GOLF, Ill. (Monday, July 26, 2021) – The 2021 Western Amateur will feature a decorated field of the world’s best amateur golfers – including three past champions and at least 10 players who qualified for last year’s Sweet 16 – when it comes to Glen View Club in Golf, Illinois, from July 26-31.
First played at Glen View Club in 1899, the Western Amateur is the world’s third oldest amateur championship, behind the British Amateur (1855) and the U.S. Amateur (1895). It regularly attracts the top players from across the country and around the world, with past champions like Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
A combination of stroke play and match play competition make the Western Amateur one of the most demanding events in golf. The international field of 156 players will compete in 72 holes of stroke play over three days to determine the Sweet 16 for match play.
This year, the match play competition will be streamed live on Golf Channel’s digital platforms, with more than 12 hours of coverage on Friday, July 30, and Saturday, July 31. Powered by WGA proud partners BMW and Peter Millar, the stream will be available on GolfChannel.com and thewesternamateur.com, with replays on the Peacock streaming service and golfpass.com.
The 2021 field is one of the most accomplished in the history of the event, with collegiate standouts and future PGA TOUR stars including:
Texas senior Pierceson Coody. The 2020 Western Amateur champion and the No. 2-ranked amateur in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Coody was the 2021 Big 12 Player of the Year. He earned All-America honors and was a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award, presented annually to the nation’s top men’s college golfer. Coody was also a member of the U.S. Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams in 2021.
Florida junior Ricky Castillo. A Western Amateur semifinalist in 2019 and 2020, Castillo is the world’s No. 5-ranked amateur. He made the All-SEC Second Team and played for Team USA in the Walker Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup in 2021.
Texas A&M senior Sam Bennett. Bennett, a Sweet 16 qualifier in 2020, is the No. 6-ranked amateur in the world. His standout 2021 college season included three victories as he earned All-America and All-SEC First Team honors.
Texas senior Cole Hammer. The 2018 Western Amateur winner at Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northfield, Illinois, Hammer is the No. 7-ranked amateur in the world. He made the All-Big 12 First Team in 2021 and won the Big 12 Championship. He qualified for the 2021 U.S. Open and the 2021 Open Championship and represented Team USA at the 2021 Walker Cup.
Florida junior Yuxin Lin. Lin, from Beijing, China, is the No. 16-ranked amateur in the world. He won the 2019 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, earning a spot in the 2020 Masters and the 2021 Open Championship, where he made the cut.
The field also includes ACC Freshman of the Year Peter Fountain (North Carolina); 2021 Big Ten Championship winner Mac McClear (Iowa) of Hinsdale, Illinois; All-Big 12 First Team member Bo Jin (Oklahoma State); and All-Mountain West First Team selection Puwit Anupansuebsai (San Diego State).
Garrett Rank, who won the 2019 Western Amateur at Point O’ Woods Golf & Country Club in Benton Harbor, Michigan, leads a group of nine mid-amateurs in the field. He’s joined by Stewart Hagestad, a member of the 2021 U.S. Walker Cup team and the No. 22-ranked amateur in the world.
There are two former Western Junior champions in the field: William Mouw (Pepperdine), who won in 2017 at Park Ridge Country Club in Park Ridge, Illinois; and Piercen Hunt, who won the 2019 title at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
The final seven spots in the field went to players who advanced through an 18-hole qualifying event Sunday at The Glen Club in Glenview, Illinois. Daulet Tuleubayev, of Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Tyson Shelley, of Salt Lake City, Utah, secured their spots after tying for first at 5 under. Timmy Crawford of Arlington Heights, Illinois; Ty Gingerich of Carmel, Indiana; Connor Polender of Lake Bluff, Illinois; Joe Neuheisel of Scottsdale, Arizona; and Jason Li of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, also qualified by shooting 4 under.
“We strive to attract the best amateur players in the world, and this is one of the deepest fields in the history of the Western Amateur,” said Vince Pellegrino, WGA senior vice president of tournaments. “We look forward to bringing this elite field to a venue that holds such historical significance for the Western Golf Association.”
Glen View Club was one of 11 Chicago-area clubs that came together to form the WGA in 1899. Later that year, the club hosted the WGA’s first two championships – the Western Amateur, won by David Forgan, and the Western Open, won by Willie Smith. The Western Amateur returned in 1905, when H. Chandler Egan was the winner.
Glen View Club also hosted the 1902 U.S. Amateur and the 1904 U.S. Open. Its classic layout shows the influence of legends of golf architecture, with an original design by Herbert Tweedie, Richard Leslie and O.C. Simonds that was later elevated by William Flynn.
In addition to playing a role in the founding of the WGA, Glen View Club has been a committed supporter of the WGA’s Evans Scholars Foundation. Established in 1930 by Chick Evans – a Glen View member – and the WGA, the Foundation has awarded full tuition and housing college scholarships to more than 12,000 caddies, including 1,045 students who are currently in school.
Eighty-seven of those recipients caddied at Glen View Club, including seven Evans Scholars attending leading universities nationwide this year.
Attendance and parking at the Western Amateur are free. For more information, visit www.thewesternamateur.com.