GLENCOE, Illinois – The 123rd edition of the Western Amateur Championship returns to Skokie Country Club from July 28-Aug. 2, marking its first appearance since 2017 at the historic venue on Chicago’s North Shore.

This year’s event boasts one of the strongest fields in the championship’s history, featuring 63 of the top 100 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), six of which are ranked inside the top 10.

First held at Glen View Club in 1899, the Western Amateur is the third-oldest amateur golf championship in the world – trailing only the British Amateur (1885) and the U.S. Amateur (1895). It consistently draws elite amateur talent from around the globe, with past champions including legends like Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Known as one of the toughest tests in amateur golf, the 156-player field will battle through 72 holes of stroke play over three days to determine the Sweet 16 for match play on Friday and Saturday.

Live streaming coverage of the match play rounds will be available on ESPN+, with over 12 hours of broadcast scheduled for Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday, Aug. 2. Coverage will be available to ESPN+ subscribers via the ESPN app, ESPN.com and connected TV devices. Coverage will also be available in Canada on TSN+, and the Caribbean and Latin America on Disney+.

The 2025 field is one of the most accomplished in the tournament’s history, featuring top amateur and collegiate players from 27 countries – many of whom are seen as future PGA TOUR stars. Notable players in the field include:

  • Ben James, Senior, Virginia (Milford, Connecticut): Ranked No. 2 in WAGR, James was runner-up at the 2024 NCAA Championship and named a 2024-25 Ping First Team All-American. He made match play at the 2024 Western Amateur Championship, falling in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Ian Gilligan.
  • Ethan Fang, Junior, Oklahoma State (Plano, Texas): Ranked No. 3, Fang won The Amateur Championship in June and finished fifth at the Big 12 Championship. He helped lead Oklahoma State to the 2025 NCAA Championship title.
  • Preston Stout, Junior, Oklahoma State (Richardson, Texas): The No. 4-ranked amateur won the 2025 Big 12 Championship and was part of Oklahoma State’s national title team. He also competed in the Arnold Palmer Cup and recently captured the Northeast Amateur Invitational.
  • Tommy Morrison, Senior, Texas (Dallas, Texas): No. 5-ranked amateur, Morrison won the 2024 European Amateur Championship and has posted six top-10 finishes in 2025.
  • Jase Summy, Senior, Oklahoma (Keller, Texas): Ranked No. 9 in the world. Summy placed third at the Southern Amateur Championship and recorded seven top-10 finishes and 20 rounds in the 60s during his junior season.
  • Jack Turner, Junior, Florida (Orlando, Florida): Ranked No. 10 in the world, Turner was runner-up to teammate Ian Gilligan at the 2024 Western Amateur and led Florida with six top-10 finishes this season. He also represented the United States in the Arnold Palmer Cup.

The field includes several names that will be familiar to fans of the PGA TOUR. John Daly II (Arkansas) – the son of major champion John Daly – is coming off a victory at the Southern Amateur Championship. He’ll be joined by TCU commit Cameron Kuchar (son of Matt Kuchar), Florida signee Trevor Gutschewski (son of Scott Gutschewski) and Clemson’s Jackson Byrd (son of Jonathan Byrd). Gutschewski and Kuchar faced off at the 2025 Western Junior, with Gutschewski winning by one at The Harvester Club in Iowa.

Garrett Rank, who won the 2019 Western Amateur at Point O’ Woods Golf & Country Club, leads a group of top mid-amateurs. In addition to Gutschewski, there are three other former Western Junior champions who are attempting to become the fifth player to win both the Western Junior and Western Amateur: Eduardo Derbez Torres (Texas), the 2022 Western Junior winner at Naperville Country Club; Hans Risvaer (Central Florida), who claimed the 2023 title at Midlothian Country Club; and Parker Sands (Florida), who won in 2024 at Ruth Lake Country Club.

Among other notable names include Noah Kent, the 2024 U.S. Amateur runner-up; veteran mid-am Stewart Hagestad, the 2016 and 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion; and 16-year-old Florida State commit Miles Russell, who has already played in three PGA TOUR events and became the youngest person to make a Korn Ferry Tour cut last year.

Illinois will be represented by Ryan Banas (Marquette) of Winnetka, Chicago natives Peter Slaven and Andrew Stineman, and Michael Springer of La Grange. Stineman and Springer earned their spots in the championship by finishing in the top seven during Sunday's qualifying round at Winnetka Golf Club.

Click here to see the full field.

Click here for first- and second-round starting times.

The 2025 Western Amateur will serve as the final event of the Elite Amateur Golf Series – a season-long competition showcasing the top amateur golfers across seven prestigious championships. Top performers in the series will earn exemptions into PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour events.

Eight of the top 10 players in the 2025 standings are set to compete at Skokie Country Club this week, where the series champion will be crowned. Tennessee commit Tyler Watts currently leads the standings. Close behind are Daly II, Mississippi State’s Garrett Endicott and Georgia’s Grayson Wood.

William Sides (SMU) headlines a strong group of contenders that includes Tennessee commit Reed Lotter, Ryan Voois (Illinois), Camden Smith (Arkansas), Carlos Astiazaran (Pacific), and Jacob Modleski (Notre Dame).

Skokie Country Club has been shaped by several prominent Golden Age architects, including Herbert Tweedie (1898), Tom Bendelow (1901), Donald Ross (1915) and William Langford & Theodore Moreau (1938). A major restoration in 1999-2000 by architect Ron Prichard returned the course to its classical roots, with additional work on the bunkers and green complexes completed in 2022 by Brian Schneider of Renaissance Golf Design.

This will be Skokie’s third Western Amateur. Norman Xiong won at the Glencoe masterpiece in 2017, and David Chung was the winner in 2010.

Attendance and parking at the Western Amateur are free.