2025 U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifying: Chambersburg

Shah, Xie share medal at Chambersburg

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Arrow Aarav Shah and Ryan Xie, international competitors with national aspirations, shared medalist honors in U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifying administered by GAP at Chambersburg Country Club (par 73, 6,962 yards) Monday.

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The two carded respective 4-under-par 69s to top the 74-player field. Benjamin Baker, an incoming member of the Virginia Tech University men’s golf team, also advanced in regulation with a score of 3-under-par 70. Fellow Virginian Max Bradshaw, who hails from Virginia Beach, edged Samuel Feeney of Penn Oaks Golf Club in a sudden-death playoff to claim the final spot. Both players finished regulation at 2 under.

The U.S. Junior Amateur will take place July 21-26 at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas.

Shah, of New Delhi, India, and Xie, of Auckland, New Zealand, relied on last-minute heroics to advance Monday. Both started on the back nine. For his part, Shah finished birdie-birdie. A “horrible drive” on No. 8 (par 4, 384 yards) settled into a depression. Shah proceeded to lift a sand wedge 115 yards to 12 feet for birdie. He will certainly remember the par 4, 431-yard 9^th hole at Chambersburg. Another wayward drive left Shah in peril. He tried to punch a sand wedge from 125 yards underneath an overhanging tree, but it clipped a branch and barely reached the front of the putting surface. Thirty-eight paces from a back hole location, Shah gripped his putter with confidence. It dropped for birdie. He bellowed.

“I think all of Chambersburg heard me,” Shah, 18, said. “I had more chance of a three-putt on that hole than a two-putt, or even a single putt. It was ridiculous.”

Xie’s elation appeared a bit more reserved when the Chambersburg dust settled. He birdied four of his last seven holes. Like Shah, he fired consecutive — three to be exact — birdies to find a groove. On No. 3 (par 5, 549 yards), Xie banana sliced — his words — a 3-wood to 10 feet for eagle. He settled for a tap-in birdie instead. Xie knocked a wedge 90 yards to 10 feet. On No. 5 (par 4, 337 yards), he canned a 20-footer following a wedge setup from 120 yards. Xie capped his flurry finish with a birdie on No. 7 (par 3, 172 yards), where he struck a 7-iron to eight feet.

All of this following a 55-minute weather delay. GAP suspended play at 4:47 p.m. due to lightning in the area. It resumed at 5:42 p.m. During the pause, Xie mellowed mentally by Instagram scrolling. A BLT helped, too.

A trip to his first U.S. Junior Amateur may help Xie relax on the 18-hour flight from New York to New Zealand tomorrow. Although Xie isn’t particularly keen on travel. Chambersburg represented the only site that fit his school schedule. Xie is a rising senior at King’s College in Auckland.

“[Travel] is alright. Getting to the place is good,” Xie, 17, said. “I’d say this trip was worth it.”

Shah, who qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2023, is bent on traveling the United States this summer for golf. He will head to U.S. Amateur Local Qualifying at Watchung Valley Golf Club in Watchung, N.J. tomorrow and then the Porter Cup July 16-19 at Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewistown, N.Y. AJGA events will fill in the gaps thereafter.

Shah is an academic senior at Laurel Springs School, an online institution.

“I’m really excited for this year. I feel like I’ve improved, especially mentally,” he said. “I wasn’t really my best throughout the round today, but it sounds silly to say that. I can’t really complain. A qualifier is about qualifying. I was mentally good, especially toward the end. I’ll take that round any day.”

Baker, a recent Briar Woods High School graduate, took his notes from a practice round Sunday and applied all accordingly.

“The course was very scoreable. It seemed very straightforward to me,” Baker, 17, of Ashburn, Va., said. “There were a couple of tricky tee shots on the back nine, but other than that, I thought it was straightforward, which allowed me to attack pins and make putts.”

Baker, who won the AM Technical Solutions Junior at Southpointe and AJGA Nemacolin Junior Championship in 2024, will compete in his U.S. Junior Amateur. Same for Bradshaw, 16, a rising sophomore at Norfolk Academy. He is two weeks removed from an AJGA victory in the Tour Stafford Preview at Gauntlet Golf Club in Fredericksburg, Va.

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 130,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.