Yes, you’re getting old.
Four sons of PGA Tour players are competing in this week’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas – Jackson Byrd, Trevor Gutschewski, Cameron Kuchar and Charlie Woods.
Jackson Byrd, 18, is the son of five-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd, who was rookie of the year in 2002. Jackson finished runner-up at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley earlier this year and heads to Clemson this fall, where his uncle Jordan Byrd is the head coach.
Trevor Gutschewski, 18, returns to defend his title – the first U.S. Junior champion with that opportunity since Nick Dunlap in 2022. The middle son of three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Scott Gutschewski missed the cut at last month’s U.S. Open at Oakmont but quickly bounced back to win the Western Junior. He’s headed to Florida this fall.
Cameron Kuchar, 17, makes his USGA debut after recently finishing runner-up to Gutschewski at the Western Junior. He’s verbally committed to TCU. His dad, Matt Kuchar, has won nine times on the PGA Tour, represented the U.S. in nine Ryder and Presidents Cups, earned an Olympic bronze medal, and won the 1997 U.S. Amateur.
Charlie Woods, the 16-year-old son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, qualified for his second straight U.S. Junior. Tiger won this tournament three times among his nine USGA titles. Charlie’s a rising junior at the Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Florida, and as a Class of 2027 recruit, he can officially talk to college coaches as of last month. He’s shot up the AJGA rankings, cracking the top 20 after winning the Team TaylorMade Invitational in May, where he beat top-ranked junior Miles Russell by six shots.
Charlie shot 22 over in last year’s U.S. Junior debut at Oakland Hills, tying for 240th in the 264-player field.
This year’s field also has 264 players with 38 states and 33 countries represented. The top 64 players after 36 holes of stroke play advance to Wednesday’s first round of match play, with the 36-hole final set for Saturday.
Here are the other big storylines for the 77th U.S. Junior:
Lefty takeover
The top three players in this field – Miles Russell, Luke Colton and Tyler Watts – aren’t just ranked in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. They’re all left-handed.
Russell, 16, ranks highest at No. 18. The Class of 2027 star recently committed to Florida State and has won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and AJGA Simplify Boys Championship this year, plus a runner-up at the Northeast Amateur. He’s also won the Boys Junior PGA and AJGA Junior Players, making the U.S. Junior the last major junior title he hasn’t captured.
Luke Colton, an 18-year-old Vanderbilt commit from Frisco, Texas, ranks No. 25 globally. He’s playing his fifth USGA championship and has twice reached match play at the U.S. Junior. He’s also the two-time defending Terra Cotta Amateur champion.
No. 45 Tyler Watts, 17, is having perhaps the best summer of the three. He won June’s Sunnehanna Amateur with a record 18-under score and reached the North and South Amateur final a few weeks later. He also lost to Trevor Gutschewski in last year’s U.S. Junior final at Oakland Hills. He’s verbally committed to Tennessee.
Can he Mawhinney?
It’s hard to believe this is Tyler Mawhinney’s U.S. Junior debut.
The 17-year-old from Fleming Island, Florida, already has a USGA title, teaming with future Vanderbilt teammate Will Hartman (also in this week’s field) to win this year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Mawhinney won last year’s Canadian Men’s Amateur and took advantage of his exemption into the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open last month, tying for 65th.
He also reached the Round of 16 at last summer’s U.S. Amateur.
Qatar, not a drawer
At 14, Daniil Sokolov is one of the youngest players in the field. Only 13-year-olds Luka Tiger Peterman Castillo and Salem Alabdallat are younger.
Sokolov is also the first player from Qatar ever to play in a USGA championship.
Born in South Korea to Russian parents, Sokolov moved to Qatar when he was 5. He won bronze at the 2024 Arab Junior Championship and has twice played in the DP World Tour’s Qatar Masters, missing the cut both times.
Home cooking
There are 17 Texans teeing it up this week, second only to California’s 24. Among them is 18-year-old Reese Roberts of Dallas.
Roberts, a Missouri signee, attended Jesuit College Prep in Dallas – the same high school as two-time U.S. Junior champion Jordan Spieth. Roberts won Spieth’s AJGA event last year, the same year he won the Texas State Amateur at Trinity Forest.
