José Luis Ballester becomes first Spaniard to win U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine
José Luis Ballester of Spain poses with the trophy after the 36th hole of the U.S. Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, on August 18, 2024.
Chaska, Minnesota. (AP) — Future University of Arizona graduate Jose Luis Ballester became the first Spanish player to win the U.S. Amateur Championship on his 21st birthday Sunday, defeating Iowa sophomore Noah Kent by two strokes in a 36-hole match at Hazeltine. Ballester, the only player inside the top 10 in the world amateur rankings to reach the round of 16, jumped out to a lead after the second hole and never trailed. He joined Jon Rahm as the only Spanish players to win a USGA tournament. Rahm, who also played for the Sun Devils, won the U.S. Open in 2021. “We have a lot of great Spaniards, a lot of great legends,” Ballester said. “Being able to add my name to this story is very rewarding.”
Both finalists received exemptions from next year’s Masters and US Open, with Ballester also earning a spot in the Open. Ballester trailed briefly in the final three matches but took control in a grueling final. Wearing a red polo shirt, yellow shorts loaned to him by Spaniard Luis Massabeu, whom he beat in the semi-finals, and black socks in keeping with his country’s colors, Ballester recorded two early birdies to take a three-stroke lead after four holes. He led by four points at noon on a hot, 82-degree day with a light late-summer breeze. Kent, who began the week ranked 560th in the world amateur rankings, never gave up during a grueling final day. “You don’t want to be down four going into an 18-hole match, but it’s happened and I kept telling myself that. Everybody in my corner kept telling me that,” Kent said. “I fought like crazy there.”
He made a long putt for eagle on No. 25, the course’s seventh hole, to move within two strokes. Then, after being down by four with seven holes to go, the Naples, Fla., player fought back to take first place. 31, 32, 34, one behind.
On the 34th hole, Hazeltine’s 16th Ballester hit his tee shot into heavy rough, crashed into a tree and then landed in the reeds in even worse fashion. He turned out to be frightening.
But with its chief to one, Baleser returned to the right path to become the last two holes. He nailed the shot from the T -shirt No. 17 within the surprising range of green.
“I was juice. “I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins and in my forearms,” Ballester said.
Kent hit a bunker shot off the 18th tee and landed in the rough. His final chip chance missed the hole, and as victory became certain, Ballester began to cry as he remembered his friends and family in Spain, including his grandmother, who had been ill this summer. “It was a tough summer in Spain, so I feel like all those emotions kind of boiled over,” Ballester said.
Dressed in a white polo shirt with the Hawkeyes logo, Kent was trying to become the first Iowa player to win the event. At the age of 19, he had a clear advantage of supporting dozens of fans on the gold shirt Caitlin Claark, who subscribed to the gallery.
I knew that it would happen since yesterday. I liked it a bit,” Ballester said. “When the other guy is feeling it and he starts to get that momentum going and you see all his supporters, it can be a bit depressing. So it’s important to go in with a good attitude.
Kent held on for 12 holes in his second-round match before Ballester took an early lead. Kent then defeated No. 17 amateur and Big Ten contender Jackson Buchanan of Illinois in the 18-hole semifinal. Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nichraus, Tiger Woods, and Phil Michelson are one of the dozens of famous names that have won American lovers. Jones won five times at this event. Woods won three. The last European, who won the American lover, was Victor Coffland, Norway in 2018 in 2018.