and 16 set for Tuesday. We'll keep refreshing this hub throughout the championship.
Match play delivered its first bombshell almost immediately: stroke-play medalist and No. 1 seed Trae Cassell was knocked out in the Round of 64, falling to No. 64 seed Niketan Desai of Zambia. It was the first time a medalist has lost his opening match since Tim Hogarth in 2021. Cassell wasn't the only top seed to fall — No. 3 Louis Brown, the 2024 champion, was ousted by D Scott Mackesy (62), who had earlier been the first man through the 13-for-3 playoff.
The day carried a Walker Cup undertone with the matches ahead in Ireland: 2019 champion Bob Royak posted the day's biggest win, 5 and 4 over Ireland's Jody Fanagan, while David Vaclav beat another Irishman, Gerard Connolly, 4 and 3 in his championship debut. Longtime PGA Tour caddie Corby Segal nearly coughed up a 5-up lead before holding on 1 up, and 71-year-old Buzz Fly, the oldest man in the field, advanced 1 up. Round 1 leader Andy Bernatovicz outlasted John Brellenthin at the 19th hole in the last match on the course.
Five USGA champions reached the Round of 32 — Tim Hogarth, Jack Larkin Sr., Bob Royak, Jeff Wilson and Todd White. Defending champion Michael McCoy did not survive the playoff. The Rounds of 32 and 16 are both scheduled for Tuesday, beginning at 7:30 a.m. EDT. Read our full Round of 64 recap →
Stroke play: Cassell claims medalist honors by seven
Updated Sunday, Aug. 30 — stroke play complete, match play begins Monday. We'll keep refreshing this hub throughout the championship.
Trae Cassell turned the 71st U.S. Senior Amateur into a runaway. The 56-year-old from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., followed his opening 68 with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to earn medalist honors by seven shots, finishing at 5-under 135 — one of the lowest 36-hole totals in championship history. He birdied the first, answered a bogey at the fourth with birdies at 5, 6 and 10, and closed with birdies at 14 and 16 to lock up the No. 1 seed for Monday's Round of 64.
2022 champion Louis Brown, Brian Quackenbush and Mike Fritz share second at 2-over 142, with Kevin VandenBerg, Andy Hydorn and 2024 runner-up Daniel Sullivan next at 3-over. Round 1 leader Andy Bernatovicz slipped to a 77 but advanced comfortably, brother John still on the bag. Six USGA champions made the cut, and 71-year-old Buzz Fly is the oldest player through to match play.
A 13-for-3 playoff for the final match-play spots begins at 7:30 a.m. ET Monday, with the Round of 64 to follow at 8:30. Read our full stroke-play recap →
The essentials at a glance
Event: 71st U.S. Senior Amateur Championship
Dates: Saturday, Aug. 29 – Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026
Venue:Baltimore Country Club (East Course), Lutherville, Md. — opened 1898, A.W. Tillinghast design (2015 renovations by Keith Foster)
Setup: 6,564 yards, par 70 (subject to change) · Course/Slope 72.9/137
Format: 36 holes of stroke play, then match play for the low 64
Field: 156 players · a record 2,779 entries were accepted (all-time record is 2,865, set in 2022)
Eligibility: age 55 or older as of Aug. 29 with a Handicap Index of 5.4 or lower
Defending champion: Mike McCoy, who beat Greg Sanders 3 and 2 at Oak Hills CC in 2025
Admission: free — spectators are encouraged to attend
How to watch and follow
The U.S. Senior Amateur is a walk-and-follow championship rather than a wall-to-wall TV event. Admission to Baltimore Country Club is free of charge, and the USGA encourages fans to come out and watch in person across the week. For everyone else, the USGA typically carries live scoring and updates through its championship pages, and we'll keep this hub current with links, tee times and results as they land.
Check back here through the week — we'll drop in live-scoring links, match-play brackets and on-site coverage as the championship unfolds. Bookmark the USGA Senior Amateur page too.
The defending champion: Mike McCoy
Mike McCoy arrives in Baltimore having authored one of the most remarkable seasons in senior amateur golf. At 62, the Des Moines, Iowa, veteran became the first player in USGA history to win both the U.S. Mid-Amateur and the U.S. Senior Amateur, closing out Greg Sanders 3 and 2 at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio. It was McCoy's turn in his 63rd USGA championship — a number that tells you everything about how deep his roots run in this game.
McCoy won that Mid-Amateur back in 2013, two years before he represented the USA in the 2015 Walker Cup at Royal Lytham & St Annes. He later captained the victorious American side at St Andrews in 2024. "I'm so honored to win a USGA championship. I love the USGA," McCoy said after his 2025 victory. "A lot of my golfing history has sort of been built upon their championships and trying to get to them and advance and someday win one, and I finally did, and, of course, I never dreamed I'd win another one... so it's been a dream come true."
Note that Oak Hills stepped in to host the 2025 championship because Biltmore Forest, in Asheville, N.C., was still recovering from Hurricane Helene — Biltmore Forest now hosts in 2028.
The field: who's exempt, who to watch
Thirty-seven players are fully exempt into the 156-man field, a group that reads like a roll call of recent senior amateur golf. The list is headlined by a run of past champions: McCoy (2025), Louis Brown (2024), Todd White (2023), Rusty Strawn (2022), Gene Elliott (2021), Bob Royak (2019), Jeff Wilson (2018), Dave Ryan (2016) and Doug Hanzel (2013).
Runner-up Greg Sanders is back after his 2025 final, joined by fellow recent finalists Daniel Sullivan (2024 runner-up) and Jody Fanagan (2023 runner-up). A deep group of 2025 semifinalists and quarterfinalists is exempt as well — among them Robert Niger, Mike Sposa, Matt Sughrue, Robert Nelson, Michael Anderson, Joe Sawaia and Jacob Cestino.
The exemption categories also pull in some notable names from beyond the championship itself: 2000 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Greg Puga, 2025 Canadian Men's Senior Amateur champion Don Martone, and 2026 R&A Senior Amateur winner Bryan Hoops, plus a slate of players who earned in through the World Amateur Golf Ranking, including Doug Hanzel — himself the 2013 Senior Amateur champion. The balance of the field earned their places through 18-hole qualifying conducted at 50 sites between June 24 and July 30.
The field by the numbers
The USGA has released its full breakdown of the 156-man field, and it skews younger than the "senior" label suggests: the average age is just 60.01, and more than half the field — 85 players — sits in the 55-59 bracket. Another 47 are 60-64, 21 are 65-69, and only three have crossed 70.
Oldest in the field: Dave Ryan (72), Buzz Fly (71), Ken Kellaney (70)
Youngest in the field: a deep group of 55-year-olds, among them 2000 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Greg Puga, qualifying co-medalists Brandon Goethals and Corby Segal, and debut medalist Steven Carter
38 states are represented, led by the game's usual population centers — California (20), Florida (17), Georgia (12), Texas (10) and Arizona (7). Host state Maryland has three qualifiers of its own. The draw is international as well, with six countries in the field: the United States (150), Canada (2), Colombia (1), Ireland (1), Spain (1) and Switzerland (1).
Credentials in the field
Few amateur fields anywhere carry this much hardware. Among the 156 players teeing it up at Baltimore:
U.S. Senior Amateur champions (9): Michael McCoy (2025), Louis Brown (2024), Todd White (2023), Rusty Strawn (2022), Gene Elliott (2021), Bob Royak (2019), Jeff Wilson (2018), Dave Ryan (2016) and Doug Hanzel (2013)
U.S. Mid-Amateur champions (2): Michael McCoy (2013) and Greg Puga (2000)
Other USGA champions: Jack Larkin Sr. (1979 U.S. Junior Amateur), Todd White (2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball) and Tim Hogarth (1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links)
USGA runners-up (7): Jody Fanagan, Doug Hanzel, Greg Sanders, Matt Sughrue and Daniel W. Sullivan (all U.S. Senior Amateur), plus Tim Hogarth and Rick Stimmell (U.S. Mid-Amateur)
Walker Cup ties: USA team members Michael McCoy (2015), Mike Sposa (1991) and Todd White (2013) — McCoy also captained the winning 2023 side — and GB&I's Jody Fanagan (1995)
Most U.S. Senior Amateur appearances (2026 included): Doug Hanzel and Dave Ryan (14 each), Randy Haag (11), Bob Royak and Matt Sughrue (10 each), Rick Cloninger (9)
The Maryland contingent (4): Marc Ehudin (Potomac), Phil Fairbanks (Columbia), Richard Sovero (Catonsville) and Tom Winegardner (Lothian) all qualified to play a national championship in their home state. Brothers Stephen and Mark Sear are both in the field, and five players arrive fresh off the 2026 U.S. Senior Open: Hanzel, McCoy, Royak, Greg Sanders and Stephen Sear.
Storylines to watch
Beyond the champions and the credentials, the field is full of the kind of stories that make this championship worth following:
Jody Fanagan (Ireland, 61) — In his 2023 championship debut, Fanagan became the first international player ever to reach a U.S. Senior Amateur final, falling to Todd White. A member of the victorious 1995 GB&I Walker Cup team that beat Tiger Woods and the United States, he partnered future three-time major champion Padraig Harrington in foursomes and remains the only overseas player to reach the championship match.
Greg Puga (Long Beach, Calif., 55) — The 2000 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion is finally making his U.S. Senior Amateur debut, in on an exemption from that title. A caddie at Bel-Air Country Club who has looped on the LPGA Tour, Puga was paired with world No. 1 Kiara Romero at June's Curtis Cup.
Corby Segal (Santa Clarita, Calif., 55) — A reinstated amateur and longtime PGA Tour caddie — currently on the bag for PGA Tour Champions' Charlie Wi — Segal shot 3-under 69 for co-medalist honors to reach his first U.S. Senior Amateur, taking a rare week off caddie duty to play.
Matt Sughrue (Arlington, Va., 66) — One of the championship's most reliable performers, Sughrue has advanced to match play in all nine of his previous appearances, including four quarterfinals, two semifinals and the 2016 final. A former insurance CEO, he left the industry to become a clinical psychotherapist and now works with elite athletes on the mental side of competition.
Gene Elliott (Norwalk, Iowa, 64) — The 2021 champion is one of only three players ever to win the U.S. Senior Amateur, the R&A Senior Amateur and the Canadian Men's Senior Amateur. An Iowa Hall of Famer, he was the medalist at the 1999 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.
Louis Brown (Marietta, Ga., 63) — The 2024 champion and a former PGA Tour and teaching pro, Brown regained his amateur status around 2005 and was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame earlier this year. He founded The Evergreen Society, an Atlanta golf society built around giving back to the game.
Bryan Hoops (Tempe, Ariz., 57) — The highest-ranked player in the field at No. 314 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Hoops is riding a four-win 2026 headlined by the R&A Senior Amateur title. We went deep on his season here.
Pat Youngs (San Antonio, Texas, 68) — A retired U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and pilot, Youngs qualified for the 2005 U.S. Amateur the same year his wife, Eileen, commanded Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-114.
Michael Anderson (Novi, Mich., 56) — Anderson reached the quarterfinals in his 2025 debut, falling 1 up to eventual champion McCoy. A financial advisor, he moonlights as a high school golf coach who has led Detroit Catholic Central to five Division I state titles.
The course: Baltimore Country Club (East)
Baltimore Country Club is among the first 100 clubs founded in the United States, and its East Course — a Tillinghast original opened in 1898 and sympathetically renovated by Keith Foster in 2015 — is one of the great championship venues on the East Coast. At 6,564 yards and par 70, it won't overpower this field with length; the test is in the angles, the greens and Tillinghast's signature demand for precise, thoughtful golf.
The championship pedigree here is extraordinary. Baltimore has hosted the 1899 U.S. Open (Willie Smith), the 1928 PGA Championship (Leo Diegel), the 1932 U.S. Amateur (C. Ross Somerville), the 1965 Walker Cup (USA), the 1988 U.S. Women's Open (Liselotte Neumann), and three straight Senior Players Championships from 2007-09 (Loren Roberts, D.A. Weibring and Jay Haas).
The championship opens with two days of stroke play, after which the low 64 scorers advance to match play (a playoff settles the final spots if needed). From there it's single-elimination bracket golf, culminating in an 18-hole championship match.
Sat, Aug. 29: Stroke Play, Round 1 (18 holes)
Sun, Aug. 30: Stroke Play, Round 2 (18 holes)
Mon, Aug. 31: Round of 64 (match play)
Tue, Sept. 1: Round of 32 and Round of 16
Wed, Sept. 2: Quarterfinals and Semifinals
Thu, Sept. 3: Championship Match (18 holes)
What the champion wins
Beyond the gold medal and a year's custody of the Frederick L. Dold Trophy, the 2026 champion collects a run of exemptions that reshapes his schedule:
Exemption from local qualifying for the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links
Exemption from qualifying for the 2027 U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree National, Edmond, Okla. (must remain an amateur)
Exemption from qualifying for the 2027 and 2028 U.S. Amateur Championships — Oak Hill CC, Pittsford, N.Y., and Whistling Straits, Sheboygan, Wis.
Exemption from qualifying for the 2026 and 2027 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships — Sand Valley Resort (The Lido), Nekoosa, Wis., and Jupiter Hills Club, Tequesta, Fla.
Exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Senior Amateur Championships
Name engraved on the 2026 USGA Champions' plaque in the USGA Museum's Hall of Champions
A little history
The U.S. Senior Amateur has been won by some of the most decorated names in the amateur game. Multiple champions include Lewis W. Oehmig (1972, 1976, 1985), Dale Morey (1974, 1977), William C. Campbell (1979-80), Bill Shean Jr. (1998, 2000), Kemp Richardson (2001, 2003) and Paul Simson (2010, 2012). More recent winners read straight into this year's field — Dave Ryan (2016), Jeff Wilson (2018), Gene Elliott (2021), Todd White (2023) and Mike McCoy (2025) are all in the field at Baltimore.
George "Buddy" Marucci (2008) and Marvin "Vinny" Giles (2009) are among the modern champions, and the runner-up list is nearly as distinguished, featuring Oehmig, Morey, Ed Updegraff, George Zahringer, Pat Tallent and Doug Hanzel across the decades.
Future sites
The Senior Amateur's future rota keeps it on classic ground:
2027: Seattle (Wash.) Golf Club — Aug. 28-Sept. 2
2028: Biltmore Forest CC, Asheville, N.C. — Aug. 26-31
2029: The Omni Homestead Resort (Cascades Course), Hot Springs, Va. — Aug. 25-30
2030: The Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst, N.C. — Aug. 24-29
2032: Country Club of Buffalo, Williamsville, N.Y. — Aug. 28-Sept. 2
2033: Canterbury Golf Club, Cleveland, Ohio — Aug. 27-Sept. 1
2035: Columbia CC, Chevy Chase, Md. — Aug. 25-30
2036: Belle Meade CC, Nashville, Tenn. — Aug. 23-28
We'll keep this hub updated all the way through the championship — tee times, live scoring, the match-play bracket and on-site coverage from Baltimore Country Club. The 71st U.S. Senior Amateur begins August 29.
