Amateur Tyler Watts Makes the Cut at Biltmore Championship

Tyler Watts is still learning what it takes to survive a PGA Tour week under full crowds and cameras, and this time the lesson paid off. The 18-year-old Tennessee freshman shot 4-under 138 through two rounds at the Biltmore Championship Asheville, making the cut by two shots to remain the only amateur left in the field.

How did Watts get to the weekend?

Watts opened with an even-par round marred by two late bogeys, then rebounded with a second-round 67 built on three birdies in a four-hole stretch and seven total for the day. He described the two days as a grind, saying he hadn't hit the ball well but was pleased to be through to the weekend regardless.

This is Watts's third PGA Tour start. He finished 3-under at the 2025 Procore Championship in Napa, California, and 4-over at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in Port Royal, Bermuda. He is currently ranked the No. 2 amateur in the world, earned preseason first-team All-American honors from Golfweek and the Golf Channel, and sits on the watchlist for the Fred Haskins Award alongside Vanderbilt's Tyler Mawhinney, the only two freshmen on that list.

Fighting to survive a cut is a different kind of pressure than playing freely in a college event, and Watts says that gap is the biggest adjustment on tour.

Watts has said the mental side of competing among PGA Tour veterans is harder to manage than the golf itself, with the expectations of a big-stage event compounding the normal swings of a round. He returns to Tennessee's lineup after the Biltmore Championship, having spent most of the summer on the road rather than settling into his freshman year.