Photo by: USGA Museum
4 Flames Set to Tee It Up at 2026 U.S. Amateur
8/7/2026 10:27:00 AM | Men's Golf
Four players associated with the Liberty men's golf program will test their skills against the world's top amateur golfers at next week's 2026 U.S. Amateur.
Recent graduate Josh Ryan and rising junior Michael Lugiano along with incoming freshmen Austin Krahn and Noah Maclauchlan will be among the 312 golfers contesting for the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship.
The event will be hosted at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., and the Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pa., Aug. 10-16.
The Merion Golf Club has a long and storied place in championship golf history. The 2026 U.S. Amateur is the 20th USGA championship to be hosted at Merion, and the seventh men's U.S. Amateur.
Players from 45 of the 50 states and 36 countries will battle for one of the elite amateur trophies in golf. The event begins with two rounds of stroke play on Monday, Aug. 10 and Tuesday, Aug. 11.
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).
Lugiano is one of 91 returning players to the U.S. Amateur as he also competed in this prestigious event last year at the famed The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif.
Lugiano had a banner season for Liberty in 2025-26, which propelled the Flames to a Conference USA title and himself individually onto the national scene.
The native of Jackson Township, Pa., led the Flames with a 70.61 season stroke average, which was the second lowest scoring average in program history. He played 27-of-38 rounds at par or better in 2025-26 (71.1 percent) and posted 14 sub-70 rounds.
Lugiano was well recognized during the 2025-26 season. He was named to the Conference USA first team, the PING All-Region East team and was a PING All-America honorable mention selection.
Ryan recently completed his senior season at Liberty where he posted a 71.40 career stroke average. The native of Norristown, Pa., was an all-conference selection all four years of his time with the Flames, was named the 2023 ASUN Freshman of the Year and the 2024 Conference USA Men's Golfer of the Year.
Krahn and Maclauchlan are two of the four new faces on Liberty's 2026-27 men's golf roster.
Krahn, a native of Christina Lake, British Columbia, won both the British Columbia Junior Championship and the British Columbia Amateur Championship in 2025.
Maclauchlan, a native of Moseley, Va., qualified for the U.S. Amateur following an impressive victory at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur where he defeated No. 1 AJGA ranked Miles Russell, 6 and 5, in the championship match.
Liberty Golfer Tee Times:
Josh Ryan
Recent graduate Josh Ryan and rising junior Michael Lugiano along with incoming freshmen Austin Krahn and Noah Maclauchlan will be among the 312 golfers contesting for the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship.
The event will be hosted at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., and the Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pa., Aug. 10-16.
The Merion Golf Club has a long and storied place in championship golf history. The 2026 U.S. Amateur is the 20th USGA championship to be hosted at Merion, and the seventh men's U.S. Amateur.
Players from 45 of the 50 states and 36 countries will battle for one of the elite amateur trophies in golf. The event begins with two rounds of stroke play on Monday, Aug. 10 and Tuesday, Aug. 11.
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).
Lugiano is one of 91 returning players to the U.S. Amateur as he also competed in this prestigious event last year at the famed The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif.
Lugiano had a banner season for Liberty in 2025-26, which propelled the Flames to a Conference USA title and himself individually onto the national scene.
The native of Jackson Township, Pa., led the Flames with a 70.61 season stroke average, which was the second lowest scoring average in program history. He played 27-of-38 rounds at par or better in 2025-26 (71.1 percent) and posted 14 sub-70 rounds.
Lugiano was well recognized during the 2025-26 season. He was named to the Conference USA first team, the PING All-Region East team and was a PING All-America honorable mention selection.
Ryan recently completed his senior season at Liberty where he posted a 71.40 career stroke average. The native of Norristown, Pa., was an all-conference selection all four years of his time with the Flames, was named the 2023 ASUN Freshman of the Year and the 2024 Conference USA Men's Golfer of the Year.
Krahn and Maclauchlan are two of the four new faces on Liberty's 2026-27 men's golf roster.
Krahn, a native of Christina Lake, British Columbia, won both the British Columbia Junior Championship and the British Columbia Amateur Championship in 2025.
Maclauchlan, a native of Moseley, Va., qualified for the U.S. Amateur following an impressive victory at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur where he defeated No. 1 AJGA ranked Miles Russell, 6 and 5, in the championship match.
Liberty Golfer Tee Times:
Josh Ryan
- Monday, August 10 – 7 a.m. ET (Philadelphia Country Club)
- Tuesday, August 11 – 12:30 p.m. ET (Merion Golf Club)
- Monday, August 10 – 12:45 p.m. ET (Merion Golf Club)
- Tuesday, August 11 – 7 a.m. ET (Philadelphia Country Club)
- Monday, August 10 – 8:50 a.m. ET (Philadelphia Country Club)
- Tuesday, August 11 – 2:35 p.m. ET (Merion Golf Club)
- Monday, August 10 – 12:41 p.m. ET (Philadelphia Country Club)
- Tuesday, August 11 – 7:11 a.m. ET (Merion Golf Club)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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