ARDMORE, Pa. — BYU men’s golfer Drake Harvey advanced to the Round of 32 at the 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club on Wednesday.
Harvey beat William Love 2 and 1 in the Round of 64 after several lead changes on the front nine.
“It feels great to get through to the next round,” Harvey said. "I’m super excited for the cameras, and hopefully they’ll show me tomorrow. I’m happy for the opportunity to continue playing in this great event.”
Harvey took an early lead on the second hole, but Love responded on No. 3. After Harvey moved to 1 up on No. 5, Love took the sixth and seventh holes to gain a 1-up advantage. The incoming freshman answered by winning consecutive holes on Nos. 8 and 9 to take a 1-up lead at the turn.
Love won No. 11 to square the match, but Harvey claimed back-to-back holes on the 14th and 15th. He maintained the lead to close out the 2-and-1 victory.
“I just tried to bring intensity and not allow my opponent to gain momentum,” Harvey said. "It wasn’t really anything different I did when I got down. I didn’t want to disappoint anyone back home or myself. I got to show everybody I can play.”
ADVANCED TO THE ROUND OF 32🤙 pic.twitter.com/76mjrXWpD7
— BYU Men's Golf (@BYUmgolf) August 12, 2026
Kihei Akina fell to German golfer Finn Koelle in his Round-of-64 match. After splitting the first two holes, Akina took a 2-up lead by winning holes four and five. Koelle claimed No. 6, but Akina responded with a birdie at the eighth to take a 2-up lead into the back nine. Koelle won Nos. 10 and 14 to square the match before taking No. 17 to hand Akina a 1-down loss.
Former Cougar Tyson Shelley lost his Round-of-64 match 3 and 2 to Carson Bertagnole. After falling 2 down early, Shelley leveled the match pars at the sixth and seventh holes. Bertagnole won four holes on the back nine, with Shelley’s only birdie coming at the par-4 14th, ending Shelley’s tournament run.
The championship continues Thursday with the Round of 32 and the Round of 16. Harvey will face Stewart Hagestad at 9:15 a.m. EDT at Merion Golf Club.
Live scoring is available at championships.usga.org. The Round of 16 will be streamed and televised on Peacock and NBCSN beginning at 1 p.m. MT.