Class of 2026 Boys Individual Rankings

*Will be updated around the 1st of each month

United States and Canada

1. Tyler Watts (Tennessee): Alabama's Watts' amateur achievements include breaking Gordon Sargent’s record as the youngest Alabama state Amateur champion in history in 2023, and a runner-up finish at the 2024 Terra Cotta. He finished in the top-25 of the Western Amateur in 2024. Watts found similar 2023 junior tournament success and raised the winner’s trophy at the Jones Cup Junior Invitational and the Southern Junior, in addition to an AJGA open event. In 2024 Watts was a finalist at the US Junior Amateur, and notched top-5 finishes at the Dustin Johnson World Junior, AJGA Mayakoba Invitational, Rolex TOC, and the AJGA Junior Players. He finished second at the 2023 Elite Invitational and notched a top-5 finish at the 2023 AJGA Junior Players Championship. He found the top-10 at the 2023 Western Junior and the top-15 at the 2024 AJGA Team Taylormade Invitational. Watts also qualified for the 2024 US Amateur and reached the round of 32 in the 2023 US Junior Amateur. His start to 2025 includes a top-15 at the Junior Invitational and top-15 at the Dustin Johnson. Watts has dominated the Elite Amateur series in 2025, winning the Sunnehanna, making the final match at the North & South, and placing in the top-10 at the Northeast Am.

2. Luke Colton (Vanderbilt): Texan Colton had a breakout 2024 season. He won the 2024 Terra Cotta Invitational after beginning 2024 with a 5th place showing at the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship, finished 2nd at the Rolex TOC, and had two open AJGA top-3 finishes. He took the title at the Texas class UIL 5A state high school championship and the LJT Junior Byron Nelson, and he finished 2nd at the AJGA Mayakoba Invitational. Colton had excellent top-15 showings at both the Northeast Amateur and the North & South Amateur, and was in the top-10 on the leaderboard at the 2024 Junior Players In 2023, Colton’s top finishes included a 2nd place finish at the Dye Invitational and runner-up at the AJGA Under Armour/Jordan Spieth Championship. Colton narrowly missed match play at the 2024 US Amateur after also qualifying in 2023, and reached the round of 16 in the 2024 US Junior Amateur after a round of 32 appearance in 2023. He started 2025 with top-10 showings at the AJGA Simplify and the Junior Invitational, top-5 at the AJGA Team Taylormade, and defended his title at the Terra Cotta in April. He has had strong showings in Elite Am events in 2025, with a top-15 in the Northeast Am and a quarterfinal appearance at the North & South.

3. Tyler Mawhinney (Vanderbilt): Florida's Mawhinney had a stellar two weeks in August with a win at the 2024 Canadian Men's Amateur and a run to the round of 16 at the US Amateur the following week. His victories include the 2023 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions and the 2023 Scott Robertson Memorial, and Mawhinney carded a top-5 finish at the 2024 Scott Robertson in his title defense. Top-10 finishes include the 2023 Junior PGA Championship, AJGA Junior Players, and the AJGA Ping Invitational, 2024 Rolex TOC, and he notched top-15s at the 2024 Junior PGA, AJGA Wyndham Invitational, and the Dustin Johnson World Junior. You will consistently find Mawhinney near the top of big-time tournament leaderboards, with only three finishes out of the top-20 in junior events in 2024. He has started off 2025 solidly with a top-5 at the Dustin Johnson and a top-15 finish at the Junior Invitational, with a semi-final appearance at the AJGA RLX.

9. Phillip Dunham (Alabama): Florida's Dunham has notched three wins since April of 2023, starting with a victory at the AJGA Spot X Hotel Junior Championship. He later took the 2023 Dye Invitational trophy home after a playoff and won the 2024 Sea Pines Junior Heritage. He also carded two local FLT wins in 2023. In 2024, he added a top-5 finish to his resume at the AJGA Junior Players Championship, following a top-10 finish in 2023 in the same event. He also notched a top-10 at the 2023 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, and top-15 performances at the 2024 Rolex and 2023 & 2024 AJGA Team Taylormade Invitationals. He followed up his Dye win with a top-5 finish in 2024, and has a top-5 finish in 2025 at the Team Taylormad Invitational.

5. Coltrane Mittag (Oklahoma): Nebraska's Mittag first arrived on the big scene with a win at the 2023 North & South Junior Amateur, and he followed that with top-5 finishes at the 2023 Bobby Chapman Invitational and the 2024 North & Junior in his title defense. His top-10 finishes include the 2024 AJGA Mayakoba Invitational and the 2024 Bobby Chapman, and he has racked up several top-15s at the 2024 Dustin Johnson World Junior and the 2024 AJGA Simplify Boys Championship. Mittag was an impressive 4th at the 2024 Nebraska Men's Amateur and won the 2023 Nebraska PGA Championship. He notched top-3 results at the 2023 AJGA Jordan Spieth/Under Armour Championship and two OJGT events. In 2025, Mittag has posted a runner-up finish at the LJT Texas Invitational and a top-5 finish at the terra Cotta.

4. Mason Howell (Georgia): Georgia's Howell has jumped into the top-5 conversation with fantastic play in 2024. He has racked up solid finishes in big events with top-5s at the 2024 AJGA Junior Players, Western Junior, and the AJGA Wyndham Championship. His top-10 results include the 2024 Ping and Mayakoba Invitationals and the 2024 Dustin Johnson World Junior. Howell won the 2023 AJGA Billy Horschel Championship and carded an additional open top-3 finish in 2023. He reached the round of 32 at the 2024 US Junior Amateur and qualified for the event in 2023, and also finished in the top-5 at the 2023 Elite Invitational. In 2025, he has solidified his position in the top-5 with top-10s at the Dustin Johnson and Junior Invitational. Howell made waves by winning his sectional qualifier for the US Open, with a respectable showing for the youngest competitor in the championship.

6/29 There has been a lot of movement this month, with Elite Am series and top junior events starting, as well as events dropping points from the two year cycle. Watts regains the top spot in commanding fashion, with a win at the Sunnehanna, top-10 at the Northeast Am, and a runner-up finish at the North & South. Colton drops back to #2, with a top-15 at the Northeast and a quarterfinal appearance at the North & South. Both are miles ahead of their peers in points standings. Mawhinney holds steady in 3rd with a semi-final run at the AJGA RLX. #4 ranked Howell made a splash as the youngest competitor at the US Open, while Mittag remained in 5th with a top-10 at the Western Junior. Sutter moves to the #6 spot with wins at the Southern Junior and the Alabama Men's Amateur, while Hage continues his rise in the rankings to 7th with a top-10 at the AJGA Wyndham Championship. Badgett enters the top-10 for the first time, as he has shown some consistency with several big top-10 finishes in 2025, and he is joined by Kuchar, another athlete who has found consistency in big events in 2025.

Ranking system, explained: We assign point values to wins, top-5, top-10, and top-15 finishes in top junior and amateur events within a two year time span. AJGA open events and regional tournaments have been assigned lesser point values, as well as top-3 finishes, and points are subtracted for finishes outside the top-20 in the top junior events. Points adjustments are considered for players who play significantly less or more tournaments than others, and percentage of top finishes are evaluated. Our system rewards consistency of steady performance rather than an athlete with a few great finishes but several sub-par finishes. Events in the past year have more weight than tournaments in the previous year.

Internationals

Giovanni Binaghi, Italy: Junior Invitational at Sage Valley champion Binaghi is one of the top international recruits in the 2026 class. He notched a 15th place finish at the Junior PGA Championship and had top-15 finishes at the Junior Orange Bowl and the First Tee Miami Doral Junior Classic last winter. In 2023 Binaghi had two 3rd place results in Italian amateur events, and a 2nd place finish at a professional event in Switzerland. He won two Italian events in 2022.

Hugo Le Goff, France (Virginia): Le Goff has proven himself in the US and throughout Europe, recently qualifying for match play at the US Junior Amateur and finishing 5th at the 2023 AJGA Junior Players Championship. Le Goff won the 2023 CJGA World Junior Challenge and notched a 3rd place finish at the 2023 R&A Boys Amateur as well as three top-5 finishes in French amateur events in 2023. In 2025, he won the Spanish Amateur Copa S M El Rey and finished in the op-10 at the Junior Invitational and the Portuguese Internacional Amateur.

Lev Grinberg, Ukraine (Arkansas): Grinberg has long been a fixture on the US circuit in addition to international events. He made it to the round of 16 at the 2024 US Amateur and finished 7th at the Orlando International Amateur at the end of 2023, following a top-30 finish at the South Beach Amateur and 8th place at the AJGA Junior Players Championship. Grinberg placed 1st at an amateur event in Germany in 2022 and took home the trophy at the 2024 Grand Prix de Merignies. Most impressive was his 9th place finish at the 2024 Amateur Championship. He recently added a top-5 finish at the 2024 South Beach Amateur and had a top-15 finish at the 2025 Junior Invitational.

6. Bailey Sutter (Alabama): Sutter enters our top-10 list after a consistent and steady 2024 season, flying under our radar. He notched top-10 finishes at the 2024 AJGA Junior Players Championship and the Southern Junior, and top-15s at the Ping Invitational and the Bobby Chapman Invitational. He rose the champion's trophy at the Alabama Junior Amateur, qualifying him to the US Junior Amateur, in which he reached the round of 16. Sutter finished in the top-10 at his state Men's Amateur and carded one top-3 finish in an AJGA open event. Sutter also found the top-10 at the 2024 Future Masters. In 2025, Sutter captured the Alabama Men's Amateur title, while winning the Southern Junior in back to back weeks.

Knocking on the door: Sterling Hurd (Texas), Hamilton Coleman (Georgia), Drake Harvey (BYU)

10. Cameron Kuchar (TCU): Kuchar enters the top-10 with success that began with a top-5 finish at the 2024 Junior Jones Cup. He has upped his game in big events in 2025, a top-5 showing at the Western Junior, top-10s at the AJGA Team Taylormade and RLX Jr Championship, and a top-15 finish at the Dustin Johnson. Kuchar also won an SFPGA event in May and had two AJGA open top-5 finishes on his resume in 2024.

7. Preston Hage (North Carolina): Hage showed some solid play in open AJGA events in 2024, with one top-10 and two top-15 finishes, qualified for the US Junior., and was third at the Carolinas Junior PGA Championship. Hage began a consistent streak of play with a top-10 finish at the Bobby Chapman Invitational and followed that with a second-place finish at the prestigious Junior Jones Cup. His 2025 has started off very well, with a top-10 finish at the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship and 15th at the Dustin Johnson World Junior. He took top billing at the TYGA North State High School Challenge and finished 2nd at the Azalea Invitational amateur event, and had a top-15 at the Terra Cotta. Hage added a top-10 finish at the AJGA Wyndham.

8. Pennson Badgett (Tennessee): Badgett jumps into the top-10 with an improvement in his consistency in 2025. 2024 him some success, with a win at the AJGA Polo Jr Classic (now RLX) and a top-5 showing at the AJGA Wyndham Invitational. He also had two AJGA open wins in 2025, but his presence in the rankings was hampered by too many event finishes outside of the top-20. In 2025, Badgett has had top-10 finishes at the Terra Cotta Invitational, the AJGA Team Taylormade, and the Scott Robertson Memorial. His biggest showing was a top-10 at the Sunnehanna Amateur.