John Kemp has made a habit of standing atop the stroke-play leaderboard at the U.S. Senior Amateur. After sharing medalist honors a year ago at The Honors Course in Tennessee, the 2025 English Senior Men’s Open champion went one better this week in San Antonio, posting 7-under 135 to take the medal outright at Oak Hills Country Club. His total was just one shot shy of the championship record, and he became the first back-to-back medalist since Paul Simson in 2008–09.
Kemp followed up his opening 67 with a steady 68 on Sunday that included six birdies against three bogeys. While the performance put him in the record books, Kemp knows that stroke play is only part of the test. “Medaling doesn’t mean anything once tomorrow comes,” he said. “Generally, what happens is if you’re a medalist, everybody raises their play when they play you... So I’m going to play quite aggressive. If you lose a hole, you lose a hole.”
Hot on his heels was Jon Brown of Adel, Iowa, who blistered the course with a 5-under 66 in Round 2 to finish two back at 137. Brown opened with six birdies in his first 10 holes, playing himself firmly into contention. “I was driving it well, putting myself in good spots on the greens, and the putter got hot,” Brown said. “It was just a great day, and I’m really excited about how I’m playing.”
A three-way tie for third at 139 featured Arizona’s Greg Sanders, Floridian Mike Finster, and Texan Terrence Miskell. Sanders, who at 61 was the oldest competitor in last week’s U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club, continued his impressive run with a composed 70-69 showing. Miskell matched Brown’s Sunday 66, while Finster cooled off after his opening 68 with an even-par 71. Only four others managed to finish in red figures: Jack Larkin Sr., Jack O’Keefe, Steve Mann (all at 140), and past champion Bob Royak (141).
The cut line fell at 149 (+7), with 12 players set for a Monday morning playoff to determine the final spots in the Round of 64. From there, the championship shifts gears into match play, where even the highest seeds are never guaranteed a long stay. Matches begin Monday and will continue through Thursday’s 18-hole final, with fans welcomed to watch the drama unfold at Oak Hills.
There was no shortage of standout storylines in stroke play. Spain’s Jacobo Cestino became the first Spaniard believed to have competed in the championship, advancing on 147. Nine past USGA champions also booked their spots, including defending winner Louis Brown, Gene Elliott, Michael McCoy, and Todd White. Among the memorable moments was a hole-in-one from Joe Sawaia on the par-3 13th, the first ace at this championship since 2016 and just the 21st in history. Seventy-one-year-old Pat O’Donnell added his own highlight with a bogey-free 31 on the front nine Sunday, shooting 69 to better his age by two strokes and secure match play once again.
Five Texans advanced to match play on home soil, led by Miskell and including Oak Hills members Mike Houlihan and John Pierce. The course itself played nearly a stroke easier on Sunday than in Round 1, but with tree-lined fairways and slick greens, Oak Hills remains a true USGA test heading into the match-play bracket.
For Kemp, the goal is simple: turn medalist momentum into something bigger. “I don’t think too far ahead,” he said. “You’ve got to drive it well and putt well, but if you get it in play off the tee, it gives you a chance. Just hit a shot, then hit another one.” With the field now whittled to 64, his focus — and everyone else’s — turns to the head-to-head battles that will decide who lifts the Senior Amateur trophy on Thursday.
