No. 32 seed Davis Riley, 21, Hattiesburg, Miss.
“It’s nice to have my mom on the road again. She got diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in the year, but it’s great to have her back out there. She's like my No. 1 fan.”
- No. 24 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Competing in his fifth U.S. Amateur and ninth USGA championship
- Runner-up in the 2013 and 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur Championships
- Matched the course record of 64 at Oakland Hills’ North Course in the 2016 U.S. Amateur
- Senior at the University of Alabama, major is business
- Third team All-America and first team SEC in 2017-18
- Lost to fellow quarterfinalist, Cole Hammer, 1 down, in the championship match of the 2018 Western Amateur
- Hobbies include hunting and fishing
Path to the Quarterfinals:
- Shot 74(s)-70(p)–144 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Def. Ryan Burnett, 2 and 1
- Round of 32: Def. Daniel Hillier, 5 and 4
- Round of 16: Def. Mason Overstreet, 21 holes
No. 41 Devon Bling, 18, Ridgecrest, Calif.
“My mom passed away in 2013. She always wanted me to play in USGA championships so playing in the U.S. Am was a huge goal and I hope to get a victory for her.”
- No. 302 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Hobbies include piano, guitar, card magic and painting
- Playing in his third USGA championship
- Lost in the Round of 64 in the 2015 and 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur Championships
- Earned All-Pac 12 honors as a sophomore at UCLA
- Major is business economics
- Won the 2018 Jackrabbit Invitational, a collegiate tournament
Path to the Quarterfinals:
- Shot 75(p)-70(s)–145 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Def. Caleb Ramirez, 5 and 4
- Round of 32: Def. Shintaro Ban, 2 up
- Round of 16: Def. Noah Goodwin, 20 holes
No. 29 Isaiah Salinda, 21, South San Francisco, Calif.
“There were quite a few people watching. My family, my parents, my brother, a couple teammates, and a lot of guys who said that they're from the Bay Area, so that meant a lot. It will probably increase tomorrow, so I'm excited.”
- No. 73 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Competing in his first USGA championship
- Senior at Stanford University
- Honorable mention All-America and All-Pac 12 in 2017-18
- Won the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur by one stroke over Austin Eckroat
- Shot a competitive course record 62 at The Olympic Club’s Lake Course in that tournament
Path to the Quarterfinals:
- Shot 68(p)-76(s)–144 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Def. Will Grimmer, 6 and 5
- Round of 32: Def. Trevor Phillips, 5 and 4
- Round of 16: Def. Stewart Hagestad, 1 up
No. 5 Will Gordon, 22, Davidson, N.C.
“I haven't hung out with him [Steph Curry] in probably three or four years, but while he was at Davidson his first couple years, we used to play a lot. I beat him probably eight times and he beat me the last time, and he never called me again.”
- No. 126 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Playing in his third U.S. Amateur (lost in Round of 64 in 2015 and 2017)
- Advanced to the Round of 32 in the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur
- Member of 2016 U.S. Palmer Cup Team
- Senior at Vanderbilt University, major is Human and Organizational Development
- All-SEC first team in 2017-18
- Volunteered for The First Tee of Charlotte, N.C. as a high school senior project
Path to the Quarterfinals:
- Shot 69(p)-70(s)–139 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Def. Hide Yoshihara, 4 and 3
- Round of 32: Def. Zheng Kai “Bobby” Bai, 3 and 2
- Round of 16: Def. William Mouw, 2 up
No. 2 Cole Hammer, 18, Houston, Texas
“As far as a total experience goes, I don't know if anything could beat Pebble Beach on a sunny day like this. It's incredible, and most of the time in match play I'm grinding the whole time, but I find myself looking around at this beauty here.”
- No. 17 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Stroke play co-medalist (6-under 137) with Daniel Hillier
- Playing in his ninth USGA championship
- Won the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in May, with partner Garrett Barber
- Advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur in July
- Won the Western Amateur two weeks ago, defeating fellow quarterfinalist Davis Riley, 1 up in the championship match
- Won the Azalea Tournament in March
- Will attend the University of Texas in the fall
Path to the Quarterfinals:
- Shot 69(p)-68(s)–137 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Def. Alvaro Ortiz, 2 up
- Round of 32: Def. Joshua McCarthy, 1 up
- Round of 16: Def. Zach Murray, 2 and 1
No. 58 Alex Fitzpatrick, 19, England
“Me and my brother are pretty close. I reach out for him for a lot of help at times, and it's nice to have someone at that level with the experience and having already done it helping me out throughout the week. He said lots of love, just keep doing what you're doing, and see what happens.”
- No. 67 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Younger brother of 2013 U.S. Amateur champion Matthew Fitzpatrick
- As a 14-year-old, caddied for Matthew at The Country Club during the 2013 championship
- Alex called that week “the best of his golfing life”
- Will attend Wake Forest University in the fall
- Runner-up to Billy McKenzie in the Spanish International Amateur in March
Path to the Quarterfinals:
- Shot 72(p)-74(s)–146 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Def. Ian Siebers, 2 and 1
- Round of 32: Def. Jesus Montenegro, 20 holes
- Round of 16: Def. McClure Meissner, 19 holes
No. 14 Austin Squires, 21, Union, Ky.
“It really hasn't sunk in yet how special it is with all the history at this venue. I'm trying to etch my name on a little piece of history, as well. So it's really cool.”
- No. 148 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Playing in his third USGA championship (missed match-play cut in 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur and 2017 U.S. Amateur)
- Senior at the University of Cincinnati
- His coach at Cincinnati, Doug Martin, is the 1984 U.S. Junior Amateur champion
- Steve Flesch, a four-time PGA Tour winner and Fox analyst, is a close family friend and helps provide swing advice
- His friends call him “Squirrels” because when he wrote his name in the 3rd grade the "I" in his name looked like an "L"
- Hobbies include playing the guitar, wake surfing and watching movies
Path to the Quarterfinals:
- Shot 70(s)-72(p)–142 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Def. Max Theodorakis, 5 and 4
- Round of 32: Def. Luis Gagne, 19 holes
- Round of 16: Def. Andrew Alligood, 1 up
No. 27 Viktor Hovland, 20, Norway
“I've never gotten this far before. There are still three more matches to go, but just being in the quarterfinals is pretty cool.”
- No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Nickname is “Hovi”
- Likes heavy-metal music, cites Metallica and Tool as his favorite bands
- Competing in his second U.S. Amateur (missed match play in 2017)
- Defeated his high school teammate from Norway, Kristoffer Reitan, in the Round of 16
- Junior at Oklahoma State University
- First-team All-America and All-Big 12 Conference honors as a sophomore
- Shot a final-round 65 representing Norway in 2016 World Amateur Team Championship
Path to the Quarterfinals:
- Shot 71(p)-73(s)–144 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Def. Hayden Wood, 3 and 2
- Round of 32: Def. Harrison Ott, 2 and 1
- Round of 16: Def. Kristoffer Reitan, 7 and 6
Mike Trostel is the senior content producer for the USGA. Email him at mtrostel@usga.org.
