Florida State's Jack Whaley, 22, secures U.S. Amateur title - ESPN

ARDMORE, Pa. — Jack Whaley of England used double gloves, needed an umbrella, was stung by a wasp at rainy Merion Golf Club and still pushed through the inconveniences to cap a tremendous tournament and hold off Jay Leng Jr. to win the U.S. Amateur on Sunday.

Whaley should keep the rain jacket.

The 22-year-old English from Doncaster gets to soak up the spoils that come with winning amateur golf's greatest prize.

With skies finally clear on the rain-slogged course, Whaley sank his final putt to clinch the 36-hole final 4 and 3 and hugged it out with his caddy — his father, Andy. Whaley's mother ran out to join them for a family embrace while Andy gripped the famed wicker basket flagstick.

Whaley broke down in tears as he held the Havemeyer Trophy and dedicated the win to his father, who never stopped encouraging his son to play, even as he kept missing cuts as a teenager.

«I don't think anything's going to top this,» Whaley said.

Whaley made a rapid rise from NAIA star to Florida State to amateur champion and now has an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Open, and the 2027 British Open at St. Andrews and the Masters should he remain an amateur. He wore his Florida State Seminoles cap and team colors for the championship round.

He even gets a Tiger Woods medal.

Whaley won the seventh U.S. Amateur held at Merion and is the first English amateur to win since Matt Fitzpatrick at Brookline in 2013.

Whaley shook off a wasp sting on the fourth fairway in the afternoon session before he rallied his way to the title. Leng, a Stanford junior, held a 2-up advantage through the first 18 holes after both players bogeyed the par-5 18th on an overcast and windy round.

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