Cowan, a senior at Oklahoma, made his way through a 16-man playoff for 11 spots to earn the No.59 seed in the 64-man match play bracket and drew junior phenom six-seed Miles Russell in his first match.Despite entering the week ranked eighth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) fresh off of co-low amateur honors at the U.S.
Open, Cowan was the underdog against Russell, who won't graduate high school until 2027.Amateur Ryder Cowan of the United States lines up a putt on the 1st hole during the final round of the 126th U.S.OPEN at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 21, 2026 in Southampton, New York.
(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) (David Cannon/Getty Images)TEENAGE GOLFER MILES RUSSELL DELIVERS HIS DAD AN ALL-TIME FATHER'S DAY EXPERIENCE DURING US OPEN FINAL ROUNDRussell is the top-ranked junior player in the world, ranked fourth in the WAGR, and has put together a junior career comparable to Tiger Woods.Cowan was certainly aware of the situation, but it didn't allow it to phase him, at least not during his match against Russell.Prior to teeing off is a different story.Ryder Cowan of the United States bounces a ball on his putter after finishing the 16th hole on day three of the U.S.
Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club on August 12, 2026 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.(Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images) (Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)OUTKICK IS NOW ON THE FOX APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOADAccording to Golf Channel's Brentley Romine, Cowan forgot to bring sleeves of new golf balls to the course, leaving him with one new golf ball and one "fairly used" one in his golf bag.
He stuck with the new golf ball for the first 10 holes of the match before swapping to the used one.The used golf ball came with a bit of magic, too, with Cowan chipping in for par on the 17th hole to pull off the upset against Russell 2&1.The Sooner actually flubbed his first chip shot on the Par 3 before holing his next attempt with pristine touch.When you're one of the top amateur go...