Kailer Stone has won back-to-back NCGA Junior Championships, including this month’s victory at Lake Merced in San Francisco.
Now the 17-year-old from Alameda, California, is making his move at the 77th U.S. Junior Amateur in Dallas, hoping to return to the Bay Area next month for the U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club with another prestigious title under his belt.
Stone fired a bogey-free 5-under 66 at Trinity Forest in Monday’s opening round of stroke play, sharing the day’s low score with China’s Qiyou Wu. The Pepperdine commit’s clean card stood out on a day when Trinity Forest played more than two shots tougher than Brook Hollow, the championship’s second course.
Georgia commit Mason Howell, who qualified for the U.S. Open earlier this summer, posted the best round at Brook Hollow with a 3-under 67, matched by fellow Georgia native Trace Carter.
Top-ranked junior Miles Russell carded a solid 67 at Trinity Forest, while defending champion Trevor Gutschewski opened with a 68 on the course that formerly hosted the PGA Tour’s Byron Nelson event. Tyler Watts, who Gutschewski defeated in last July’s final at Oakland Hills and is now a Tennessee commit, also shot 68 at Trinity Forest.
Notable Performances
Several high-profile juniors positioned themselves well after the first round:
- Tyler Mawhinney, reigning U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion and Vanderbilt commit (68-TF)
- Misha Golod, North Carolina sophomore from Ukraine (69-TF)
- Logan Reilly, Auburn signee (71-TF)
- Luke Colton, Vanderbilt commit (71-TF)
- Jackson Byrd, Clemson signee (71-TF)
- Michael Riebe, Vanderbilt signee (71-BH)
- Henry Guan, Oklahoma State signee (71-BH)
- Daniil Sokolov (71-TF), making history as the first player from Qatar to compete in a USGA championship
Two players with famous fathers struggled in their opening rounds. Cameron Kuchar posted a 74 at Trinity Forest while Charlie Woods struggled to an 81 at Brook Hollow. Both Matt Kuchar and Tiger Woods were on site watching their sons compete.
Woods, playing in his second U.S. Junior after missing the cut last year, managed birdies on Nos. 18 and 9, but four double bogeys—including three on his opening nine—derailed his round. He sits T-242 in the 264-player field, nine shots outside what would be a 30-for-8 playoff for the final match play spots.
The top 64 players after Tuesday’s second round will advance to match play, where the real drama begins in this prestigious championship.
