Jackson Herrington plays his tee shot on the eighth hole during the semifinals of the 2025 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club (Lake Course) in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (Chris Keane/USGA)

Jackson Herrington achieved something only two other Tennessee golfers ever have Saturday, advancing to the US Amateur Finals. Herrington knocked off Niall Shiels Donegan one-up on a foggy San Fransisco afternoon to advance to Sunday’s 36-hole final at the Olympic Club.

Herrington, affectionally known as “Fridge”, joined Oliver Goss (2013) and Eric Rebmann (1987) as the only Vol golfers to make it to the US Amateur Finals.

The Dickson, Tennessee native dropped the first two holes to Shiels Donegan, who grew up in Northern California and has had a large contingent of supporters at the Olympic Club all week, in the match play contest before responding in impressive fashion.

Herrington tied the match by the sixth hole after making a birdie on hole three and capitalizing on a Shiels Donegan bogey on six. The left-handed Herrington then drove the green and made birdie on the par four seventh to take his first lead. He would never trail again.

Shiels Donegan, a North Carolina standout, won hole nine to tie the match at the turn after Herrington pulled his approach shot into a green side bunker and made bogey. But the Tennessee standout responded in commanding fashion to hush the home crowd, taking a two-hole lead by winning holes 10 and 11 with a par and birdie respectively.

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Herrington led by two with three holes to play and the big hitter seemingly had an advantage on the par five 16th and 17th. But Shield Donegan came storming back, capitalizing on a Herrington bogey on 16 and making birdie on 17 to tie the match entering the 18th.

But like he showed earlier in the day, Herrington responded in unbelievably impressive fashion. He hit a 4-iron out into the fairway on the short par four and then stuck his approach to approximately 6 feet and drilled the birdie putt to win the match.

The 2025 US Amateur is the 125th playing of the event. A unique format, the field includes 128 players and begins with two days of stroke play with the top 64 players advancing to the match play portion of the tournament. Herrington shot +3 in the two stroke play rounds which tied him for the 33rd best score.

Herrington then defeated Chase Devins one-up in the Round of 64, Brady Siravo 4&3 in the Round of 32, Caleb Bond in a 20-hole thriller in the Round of 16 and Jimmy Abdo 4&2 in the Quarterfinals.

A track meet of a golf event doesn’t get any easier in the Finals. After playing 123 holes so far this week, Herrington faces Mason Howell, a Georgia signee entering his freshman season, in a 36-hole match play final. By advancing to the Finals, Herrington earns an exemption to play in the 2026 Masters and US Open.

Herrington is looking to join a prestigious group of US Amateur Champions that includes Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Matt Fitzpatrick, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland.