Ethan Fang heard the roar. Heck, it nearly made him jump. His opponent, Gavin Tiernan, birdied the second-to-last hole in the final of the Amateur Championship at a firm, fast Royal St George’s to square the match.

Fang knew what he was up against; the lanky 20-year-old from Plano, Texas, on his first-ever trip across the pond, was forced to the 36th hole of Europe’s biggest amateur tournament, sitting all square to an Irishman trying to win his way into next month’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush with a British gallery firmly on his side.

The Oklahoma State logo on Fang’s shirt was a giveaway, though. Although he earlier blew a 2-up lead over Tiernan by losing the 34th and 35th holes, he remained ice cool. After all, Fang had already passed a pressure test in the spring when he and his Cowboys claimed the NCAA match-play final at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad. He’d been second in the OSU squad for the season, though an individual victory eluded him.

Fang, a rising junior at OSU, and Tiernan, an upcoming sophomore at East Tennessee State, were both in the fairway at the 18th at Royal St George’s—the Sandwich, England, course where Collin Morikawa won the Open in 2021. But it was Fang who struck the fatal blow of the match: a stunning approach shot that cleverly used a slope to funnel the ball to six feet from the flag. A young American was not supposed to be this in sync with links golf. But he had thrown down the gauntlet to a big-hitting Irish lad who’d grown up playing the ground game at County Louth Golf Club north of Dublin.

Tiernan appeared to have lost his swing in the closing stretches of the match, and it finally caught up to him when he pulled his approach into the 18th long and left. Despite a commendable lag putt, Fang drained his birdie to become the first American in 18 years to win the Amateur Championship. He is the 19th different U.S. golfer to win in 130 editions, joining the likes of Bobby Jones, Steve Melnyk, Deane Beman and Jay Sigel. Drew Weaver was the last American to win in 2007.

“You know, it sounds great,” Fang said when asked how “The Amateur Champion” sounds. “That was probably one of the longest days of golf I’ve ever played. But it feels really good to come out on top.”

It will feel better when Fang tees up at the year’s final major, the Open, at Portrush next month, as well as the British Masters later this summer, and the 2026 Masters and U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

“It’s a pretty big trophy,” Fang said. “Playing in the Masters and the Open Championship, that’s going to be pretty sweet. It’s definitely [changed my summer plans]. I had signed up for a couple of amateur tournaments, but I think I’m going to have to cancel that and go to the others.”

It took Fang 23 holes to grab the lead for the first time in the final. He was 1 down after the first 18, but on the fifth hole of the second round, par was enough to take a 1-up advantage. Despite Fang never being down after the 23rd hole, the battle was thrillingly close. The lead changed four times before Tiernan birdied the 17th to square the match, which flipped the script. Fang had reached the par-5 14th in two and made birdie to take the lead and increased his cushion to two after the 15th. Tiernan went down swinging, though, with birdies at the 16th and 17th. But, in the end, he succumbed to Fang, the seventh-ranked player on the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Tiernan was the decided underdog, with a ranking of 1,340.

“It was my first time here [in the British Isles] and first time getting used to link golf,” Fang said. “I didn’t really know what to expect coming here. [Tiernan] played great. I’ve been in situations like that before and I just hit a really good shot on the last hole and that was about it.

“It still doesn’t feel real, but I’m sure it will, and I’ll celebrate with my team; I was hitting it good all day and I knew that if I stayed in it some putts would drop. [Tiernan] hit two really good shots [on 16 and 17] and with it all tied on the last anything could happen, but I knew if I just birdied I could get the job done.”

Tiernan had come through pre-qualifying to gain entry into the Amateur Championship held across Royal St George’s and Cinque Ports.

“I’m tired; obviously I’m disappointed [but Fang] just hit a fantastic shot into 18,” Tiernan said. “I made a couple of silly mistakes on the back nine, and that really cost me. I had to make up for it with birdies on 16 and 17—and then he hit an amazing shot in [on 18]. Great birdie, fair play to him.”

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Main Image: Oisin Keniry/R&A