Jack Whaley was going to be hard-pressed to top his 2025 — NAIA national champion at Dalton State and the winner of awards with the names of golf legends like Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
Now it’s going to be tough to top his 2026 — a long shot participant who wins the U.S. Amateur championship on Sunday, claiming a Havemeyer Trophy that Tiger Woods won (three times).
Whaley was still riding the post-championship wave, making the drive back from the Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania back to Tallahassee. On Thursday, he was surrounded by his FSU teammates, president Richard McCullough and his wife, Jai Vartikar, and athletics director Michael Alford.
“Absolutely unbelievable experience,” Whaley said. “Just been bombarded by a lot of messages and it’s taken some time to get through them.”
The texts came flooding in, including a video message from Luke Donald with the Ryder Cup trophy in the background. “I’m going to treasure that one for a while,” Whaley said.
With his dad as the caddie, Whaley won a 36-hole final on Sunday to take the trophy. He’s brought it back to Tallahassee, where Whaley and the trophy made appearances around the FSU campus and at the Seminole Legacy Golf course.
Whaley shared his appreciation to coach Trey Jones and the program for welcoming him a year ago from Dalton State.
“For coach Jones and the coaching staff at Florida State to take the chance on me last year after playing NAIA golf to now being in this position, I can’t thank them enough,” Whaley said. “For them to be able to experience being there at Marion when I won is going to be an incredible memory for us all. I think we’re all going to cherish this at all.”
Whaley is looking forward to competing daily at Seminole Legacy with his teammates and preparing for the upcoming fall season as well as the spring tournaments in 2027. Along with Tyler Weaver, one of the nation’s top college golfers, FSU has a formidable lineup.
“We’ve got a massive amount of talent on our team,” Whaley said. “Any given day, anyone can go out and beat anyone. … With what Tyler has achieved and what I’ve achieved this week, that gives them the confidence. They beat me occasionally — and more often than not. If you can beat me you can do it as well. Going into this year I think it’s going to be huge for us. I’m really looking forward to where this team is going to get to.”
Whaley also qualified for the 2027 Masters, 127th U.S. Open (at Pebble Beach) and 2027 Open Championships (Old Course at St. Andrews) and will represent England at the Walker Cup.
“It’s the pinnacle of golf,” Whaley said. “To be able to play in the majors is going to be a great experience for me. But also it’s going to be great for the family for them to see the hard work that I’ve put into golf is starting to pay off and I get to play in these prestigious events.”
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