Stanford junior Jay Leng Jr. has been named the Ben Hogan Award August Golfer of the Month following a month highlighted by deep runs at two of amateur golf’s biggest championships.
Leng won the Western Amateur after tying for fourth in stroke play at 16 under. He followed that performance by reaching the 36 hole championship match of the 126th U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club.
U.S. Amateur Run
Leng advanced through match play at Merion before meeting England’s Jack Whaley in the championship match.
Whaley defeated Leng 4 and 3, leaving the Stanford junior as the U.S. Amateur runner up. Leng became Stanford’s first U.S. Amateur finalist since David Chung in 2010.
His run also secured an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, exemptions into the next three U.S. Amateurs and a likely invitation to the 2027 Masters Tournament as long as he remains an amateur.
Leng was also selected to represent the United States in the Walker Cup.
A Standout August
Across his Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur appearances, Leng went 9 and 1 in match play and recorded a 67.67 stroke play scoring average during August. He earned a world leading 45.0 World Amateur Golf Ranking points during the month.
The Western Amateur victory and U.S. Amateur runner up finish helped earn Leng the Ben Hogan Award’s August Golfer of the Month recognition.