ARDMORE, Pa. — Drue Nicholas has achieved a lot in the world of competitive amateur golf. The 23-year-old from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, etched his name right next to Jay Sigel, the greatest amateur golfer since Bobby Jones, in 2025 when he became the first player since Sigel to win the BMW Philadelphia Amateur and the Philadelphia Open in the same year. Nicholas backed that up by winning the 2026 Philadelphia Open in a playoff before punching his ticket to the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion via a two-under round at the Llanerch Country Club qualifier.
That’s an impressive resume, but nothing could’ve prepared him for what he faced on Monday morning
The U.S. Amateur is a marathon golf week filled with white-knuckle moments for the world’s best amateur players, be they 17-year-old Miles Russell or 34-year-old accounting professor Brett Patterson. But the most terrifying shot of the week might belong to Nicholas.
The Drexel University graduate became a Merion member in April and was given the honor of hitting the opening tee shot at this week’s U.S. Amateur at his home club.
Asked to send the opening shot of the latest Merion U.S. Amateur into the sky, Nicholas struggled to sleep on Sunday night, with visions of both embarrassment and grandeur dancing in his head.
“I was nervous. I didn’t sleep great,” Nicholas said on Monday. “When I woke up, I felt good. I was a little nervous and it was tough getting to sleep, but it was all right.”
As he approached the tee box, Nicholas, who is used to playing in big amateur events, felt a type of nervousness he had never experienced.
“I was really nervous. I was nervous to make contact with the ball,” Nicholas said. “Just shaky. It’s like I had a lot of caffeine, but I didn’t have any caffeine. Just overly jittery.”
Nicholas pegged it at the 353-yard opening par-4 and took several deep breaths. The crowds following Merion’s local hero are bigger than Nicholas is used to. He said he had around 40 friends and family walking with him this week at his home course. Nicholas said he could feel the support from the crowd but also that it elevated his already high stress levels.
“The first couple holes, with people walking around, I’m not used to that. It was a little different, but I got used to it,” Nicholas said. “I was really nervous because of it.”
Nicholas stared down the first fairway with a host of supporters crowding the tee box. He took a deep breath and unleashed what he hoped would be a memorable strike. It was, but not in the way he envisioned.
The ball sailed right off the club and landed in the rough, leading to an opening bogey.
“Probably when I saw the ball going right. I was just like, “Damn.” Really disappointed in that effort there,” Nicholas said, laughing. “But it was a great experience, once in a lifetime.”
The hand-numbing nerves hung around for six holes, Nicholas said. He hit a nice 5-iron into the third hole for birdie to settle in, but then made a double bogey on the par-4 fifth. He turned in three over but made birdies at 11 and 12 to shoot a one-over 71 and give himself a chance to make the cut for match play.
That will require Nicholas to go low on Tuesday afternoon at co-host Philadelphia Country Club, where the nerves are expected to be significantly lower now that he has already faced the hardest shot of the week.
“Maybe a touch,” Nicholas said about facing less pressure in Round 2. “The first day is always a little bit more stressful.”
Even more so when you’re asked to hit the most important shot on home turf.
