U.S. Amateur

John Daly Jr. survives 5-for-4 playoff, qualifies for U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine

By Christopher Powers

July 24, 2024

Andrew Wevers

Just one month after competing in his first professional event, John Daly II qualified to compete for the first time in the U.S. Amateur, which is set to take place next month at Hazeltine National outside Minneapolis.

Daly II's two-under 68 put him in a tie for 13th at Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas, one of the Final Qualifying sites for the U.S. Amateur. Seventeen players shot 68 or better with just 16 spots available, meaning there would be a 5-for-4 playoff. Daly II survived, securing him his place among 312 participants.

In late June, Daly II played as an amateur in Korn Ferry Tour's Compliance Solutions Championship, the first professional tournament the 21-year-old has participated in. He shot rounds of 76 and 72 to miss the cut, but the experience proved to be invaluable. He's now headed to Hazeltine, where his father competed in two PGA Championships, missing the cut in 2002 and withdrawing in 2009. The two-time major champion congratulated his son on Instagram on Tuesday:

Daly II just completed his redshirt sophomore season at Arkansas, where his father was an All-American in the 1980s. This past season, Daly II had a scoring average of 71.78 and posted top-20 finishes in the first six events of the year.

The U.S. Amateur will take place Aug. 12-18, with 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying to determine who will advance to the 64-man match-play bracket. The two stroke-play rounds will take place at Hazeltine National and Chaska Town Course, while the match-play portion of the event will all be contested at Hazeltine.