With Stuart Grehan, Matthew McClean and Gavin Tiernan all competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion and Philadelphia Country Club, hopes were high that at least one of the three would make the top 64 and enter the knockout stages but those hopes were dashed on the second strokeplay round.
McClean began the day at one-over and one outside the provisional cut mark but struggled to a five-over 75 at Philadelphia Country Club to finish at +6.
Grehan, the regning Amateur Championship winner, carded a two-over 74 but the damage was done on day one where he finished seven-over.
In the end, it was Tiernan who came closest, but after opening with a three-over 73, he couldn’t find the 69 or better he needed in round two and finished tied for 93rd at +4.
But at the conclusion of strokeplay, it was a local hero that finished top of the pile.
Joshua Ryan, the winner of the 2026 Pennsylvania Amateur, produced a near-record breaking performance in stroke play, posting a 36-hole total of 8-under 132 to earn medalist honors over a stellar field of 311 competitors.
The 22-year-old, who grew up 10.5 miles from this week’s venue, followed up Monday’s 3-under 67 at stroke-play co-host Philadelphia Country Club with a 5-under 65 at Merion on Tuesday to edge 2026 USA Walker Cup competitor Tyler Watts by two strokes.
Ryan’s total was one off the championship record set by Hayden Wood, son of PGA Tour winner and 1977 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Willie Wood, in 2017 at The Riviera Country Club and co-host Bel-Air C.C., in Los Angeles. Seven others have posted 132, including last year’s medalist Preston Stout. Ryan also becomes the first “local” medalist in the U.S. Amateur since Mark Goetz in 2021 at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh.
Two others – 18-hole leader Drake Harvey, an incoming Brigham Young University freshman from Henderson, Nev., and University of Washington rising senior Finn Koelle, of Germany, finished four strokes back at 4-under 136.
Four players posted 137: 2026 USA Walker Cupper and U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Miles Russell, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.; 2026 U.S. Open qualifier and University of Florida incoming freshman Jackson Ormond, of Rochester, N.Y.; University of Georgia’s Carter Loflin, of Duluth, Ga.; and University of Florida rising senior Jack Turner, of Orlando, Fla.
Russell, who tied for 39th in this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, was coming off sharing medalist honors in last month’s U.S. Junior Amateur as well as the Western Amateur two weeks ago, where he posted a 72-hole total of 21-under 263 at Beverly Country Club, in Chicago.
Play was suspended for darkness at 8:09 p.m. with a handful of competitors still on the course at Merion. Every player finished their second round at stroke-play co-host Philadelphia Country Club.
The cut for match play came at 2-over 142. A playoff for the final match-play spots will take place after the second round concludes Wednesday. The exact number has yet to be determined.
Ryan’s supporting cast had approximately 10 followers on Monday, including his parents. His gallery grew much larger for Tuesday’s round at Merion and should increase for his Round-of-64 encounter against the last survivor from the playoff.
Making the short commute hasn’t hurt either. Ryan has been living off mom’s cooking, including chicken parmigiana on Monday night. Plus, he’s coming off winning the Pennsylvania Amateur at Oakmont, a 10-time U.S. Open host site and arguably the toughest venue in America.
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