64 Players Compete at Historic Merion Golf Club; Coverage Begins Today at 3 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN, Continuing with Weekend Semifinal and Championship Match Coverage on NBC and Peacock
STAMFORD, Conn. – August 12, 2026 – Following two rounds of stroke play, 64 players have advanced to match play at the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship at historic Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Match play coverage begins today at 3 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN, featuring many of the world’s top amateur golfers competing for the Havemeyer Trophy.
Joshua Ryan, who grew up just 10.5 miles from Merion Golf Club, earned medalist honors in stroke play and enters match play as the No. 1 seed. The former Liberty University standout followed Monday’s 3-under 67 at Philadelphia Country Club with a 5-under 65 at Merion on Tuesday to finish at 8-under 132, two strokes ahead of Tyler Watts. Ryan, who won the Pennsylvania Amateur two weeks ago, becomes the first player with a local connection to earn medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur since 2021.
Watts, ranked No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), finished second at 6-under 134 and is a member of the 2026 U.S. Walker Cup Team. Miles Russell, ranked No. 4 in WAGR, finished tied for fifth at 3-under 137 and will join Watts on the U.S. Walker Cup Team after finishing runner-up at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur. Drake Harvey also advanced to match play after tying Merion’s competitive course record with a 6-under 64 in the opening round before finishing tied for third at 4-under 136.
Match play begins today with the Round of 64, followed by the Round of 32 and Round of 16 on Thursday. The quarterfinals will be contested Friday, with the semifinal matches scheduled for Saturday and the 36-hole championship match set for Sunday.
Live coverage will be presented Wednesday-Friday from 3-6 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN. Saturday’s semifinal match coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on Peacock before transitioning to NBC/Peacock from 4-6 p.m. ET. Sunday’s championship match coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN before moving to NBC/Peacock at 4 p.m. ET.
Dan Hicks (play-by-play), Smylie Kaufman (analyst), John Wood (on-course), and Emilia Doran (on-course) will lead weekend coverage of the semifinal and championship matches. Steve Burkowski (play-by-play) joins Kaufman, Wood, and Doran for Wednesday-Friday coverage before serving as a reporter over the weekend.
Merion hosts its 20th USGA championship this week, marking the seventh time the club has welcomed the U.S. Amateur. The 1930 U.S. Amateur at Merion saw Bobby Jones complete the Grand Slam, winning The Amateur Championship, The Open Championship, the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in the same year. Merion has also hosted the U.S. Open five times, most recently in 2013, and is next scheduled to host the championship in 2030. The club’s most recent U.S. Amateur was held in 2005.
How To Watch: Wednesday, August 12 - Sunday, August 16 (all times ET)
Date | Peacock/NBCSN | NBC/Peacock |
Wednesday, Aug. 12 | 3 - 6 p.m. | |
Thursday, Aug. 13 | 3 - 6 p.m. | |
Friday, Aug. 14 Quarterfinals | 3 - 6 p.m. | |
Saturday, Aug. 15 Semifinals | 3 - 4 p.m. | 4 – 6 p.m. |
Sunday, Aug. 16 Final | 3 - 4 p.m. | 4 – 6 p.m. |
--NBC SPORTS--
