Golf: 123rd PNGA Men's Amateur Championship Quarterfinal And Semifinal Results

Golf: 123rd PNGA Men’s Amateur Championship Quarterfinal And Semifinal Results

7/19/25

(Sunriver, OR) The 123rd PNGA Men’s Amateur Championship’s Quarterfinals and Semifinals took place today at Sunriver Resort. The remaining players descended on the Woodlands Course for today’s matches. Tomorrow, the 36-hole Championship match will take place with 18 holes at the Woodlands Course and the other 18 holes at the Meadows Course.

Quarterfinals

Olympia’s Eli McNelly won 4 & 3 over Vancouver’s Brett Johnson. McNelly won the first hole to jump out to a 1 Up lead, but Johnson quickly tied the match on the second hole. McNelly won the fourth and fifth holes to go 2 Up. He made the turn with a 3 Up lead after taking the eighth hole. McNelly won the 14th hole, and after the two tied on the 15th hole, that gave him the win to advance to the Semis.
Lake Oswego, Oregon’s Nilay Naik won 4 & 2 over Bothell’s Walker Lamb. Lamb won the first, but Naik tied it up by taking the second. Lamb went back to 1 Up by winning the third hole, but Naik won the fourth and fifth holes to take his first lead of the match at 1 Up. Lamb tied it up on the seventh hole, Naik won the eighth to go back to 1 Up, and Lamb won the ninth to make the turn with the match tied. Naik would win the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 16th holes to claim the match.
Truckee, California’s Ethan Flynn won 1 Up over Rocklin, California’s Max Thomas. Thomas would strike first by taking the second hole. Flynn wasted no time responding by taking the third and fifth holes to take a 1 Up lead. Thomas tied the match by winning the ninth hole, and reclaimed the lead by winning the 10th hole. The pair tied holes 11 through 16, and with his back against the wall, Flynn tied the match by taking the 17th hole. Flynn would win the 18th hole and the match to secure a spot in the Semifinals.
Bend, Oregon’s Sam Renner, the defending champion, advanced with a 5 & 4 win over Sacramento, California’s Matthew Miyamoto. Renner started quickly with a 1 Up lead after the first hole, but Miyamoto won the third hole to tie the match. Renner would take the sixth and ninth holes to grab a 2 Up lead going to the back nine. Renner won the 10th, 13th, and 14th holes to return to the Semifinals.

Semifinals

Nilay Naik would go up against Eli McNelly in the first Semifinal match. Naik would take the second and fourth holes for a 2 Up lead. McNelly rallied by winning the fifth, seventh, and ninth holes to take a 1 Up lead going to the second nine. Naik tied the match by taking the 10th hole. It would remain tied until McNelly won the 14th hole to go 1 Up. Naik won the 15th hole to tie the match and would win the 17th hole to go 1 Up with one to play. The pair tied the 18th to send Naik to the Championship match.
Sam Renner would be paired against Ethan Flynn in the second Semifinal. Renner again won the first hole to go 1 Up, and followed that up by taking the third and fourth holes for a 3 Up lead. Renner won the seventh and ninth holes for a 5 Up lead going to the back nine. Renner would win the 14th holes to secure the win and head to another Championship match.

It’ll be a pair of college golfers squaring off in the Championship match tomorrow. Nilay Naik is heading into his sophomore year and plays his college golf for the University of Michigan after transferring from Division III’s Pomona College in California. Naik has had some close calls during match play. His closest call came in the Round of 16. Naik was 3 Down on the 13th hole, won the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 18th holes to narrowly get the win. Naik has had every match but the Quarterfinal match go 18 holes.

Sam Renner just completed his junior year at Washington State and is looking to be the first player since Jim McLean in 1971 and 1972 to win back-to-back PNGA Men’s Amateur Championships. Renner has only had one match go past the 15th hole. Last year, Renner was the medalist and also was efficient in making the Championship match. Renner was 6 Up on the second 18 holes, but saw his lead evaporate to a tied match with two holes to play. Renner would go on to win the last two holes to secure the title.

Click here to view the results.