{"id":6881,"date":"2026-08-15T18:36:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T18:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6881"},"modified":"2026-08-15T18:36:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T18:36:49","slug":"stanfords-jay-leng-jr-advances-to-u-s-amateur-semifinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6881","title":{"rendered":"Stanford\u2019s Jay Leng Jr. advances to U.S. Amateur semifinals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Stanford\u2019s Jay Leng Jr. continued his hot streak Friday by advancing to the U.S. Amateur semifinals as his four straight birdies closed out a lopsided 6-and-5 victory over University of Florida standout Jack Turner.<\/p>\n

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Leng, a San Diego native, will be joined in today\u2019s semifinals in Ardmore, Pa. by Georgia standout Carter Loflin, who knocked off Pleasanton\u2019s Brandon Knight, a Colorado rising senior, 3 and 2.<\/p>\n

Leng will face Auburn\u2019s Logan Reilly today while Florida State\u2019s Jack Whaley faces Loflin in today\u2019s other semifinal.<\/p>\n

Few people in amateur golf are hotter right now than Leng, who is coming off winning the Western Amateur in Chicago two weeks ago, as well as a runner-up finish in the Northeast Amateur in June and a share of fifth at the Southern Amateur last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty much firing at every pin and trying to make as many birdies as possible,\u201d Leng said. \u201c I know if I\u2019m somewhat close, I should have a chance. My putting has been really good this whole week. It\u2019s a good confidence boost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leng has a chance to become the 10th player in history to capture the U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur in the same year, joining an illustrious list that includes Jack Nicklaus (1961), Tiger Woods (1994), Lanny Wadkins (1970), Justin Leonard (1992) and Hal Sutton (1980). New Zealander Danny Lee, in 2008, was the last to accomplish the feat.<\/p>\n

At the Western Amateur, he defeated Miles Russell and former U.S. National Junior Team member Michael Riebe in the semis and finals, respectively.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, he\u00a0eliminated\u00a0No. 2 seed and 2026 USA Walker Cupper Tyler Watts and in the opening round on Wednesday, he beat 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Evan Beck.\u00a0Now he could be joining Watts and Russell on Captain Nathan Smith\u2019s Walker Cup Team; a win on Sunday would guarantee it.<\/p>\n

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Against Turner, Leng made six birdies, including the aforementioned four straight holes to close out the match. On the 119-yard 13th, he almost had a walk-off hole-in-one, hitting a sand wedge to less than a foot for a birdie.<\/p>\n

Should Leng defeat Reilly it would guarantee him a spot in next year\u2019s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and a likely invitation to the Masters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would mean the world,\u201d said Leng. \u201cThat\u2019s all I\u2019ve been thinking about this week. I\u2019m not really going to let that affect my game. I\u2019m just going to play my game, and whatever happens happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, when Loflin arrived at the first tee for his showdown with Pleasanton\u2019s Knight, he was shocked at the number of people on the\u00a0grounds.\u00a0Knight opened with a birdie, but Loflin answered with a winning par at the second.\u00a0Then Knight won Holes 3 and 4 with pars as Loflin tried to grind his way back into the match.\u00a0It all began with a chip-in par at the difficult fifth hole, and then consecutive birdies at 7 and 8 pushed him into the lead for good.<\/p>\n

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\u201cProbably the coolest thing I\u2019ve ever done, to be completely honest with you,\u201d said Loflin of the chip-in.\u00a0\u201cI can\u2019t even remember the last time I chipped in, and that one was pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Birdies on 10 and 13 pushed the margin to 3 up, and when Knight\u00a0failed to\u00a0convert his 8-foot par putt on the No. 16, the match was over.<\/p>\n

Read more Speculation grows over Brad Pitt wanting people to know he\u2019s drinking again<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leng has a chance to become the 10th player in history to capture the U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur in the same year, joining an illustrious list that includes Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nStanford\u2019s Jay Leng Jr. advances to U.S. Amateur semifinals - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6881\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stanford\u2019s Jay Leng Jr. advances to U.S. Amateur semifinals - 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