By Richard Rapp
rrapp@massgolf.org
HINGHAM, Massachusetts (July 19, 2026) — There’s an innate tranquility on the sprawling grounds of Boston Golf Club, which casts such a spell that if you were an impartial observer of Monday’s U.S. Amateur Final Qualifying, you might have missed the tension boiling under the surface. That is until Aidan O’Donovan’s (Somerville, MA) birdie putt on the par-3 18th struck the back of the cup and disappeared. His exultant fist pumps cut through the air as a large group watching from the sunny patio perched above the green burst into applause.
“The nerves on 18 tee, that’s why I play and practice everyday,” said O’Donovan “I felt like I could have run through a brick wall after that putt dropped in.”
The putt got O’Donovan in the clubhouse at 4-under, comfortably in the top six for a qualifying spot, and ultimately good enough for a share of medalist honors. Rudy Sautron of France and Emile Lebrun of Canada also carded 67s. Emil Nielsen (Wellesley, MA), with his father sporting a Winchester Massachusetts Amateur caddie bib on the heels of a successful trip to the round of 16, punched his ticket to Merion Golf Club with a 68. So too did Eli Spaulding (Freeport, ME), last week’s New England Amateur Champion at GreatHorse, as well as Thomas Grenier (Canada).
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At first glance, Boston Golf Club presents as a muscular golf course, carved into thick woods and rolling hills with a rough naturalism. Then you begin to notice the details. The wooden rakes placed at a very specific angle in each bunker, the minimalist red and white striped flags that feel like they belong to a centuries old club, the petrified trees posed like sculptures on hillsides. The golf books on the clubhouse book shelves are all the right books, and the candy in the always-filled-to-the-brim glass jars are all the right candies.
Everything at BGC has been carefully considered, and to succeed on the golf course you must carry the same mindset. Architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner’s rollercoaster fairways and severe, rippling greens demand exactitude and a little bit of bravery.
Frenchman Rudy Sautron embraces such challenges. He recently transferred from the University of Nebraska to the University of Tennessee because he craved the elevated competition in the SEC. This is Sautron’s first attempt to qualify for the U.S. Amateur; exempt into final qualifying, he figured, “why not?” He came out of the gates hot with three birdies on his first four holes. He confessed that a lack of focus midway through his round led to bogeys on 10 and 11, but he bounced back with two birdies on the par-5s down the stretch.
“My game was just on point. I missed like one or two golf shots today, and after that I was just waiting for putts to drop. Overall it was just a great day.”
In his junior season at Nebraska, Sautron became the first ever Cornhusker to earn All-Big Ten honors and set a program record for stroke average. He’s looking to carry that success to Merion.
“Any time you go to a tournament you’re going to try to win. That’s the end goal. At the same time, it’s going to be the first experience for me, so just try to learn out there.” Though he couldn’t help but think of the doors that a victory at the U.S. Am opens, adding with a wry smile, “Of course if I can grab a W and be exempt for a couple of majors, we’re not saying no to that.”
Aidan O’Donovan claimed he won’t be putting that kind of pressure on himself when he heads to Merion, but he sure rose to the occasion today. This will be his second USGA Championship, after competing in the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with Joey Lenane.
He began his morning with a flourish, making a three on the par-5 opener, but gave one back on the second, and struggled to gain ground for a stretch. “I gave myself some good looks and didn’t make anything on the front side and talked to my caddie Jack and he said, ‘Just stay patient. No need to force anything.'” Then O’Donovan got it going on the back nine. “I hit a good 7 iron in on 13 to about 12 feet and made the putt then hit a good wedge in from 152 on 14 to about four feet.”
He checked the leaderboard for the first time when he was just short of the par-5 17th green in two, and realized he was in a decent spot at 3-under, but a birdie would solidify his position. His downhill birdie bid lipped out hard, so it was on to the par-3 18th.
“18 was just kind of a perfect number, 175, a little downwind, just kind of a perfect 8 iron for me, a little jacked up with adrenaline.”
He hit it hole high, about 15 feet left of the flag. With a hole location that saw a lot of putts scurrying away down the slope, he didn’t want to get too aggressive and risk bringing bogey into play. But again, that adrenaline was kicking in. “My goal is, if I don’t make it on 18, I would just kind of drip over the front edge, and it hit the back of the cup. So, happy it went in.”
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The 2026 U.S. Amateur will be contested August 10th through 16th, at Merion Golf Club and stroke play co-host Philadelphia Country Club.
COMPLETE LIST OF QUALIFIERS AND ALTERNATES FROM BOSTON GOLF CLUB
QUALIFIER (Name, Home, Score)
Emile Lebrun, Canada; (-4) 67
Rudy Sautron, France; (-4) 67
Aidan O’Donovan, Somerville, MA; (-4) 67
Emil Nielsen, Wellesley, MA; (-3) 68
Eli Spaulding, Freeport, ME; (-3) 68
Thomas Grenier, Canada; (-3) 68
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Josiah Hakala, New Ipswich, NH; (-2) 69*
Fritz Smith, Greenwich, CT; (-2) 69*
*Advanced in a playoff
Boston Golf Club grew from the vision of the late John Mineck, who sought a course that would demand high-caliber shotmaking while continually drawing members back. Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner considered nine possible routings before settling on one that moves naturally across more than 300 acres of forest, former quarry land and rolling Hingham terrain. Opened in 2005, BGC has an old-world character shaped by irregular fairways, rocky ledges, stone walls, creeks and heavily contoured greens that feel like natural extensions of the landscape. Some have said BGC feels like it has 50 years of history despite its merely two decades of existence.
At just over 7,000 yards from the back tees, Boston Golf Club relies more on strategy and execution than sheer length. Players must continually weigh safer routes against bolder lines that offer more favorable angles, with strategic bunkering, exacting approaches and fast greens sharpening every decision. The short par-4 5th, “Shipwreck,” captures that risk-reward spirit, while the varied inward nine builds toward a match-play-minded closing stretch and a memorable par-3 18th beneath the clubhouse.
-By Steve Derderian
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