Baltimore Country Club (East Course) · Lutherville, Md. · Aug. 29–Sept. 3, 2026. This story covers stroke play; follow our live scoring and coverage hub for match-play updates all week.
Trae Cassell put together one of the most dominant stroke-play performances in U.S. Senior Amateur history on Sunday, following his opening-round 68 with a 3-under 67 to win medalist honors by seven shots at the 71st U.S. Senior Amateur. The 56-year-old from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., finished at 5-under 135, tying for the third-lowest 36-hole stroke-play total in championship history. Only Billy Clagett (134 in 2005) and Tim Hogarth (134 in 2021) have posted lower, while John Kemp also shot 135 last year at Oak Hill Country Club in San Antonio.
Baltimore Country Club's East Course kept testing the field on Sunday, its round average of 76.28 only slightly friendlier than Saturday's 76.49. Cassell, one shot off the overnight lead, went to work immediately — a birdie at the par-4 first, a bogey given back at the easy par-3 fourth, then an answer on the par-5 fifth, where he made one of only 14 birdies all day on the fifth-hardest hole. He added another at the sixth, birdied the 10th, dropped a shot at the 12th, and closed with birdies at 14 and 16 to pull clear and seize the No. 1 seed for Monday's Round of 64.
Cassell reached the Round of 32 in his championship debut a year ago and won the 2024 California State Senior Amateur. He knows medalist honors guarantee nothing from here. “It gives me confidence that I can play the golf course, but match play is an entirely different animal,” he said. “You can't control what your opponent does. You can only control what you do... You have to embrace that random nature of it, which I've done. I'm looking forward to it.”
2022 champion Louis Brown of Marietta, Ga., Brian Quackenbush of Aiken, S.C., and Mike Fritz of Portland, Ore., shared second at 2-over 142. Brown and Quackenbush each posted matching 1-over 71s, while Fritz followed an even-par 70 with a 72. “I like how I'm playing. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good all around,” Brown said. “I've done this before and have been successful at it, so I just have to focus on what I can control, which is my game.” Kevin VandenBerg, Andy Hydorn and 2024 runner-up Daniel Sullivan tied for fifth at 3-over 143.
Round 1 leader Andy Bernatovicz struggled to a 7-over 77 — 10 shots higher than his opener — but did enough to advance safely to the Round of 64, brother John once again on the bag. The pair have come full circle: Andy caddied for John at the 1993 U.S. Amateur in Houston.
Notable
Six USGA champions made the cut: Louis Brown (2024 U.S. Senior Amateur), Tim Hogarth (1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links), Jack Larkin Sr. (1979 U.S. Junior Amateur), Bob Royak (2019 U.S. Senior Amateur), Todd White (2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur) and Jeff Wilson (2018 U.S. Senior Amateur). Defending champion Michael McCoy (2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur, 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur) heads to Monday's playoff.
At 71, Buzz Fly is the oldest player to make the cut, having matched his age with a 71 in Round 1 before a Sunday 75. Also advancing: Jody Fanagan (2023 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up, 1995 Walker Cup) and Mike Sposa (1991 Walker Cup). Among those to miss the cut were past champions Gene Elliott (2021), Doug Hanzel (2013), Dave Ryan (2016) and Rusty Strawn (2022), plus 2000 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Greg Puga. Brian Smyth authored the day's wildest turnaround, an 18-stroke improvement — from an 88 on Saturday to an even-par 70 — though he too fell short of match play. Corby Segal, with his 17-year-old son Dallas on the bag for his 17th USGA championship appearance, made it through on rounds of 72-72.
What's next
A 13-for-3 playoff to determine the final match-play spots begins at 7:30 a.m. ET Monday. Round-of-64 matches are scheduled for 8:30 a.m., with match play continuing through Thursday morning's 18-hole championship final. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.
