Florida State men’s golf rising senior Jack Whaley was crowned the 126th U.S. Amateur Champion on Sunday after defeating Jay Leng Jr. 4&3 at the Merion Golf Club.

Whaley, who started the tournament as the 90th-ranked amateur in the World Amateur Golf Rankings became the first Seminole to win the Havemeyer Trophy in program history and first to appear in a final since Drew Kittleson in 2008. With his final appearance, Whaley earned exemption into the 2027 Masters and 127th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Whaley becomes the first current FSU player to qualify for the Masters since Harry Ellis in 2018.

The victory earned him a spot in The 2027 Open Championships at St. Andrews and the Walker Cup in September for Great Britain.

Representing England, Whaley took down Leng Jr. of Stanford in the final 36 holes to become the first Englishman to win the tournament since Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013 and third overall since 1911.

Whaley started the day with a chip-in on the first to win the hole and added to his lead after a par on the third. Whaley held the advantage for four holes before Leng Jr. won the ninth and 10th to tie. Whaley took the 11th with a birdie, but Leng Jr. answered with back-to-back wins to take the lead at the 13th. Whaley finished the first 18 holes trailing by two.

After a break in the action, Whaley came out with four wins in-a-row to go 2 Up after 23 holes. Whaley gave one back to Leng on the 24th, but secured birdies on the 26th and 28th holes to stretch his lead to 3 Up.

Leng Jr. answered with a win on the 29th, but Whaley’s par on the 30th put him back at 3 Up. Following a pair of tied holes with pars, Whaley secured the championship by draining a birdie putt on the 33rd hole.

U.S. Amateur Match Play: 5-0

Round of 64: Jack Whaley def. No. 5 Jackson Ormond  (Florida)– 1 Up, 22 holes

Round of 32: Jack Whaley def. No. 37 Bowen Mauss (Arizona State) – 2&1

Round of 16: Jack Whaley def. No. 53 Christian Cavliere – 4&3

Quarterfinal: Jack Whaley def. No. 29 Adam Bresnu (Texas Tech) – 5&4

Semifinal: Jack Whaley def. No. 8 Carter Loflin – 1 Up

Final: Jack Whaley def. No. 15 Jay Leng Jr. – 4&3