Barbin and Lugiano Set for 2025 U.S. Amateur

Two of Liberty's top returning golfers are getting a jumpstart on their 2025-26 season by teeing it up against the nation's best young players next week.

Liberty's Evan Barbin and Michael Lugiano will be among the 312 golfers competing at the 125^th U.S. Amateur Championship. The nation's premier amateur golf championship will be contested at the famed The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., Aug. 11-17.

The Olympic Club is no stranger to major championship golf events. The course has hosted five U.S. Opens (1955, 1966, 1987, 1998 and 2012), three previous U.S. Amateur Championships (1958, 1981 and 2007) and the U.S. Women's Open (2021). The course is also slated to host the 2028 PGA Championship and the 2033 Ryder Cup.

Players from 48 of the 50 states and 26 countries will battle for one of the elite amateur trophies in golf. The event begins with two rounds of stroke play on Monday, Aug. 11 and Tuesday, Aug. 12.

Following the 36-hole stroke play portion of the event, the top 64 competitors will face six rounds of match play to determine this year's national amateur champion.

Some of the best golfers in the history of the sport used the U.S. Amateur Championship to springboard their professional careers. Past winners include Bob Jones (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930), Arnold Palmer (1954), Jack Nicklaus (1959, 1961), Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1994, 1995, 1996), Matthew Fitzpatrick (2013) and Bryson DeChambeau (2015).

This is the second time that Barbin has competed in the U.S. Amateur Championship. Last year, Barbin posted a 2-over par 144 (78-66) at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

Barbin missed out on the Round of 64 match play by two strokes, as a score of even par 142 made the match play portion of the championship.

During the 2024-25 season, Lugiano ranked fourth on Liberty's roster with a 73.00 season stroke average during his freshman season. The CUSA All-Freshman team member played 10-of-27 rounds at par or better and claimed his first collegiate individual medalist honor with a first-place finish at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate.

Barbin finished his third year with the program with a 75.11 season stroke average and enters his senior year with a 75.00 career average. He opened the 2024-25 season with a fifth-place finish at Duke's Rod Myers Invitational, carding a 6-under par 210 (70-70-70).

Liberty Golfer Tee Times:
Evan Barbin

Monday, August 11 – 1:28 p.m. PDT/4:28 p.m. EDT (No. 1 tee Ocean Course)
Tuesday, August 12 – 8:13 a.m. PDT/11:13 a.m. EDT (No. 9 tee Lake Course)

Michael Lugiano

Monday, August 11 – 1:06 p.m. PDT/4:06 p.m. EDT (No. 1 tee Lake Course)
Tuesday, August 12 – 7:31 a.m. PDT/10:31 a.m. EDT (No. 10 tee Ocean Course)

Schedule