2024 U.S Amateur primer: What to know (and 6 players to watch)

The crown jewel of the men’s amateur golf season is underway, as players teed off at 7 a.m. local on two different courses in the Twin Cities suburbs on Monday to kick off the 124th U.S. Amateur.

The field consists of 312 players, with the youngest a 14 year old (Jaden Soong) and the oldest 61 (Rusty Strawn). Here’s everything you need to know, including how to watch the action, notable players and more.

2024 U.S. Amateur schedule

Monday, Aug. 12: First round, 18 holes stroke play
Tuesday, Aug. 13: Second round, 18 holes stroke play
Wednesday, Aug. 14: Round of 64, match play
Thursday, Aug. 15: Rounds of 32 and 16, match play
Friday, Aug. 16: Quarterfinals, match play
Saturday, Aug. 17: Semifinals, match play
Sunday, Aug. 18: Championship, 36 holes match play

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2024 U.S. Amateur golf courses

Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minn. — Hazeltine hosts the U.S. Amateur for the second time in its history, and it’s the first marquee event for the club since it was the home venue for the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and 2016 Ryder Cup. Hazeltine will play 7,552 yards with a par of 72. The rough is always thick here and will be even gnarlier this week.

Chaska Town Course, Chaska, Minn. — Chaska Town Course, a muni three miles from Hazeltine, will serve as the stroke-play co-host for Monday and Tuesday. At 6,804 yards, it’s much shorter than Hazeltine and will play as a par 70 (with two par-5s converted to par-4s). Players will go lower here than what Hazeltine will allow, and Billy Horschel still holds the course record (60) dating back to the 2006 U.S. Amateur. The Arthur Hills design is $82 for a peak weekend walking rate and one of the top public courses in the Twin Cities.

How to watch the 2024 U.S. Amateur (ET)

Wednesday, Aug. 14: 5-6 p.m. (Peacock); 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Thursday, Aug. 15: 5-6 p.m. (Peacock); 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Friday, Aug. 16: 5-6 p.m. (Peacock); 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Saturday, Aug. 17: 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Sunday, Aug. 18: 2-5 p.m. (Golf Channel)

6 names to know for the 2024 U.S. Amateur

Nineteen of the top 20 players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings are in the field, a list that includes No. 1 Gordon Sargent, No. 2 Jackson Koivun and No. 3 Luke Clanton. Sargent, a 21-year-old rising senior at Vanderbilt, won the 2022 NCAA Division I Championship. Koivun, a 19-year-old rising sophomore at Auburn, helped the Tigers to the 2024 NCAA Division I title last season and is also the first player in collegiate history to win all four of the major postseason awards: the Mickelson (for top freshman) and the Haskins, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan (nation’s top player). Clanton, 20, recently made headlines when the rising Florida State junior recorded back-to-back top 10s on the PGA Tour, the first amateur to do so since 1958. He was at it again this past weekend, when he tied for fifth at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday night before jumping on a flight for the U.S. Am and a Monday afternoon tee time.

The most well-known name in the field might be John Daly II, the 21-year-old son of two-time major champ John Daly. The younger Daly came out of a 5-for-4 playoff at Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas to earn his first U.S. Am bid.

Another player who already made a splash this year is Miles Russell, 15, who became the youngest golfer ever to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour when he tied for 20th at the LECOM Suncoast Classic. Last year, Russell became the youngest to win AJGA Rolex Boys Player of the Year, an honor previously held by Tiger Woods.

But no player might have more experience on the two courses than Gunnar Broin, a 22-year-old Minnesotan who plays on the Kansas men’s golf team. Broin grew up in Shorewood, Minn., nine miles from Chaska, and logged many rounds at Chaska Town Course. He also spent the past few summers caddying at Hazeltine. He is one of 13 players in the field who qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2; he made the cut and tied for 70th. (Broin is also one of five Minnesotans in the field.)

What the U.S. Amateur winner receives

Besides a gold medal and the Havemeyer Trophy, the winner of the 2024 U.S. Amateur receives exemptions into the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont and 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. The winner and runner-up are also likely to receive invites into the 2025 Masters.