Ryder Cowan, a senior at Oklahoma, secured an upset victory in the U.S. Amateur match play at Merion Golf Club on Wednesday, competing against the event's sixth seed, Miles Russell, with a notable handicap: only two golf balls in his bag.
Cowan earned the No. 59 seed in the 64-man bracket after navigating a 16-player playoff. His first-round opponent, Russell, is a highly touted junior player ranked fourth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) and is considered comparable to Tiger Woods in his junior career. Despite Russell's top-ranked status, Cowan was the underdog heading into the match.
According to Golf Channel's Brentley Romine, Cowan realized before his match that he had forgotten to pack sleeves of new golf balls. He began the match with one new ball and one that was already "fairly used." He used the new ball for the first 10 holes before switching to the used one.
Despite the unusual circumstance, Cowan managed to hold off Russell, winning the match 2 and 1. The decisive moment came on the 17th hole, a par 3, where Cowan chipped in for par. He had initially mis-hit his first chip attempt before sinking the second shot with precision.
The pressure of playing with a limited number of golf balls is a different challenge at the elite amateur level. Professional golfers often use multiple balls per round, especially when hitting full wedge shots that can cause wear and tear. The risk of hitting a cart path or tree, which can damage a ball to the point of being unplayable at high levels, is a constant concern. For a lower-handicap player, losing both balls would typically lead to the embarrassment of asking an opponent for a spare.