Ethan Fang – Walker Cup

197. 2026 USA Walker Cup Team Is Announced

16th August 2026

Following the conclusion of the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship on Sunday 16th August the USGA’s Teams Selection Committee working group confirmed the 10 players who will represent the USA in the 2026 Walker Cup match.

The USA Team, led by captain Nathan Smith, will compete against Great Britain and Ireland in the 51st Walker Cup Match on 5th-6th September at Lahinch G.C. in County Claire, Ireland.

Four players had already been selected in advance of the U.S. Amateur so today saw the six remaining players confirmed.

Preston STOUT (22), Tyler WATTS (18) and Ethan FANG (21) who were ranked 1st, 3rd and 4th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) were automatically selected on 8th July 2026.

Miles RUSSELL (17), WAGR ranked #5 at the time, was also added to the USA roster by the USGA Team Selection Committee when they formally announced the above on 9th July 2026.

USA Walker Cup Team (Graphic: USGA)

Kihei AKINA (19 / WAGR #110, Ryder COWAN (21 / WAGR #8), Josiah GILBERT (21 / WAGR #7), William JENNINGS (20 / WAGR #5), Stewart HAGESTAD (35 / WAGR #27) and Jay LENG JR. (20 / WAGR #23) were the additional players named to the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team this evening.

Max HERENDEEN (21 / WAGR #26) of Bellevue, Washington and Logan REILLY (19 / WAGR #56) of Lovettsville, Virginia were also named as the USA’s first and second alternates, respectively.

The USA will have three returning players in their 2026 line-up, namely Stewart Hagestad, Ethan Fang and Preston Stout.

USA Player Profiles – Courtesy of the USGA

Kihei AKINA (20) – Alpine, Utah
Earned the 2026 Phil Mickelson Award as the nation’s top collegiate freshman in his first season at Brigham Young University.
Akina tied for eighth in the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort.
He was runner-up in the Big 12 Conference Championship and won a pair of collegiate tournaments during the 2025-26 season.
He has made two cuts on the PGA TOUR in 2026.
Akina made the Quarter finals of this year’s Amateur Championship and the Round of 64 at the U.S. Amateur.

Ryder COWAN (21) – Edmond, Oklahoma
Earned low-amateur honors at the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, finishing tied 23rd.
He is a rising University of Oklahoma senior having posted one collegiate victory this past season.
Cowan has qualified for the last three U.S. Amateurs.

Ethan FANG (21) – Plano, Texas
WAGR No. 4 after winning the Maridoe Collegiate and finishing in the top 10 of the Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship.
A junior at Oklahoma State.
In 2025, he captured The Amateur Championship at Royal St. George’s.
He represented USA at the 2025 World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore.

Josiah GILBERT (21) – Millbrook, Alabama
A rising senior at Auburn University, where he helped the Tigers to their 2024 and 2026 NCAA Division I titles.
DGilbert’s 2026 season earned him PING Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors.
Currently No. 8 on the WAGR, Gilbert advanced to match play in his third U.S. Amateur appearance.

Stewart HAGESTAD (35) – Newport Beach, California
He will be competing in his sixth Walker Cup match. He has won all five he’s played and has W7-L1 record.
U.S. Mid-Amateur champion in 2016, 2021 & 2023.
Hagestad has qualified for five U.S. Opens, making one cut once in 2022.
Only invited U.S. Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut at The Masters (2017).
Advanced to the Round of 32 at the 2026 U.S. Amateur.
Works as a broker for investment bank BDT & MSD Partners in Palm Beach, FL.

William JENNINGS (20) – Greenville, South Carolina
A rising junior at the University of Alabama he earned a 2nd place finish during the stroke-play portion of the 2026 NCAA National Championships.
He has one collegiate victory to his name at the Fields of Honor Collegiate in 2025.
He advanced to match play at the 2025 and 2026 (Round of 16) U.S. Amateur Championships.

Jay LENG JR (20) – San Diego, California
Winner of the 2026 Western Amateur and Runner-up at the 2026 U.S. Amateur and Northeast Amateur.
A rising junior at Stanford.
Leng Jr. advanced to the semi-finals of the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur.
He was also a member of the 2023 USA Junior Ryder Cup Team.

Miles RUSSELL (17) – Jacksonville Beach, Florida
The left-hander finished fifth at the Northeast Amateur, tied 2nd at the Jones Cup and won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.
Currently ranked 5th in WAGR he has committed to Florida State in 2027.
In 2024, Russell became the youngest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to make a cut, doing so at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida.
Also named the 2023 and 2025 AJGA’s Player of the Year.

PRESTON STOUT (21) – Dallas, Texas
Rising senior at Oklahoma State where he claimed the 2026 NCAA Division I individual title and helped his team to victory in the 2025 Championship.
Stout currently sits at No. 1 in WAGR after posting four collegiate victories in the 2025-26 season.
Represented the USA in the 2025 Palmer Cup, World Amateur Team Championship and Walker Cup.
Won the 2025 Northeast Amateur by eight strokes.

Tyler WATTS (18) – Huntsville, Alabama
Became the youngest winner of the Northeast Amateur in June 2026.
Watts, WAGR No. 3, will be starting at the University of Tennessee later this month.
In 2025 he won the 84th Sunnehanna Amateur after shooting 18 under par, the lowest 72-hole score in the history of the event.
The left hander also made the championship match of the 2025 North & South Amateur at Pinehurst.
In 2023, Watts claimed the 107th Alabama State Amateur Championship title, setting the record as the youngest player in history to win at age 15.
That same year, he won the Jones Cup Junior Invitational at Sea Island (Ga.) G.C.

ME.

195. 2026 Walker Cup Teams Start To Take Shape

8th & 9th July 2026

With less than 60 days to go until the 51st Walker Cup match begins the two teams are now starting to take shape as some of the selections are confirmed.

Stuart GREHAN (IRL) claimed the first place in the Great Britain & Ireland team when he won the 131st Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool G.C. on 20th June 2026. His win over USA’s Matt Moloney earned him an automatic selection to the GB&I team.

Stuart Grehan (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

The top-five GB&I players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) published on 5th August will be the next to gain automatic selection.

The top 5 as at 8th July are Tyler WEAVER (ENG) #2, Luke POULTER (ENG) #7, Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO) #18, Stuart GREHAN (IRL) #19 (although he does not meet the divisor of 18 rule) and Eliot BAKER (ENG) #21.

Weaver has been injured since late April and is running out of time to prove his fitness for the match in early September. Grehan, as the Amateur champion, has already secured his place on the team. These positions are not transferable so captain Dean Robertson may end up having one or possibly two additional picks.

The full GB&I team of 10 players is scheduled to be announced on Tuesday 18th August.

As Preston STOUT (22) #1, Tyler WATTS (18) #3 and Ethan FANG #4 (21) were the three highest-ranked American players in the WAGR as of 8th July they have earned automatic exemptions from the USGA onto the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team. Stout and Fang competed in last year’s match at Cypress Point.

USA WAGR Extract As At 8th July 2026 (Graphic: WAGR)

Miles RUSSELL (17), WAGR ranked #5, was also added to the USA roster by the USGA Team Selection Committee on 9th July 2026.

The USGA Team Selection Committee stated in their announcement that they may also name additional players to their Walker Cup team in the coming weeks.

The winner of the 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship, set to be played at Merion G.C. in August, and the recipient of the 2026 McCormack Medal, will also earn automatic exemptions, should they be American.

The remaining USA team members are scheduled to be announced at the conclusion of the U.S. Amateur Championship on Sunday 16th August.

ME.

185. 2025 USA Walker Cup Team Is Announced

17th August 2025

Following the conclusion of the 125th U.S. Amateur Championship on Sunday 17th August the USGA’s International Team Selection Working Group (ITS) and captain Nathan Smith confirmed the 10 players who would represent the USA in the 2025 Walker Cup match.

Five players had already been selected in advance of the U.S. Amateur so today saw the five remaining players confirmed.

USA Walker Cup Team (Graphic: USGA)

JACKSON KOIVUN (20), BEN JAMES (22) and MICHAEL LA SASSO (21), who were ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) at the time, were selected on 18th June 2025.

ETHAN FANG (20) and PRESTON STOUT (21), who were WAGR ranked 3rd and 4th at the time, were added to the USA line-up on 25th July 2025 based on their recent form.

Mason HOWELL (18) earned automatic selection by winning the U.S. Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club on 17th August 2025.

Stewart HAGESTAD (34), Jacob MODLESKI (20), Tommy MORRISON (21) and Jase SUMMY (21) were selected by the ITS and also announced on 17th August 2025.

Miles RUSSELL (16) and Max HERENDEEN (20) will be the team’s alternates.

Hagestad secured the mid-amateur berth ahead of Evan Beck and will play his fifth consecutive Walker Cup match. He has won all four of his previous encounters and holds a P11 W6 H0 L5 record with 5 Singles wins to his name.

Ben James is the only other USA returner. His record at St. Andrews in 2023 was P3 W1 H0 L2.

USA Player Profiles – Courtesy of the USGA

ETHAN FANG (20) – Plano, Texas
The 2025 Amateur champion at Royal St. George’s, England.
Rising junior at Oklahoma State whom he helped to the 2025 NCAA Div I title.
Represented the USA in the 2025 Palmer Cup.

Stewart HAGESTAD (34) – Newport Beach, California
Competing in his fifth Walker Cup match.
U.S. Mid-Amateur champion in 2016, 2021 & 2023.
Only invited U.S. Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut at The Masters (2017).
Works as a broker for investment bank BDT & MSD Partners in Palm Beach, FL.

Mason HOWELL (18) – Thomasville, Georgia
The 2025 U.S. Amateur champion at The Olympic Club, San Francisco.
Qualified for the 2025 U.S. Open by shooting a pair of bogey-free 63s in Atlanta.
Stroke-play medalist at the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur.
Rising high school senior who has committed to play at Georgia in 2026.

BEN JAMES (22) – Milton, Connecticut
Member of the victorious 2023 USA Walker Cup Team at St. Andrews.
Rising senior at Virginia whom he helped to 2nd place at the 2025 NCAA Finals.
Has qualified for the last two U.S. Opens.
Member of the 2024 USA Palmer Cup Team.

JACKSON KOIVUN (20) – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
WAGR #1 and winner of the 2025 Mark H. McCormack Medal.
Rising junior at Auburn University who won the 2024 NCAA title.
Swept all the major collegiate golf awards in the 2023-24 season.
Member of the 2024 and 2025 USA Palmer Cup Teams.

MICHAEL LA SASSO (21) – Raleigh, North Carolina
Rising senior at Ole Miss who claimed the 2025 NCAA Division I individual title.
Competed in the 2025 U.S. Open.
Member of the 2024 and 2025 USA Palmer Cup Teams.

Jacob MODLESKI (20) – Noblesville, Indiana
Rising junior at the University of Notre Dame.
Reached the quarter finals of the 2024 and 2025 U.S. Amateur Championships.
Semi-finalist in the 2025 Western Amateur.
Won the 2024 Jones Cup Invitational.

Tommy MORRISON (21) – Dallas, Texas
Rising senior at the University of Texas.
The only American to win the European Amateur Championship (2024).
Victory earned him an exemption into The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
At 6 feet, 9 inches, he is one of the tallest players in the game.

PRESTON STOUT (21) – Richardson, Texas
Rising junior at Oklahoma State helping them to the 2025 NCAA Division I title.
Won the 2025 Northeast Amateur by eight strokes.
Represented the USA in the 2025 Palmer Cup.

Jase SUMMY (21) – Keller, Texas
Rising senior at University of Oklahoma
Won the 2025 Western Amateur.
Finished tied for third in 2025 Southern Amateur
Member of the 2025 USA Palmer Cup Team
Won the Maridoe Intercollegiate and was 2nd in Valspar Intercollegiate in 2025.

ME.

183. Ethan Fang and Preston Stout Added To USA Team

25th July 2025

Ethan FANG and Preston STOUT have today been added to the 2025 USA Walker Cup Team by the USGA’s International Team Selection working group (ITS).

They join Jackson KOIVUN, Ben JAMES and Michael LA SASSO, who earned automatic selections to the 10-man team on 18th June as the three highest-ranked American players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

Ethan FANG (WAGR #3), 20, of Plano, Texas, captured the 130th Amateur Championship at Royal St. George’s, in England, becoming the first American in 18 years to win the oldest amateur competition. He is a rising junior at Oklahoma State who helped his university claim the 2025 NCAA Division I title earlier in the summer.

Ethan Fang (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Preston STOUT (WAGR #4), 21, of Dallas, Texas, recently won the 2025 Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett Country Club, in Rumford, Rhode Island, by eight strokes. Like Fang Stout is a rising junior at Oklahoma State University and helped the Cowboys to victory in the 2025 NCAA Division I Championship. Stout won the 2024 and 2025 Big 12 Conference individual titles and finished third as an individual at the 2025 NCAA Division I event.

Preston Stout (Photo: Oklahoma State University Golf Team)

“Ethan and Preston are excellent additions to further solidify this year’s team,” said Nathan Smith, captain of the USA Team. “These two players have worked tirelessly to put themselves in a position to be selected to this team and I’m thrilled to see their hard work rewarded. I look forward to having them on our side at Cypress Point.”

The USGA’s ITS will name the remaining members of the USA Walker Cup Team immediately following the U.S. Amateur Championship in San Francisco on 17th August.

ME.