Jack Whaley wins US Amateur Championship at Merion

Jack Whaley became only the second Englishman to win the US Amateur Championship since 1911 as he beat American Jay Leng Jr 4&3 in the final at Merion.

Victory at the storied course in Pennsylvania gives the 22-year-old from Yorkshire a place in the fields for the Masters, US Open and The Open at St Andrews in 2027.

"I don't think it's sunk in yet," Whaley said when asked about emulating Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland in winning the prestigious title.

"But it's definitely a huge honour to be part of the names of all the famous people and unbelievable golfers that have come through and won. I don't really have words for it right now."

Whaley, who attends Florida State University, went into the final as the underdog against Leng Jr, who is 23rd in the world amateur golf ranking - 67 places higher than the Doncaster player.

The disparity in ranking between the players looked accurate as Whaley slipped two down after the opening round of Sunday's 36-hole final.

However, Whaley fought back superbly, making back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes of his second round on his way to winning four holes consecutively.

With rain lashing down, both players took two of the next six holes before Leng Jr misread a putt on the 12th to hand his opponent a three-hole lead.

Whaley rounded off his win with a superb left-to-right putt for birdie at 15 to become the first Englishman to triumph in the US Amateur since Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013.

Prior to Fitzpatrick, Harold Hilton had been the last Englishman to win the title in 1911, with Scotland's Richie Ramsay in 2006 the only other British winner since 1898.

Fitzpatrick followed up his success at The Country Club in Brookline by winning the US Open on the same course in 2022.

Whaley also automatically earns one of the 10 spots on the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team that will take on the United States at Lahinch in Ireland on 5 and 6 September.