Tripp Depoy of The Woodlands won his opening match at the 78th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship before falling in the Round of 32, finishing among the top 32 junior golfers in the country at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Depoy, described by Patch as a rising junior, earned his spot in the 64-player match-play bracket by shooting 1-over par (142) across two rounds of stroke play on Monday, July 20, and Tuesday, July 21. That performance placed him 25th out of 264 competitors who played Saucon Valley's Old Course and Grace Course.

In the Round of 64 on Wednesday, July 22, Depoy drew 40th-seeded Reed Higgins of Edmond, Oklahoma. Higgins battled back from two holes down to take the lead, but Depoy won four of the final six holes to close out the match 2-up, according to Golf Oklahoma's tournament coverage.

The comeback was decisive.

Depoy's run ended the following morning. In the Round of 32 on Thursday, July 23, eighth-seeded Michael Asselta of New Jersey eliminated Depoy, according to the Metropolitan Golf Association. The exact margin of that loss was not reported in available results.

The U.S. Junior Amateur is the USGA's national championship for junior golfers, held annually since 1948. Past champions include Tiger Woods, who won it three consecutive years (1991–93), along with Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, David Duval, Johnny Miller, and Will Zalatoris. Since 2017, the champion has received an exemption into the following year's U.S. Open.

College coaches at every level consider the Junior Amateur the highest-value recruiting exposure a junior golfer can receive, according to Golf Nexus.

Noah Maclauchlan of Moseley, Virginia, won the 2026 title on Saturday, July 25, defeating Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 6 and 5 in the 36-hole final, according to The Washington Post.

Depoy's next competitive window opens with fall qualifying events and the high school golf season.