In the quarterfinal match, 16-year-old Xihuan Chang (seeded 37th) faced off against 52nd seed Nguyen Anh Minh. Both players were in excellent form, making the match highly anticipated. Minh had already made history as the first Vietnamese golfer to make the cut and progress to the quarterfinals, having previously defeated Brady Smith in the round of 32 and Lev Grinberg in the round of 16.
Despite his excitement, Minh approached the match with caution. On the first hole, while Minh scored a par, his Chinese opponent secured a birdie.
Maintaining his composure, Minh scored a par on the second hole and a birdie on the third, taking the lead after his opponent's strong start.
However, Minh struggled over the next six holes, failing to score any birdies and committing three bogeys. Meanwhile, Chang recorded one birdie, three pars, one bogey, and a double bogey on the eighth hole. By the ninth hole, Chang had a one-up lead over Minh.
Returning to parity at the tenth hole, the two golfers tied on the eleventh and twelfth holes. The match's turning point came on the thirteenth and fourteenth holes, where Minh bogeyed both times, while Chang parred, extending his lead to two-up.
After tying on the fifteenth hole, Chang further extended his lead to three-up after sixteen holes, securing a 3&2 victory and advancing to the semifinals.
Despite not advancing further, Nguyen Anh Minh's performance at the US Junior Amateur 2024 remains historic. He is the first Vietnamese golfer to make the cut and reach the quarterfinals in a tournament that has seen many golf legends compete, including Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, and Scottie Scheffler.
The US Junior Amateur 2024 featured 264 amateur golfers from 35 countries and territories, all under the age of 19 with a handicap index of 2.4 or lower. Vietnam was represented by Nguyen Anh Minh, who reached the quarterfinals, and Le Khanh Hung, who did not make the cut.
Dai Nam