CLEMSON, S.C. — Current Clemson golfers Rich Wills, Colin Salema and Hampton Roberts will be joined by Tiger alums Stephen Behr Jr. and Austin Langdale, in the field for the United States Amateur Golf Tournament in Philadelphia next week. The tournament runs August 10-16 at Merion Golf Club and the Philadelphia Country Club in Pennsylvania.
This marks the first time Clemson has had three current players in the U.S. Amateur since 2016 when Bryson Nimmer, Doc Redman and Miller Capps all competed. It is the first time five current or former Clemson golfers have been in the same U.S. Amateur since the program had six in 2001.
Clemson has had two U.S. Amateur Champions, Chris Patton in 1989 and Doc Redman in 2017. Patton’s victory took place at Merion when he won six consecutive matches, including the 36 hole championship match by a 3 & 1 score over Danny Green of Jackson, Tenn.
Wills, a rising junior at Clemson, qualified for the U.S. Amateur when he won the North Carolina Amateur Championship in June at Bermuda Run Golf Club near Winston-Salem. He was in fifth-place entering the final round, three shots back, but had a final round 66 to finish with a 12-under-par score of 276 for 72 holes. He was the first Clemson golfer to win the North Carolina Amateur since Clarence Rose in 1978.
Salema made the US Amateur field by shooting a three-under-par 69 on July 20 at the qualifying tournament at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. He finished tied for third at the qualifier. This past year as a sophomore at Clemson he was an Academic All-ACC golfer. He was Clemson’s best golfer at the NCAA Regional with a 13th place finish. He has a 73.26 career average for 57 rounds.
Roberts is a transfer from North Carolina who will be in his first year on the Clemson team in 2026-27. He made the Academic All-ACC team in 2024-25 when he was a starter on the North Carolina team and had a 72.33 average in 10 tournaments. That season he had a 61 at the Ari Invitational in Hawaii to tie the school record for low round.
Langdale and Behr Jr. were teammates on Clemson’s 2016 ACC Championship team. They both finished in the top 13 at that tournament to help the Tigers to the championship. Langdale, who qualified for the US Amateur by winning the South Carolina Amateur last month, was an honorable mention All-American that year and Behr was a second team All-American. Behr Jr., was also a first-team Academic All-American that season and was the ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year for Men’s Golf.
The tournament will run August 10-16 at Merion Country Club in Ardmore, Pa., and Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pa. A total of 312 amateur golfers from around the world will compete in stroke play competition on Monday, August 10 and Tuesday, August 11. Each golfer will play 18 holes at Merion and 18 at Philadelphia CC.
The top 64 players after 36 holes of stroke play will then advance to the match play championship that will determine the champion. Both courses are par 70 with Merion playing to 6,939 yards and Philadelphia CC to 7,201 yards. All match play competition will be played at Merion.
Television coverage by NBC Sports will begin on Wednesday, August 12. The competition Wednesday through Friday will air on Peacock and NBC Sports Network from 3-6. The semifinals and championship match will be shown on NBC Sports 4-6 on Saturday and Sunday.