WATCH: Every televised shot of the 2024 U.S. Amateur final match
Noah Kent (left) and Jose Luis Ballester (USGA Photo)
With the U.S. Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club over and Jose Luis Ballester becoming the first Spaniard to win the U.S. Amateur, just the second to claim any USGA championship (Jon Rahm 2021 U.S. Open), we can now look back and see just how it came to be.
Ballester defeated rising sophomore Noah Kent 2-up in the final match and had to withstand a furious rally from Kent at the end of the match.
He’s also the fourth Arizona State Sun Devil to etch his name on the Havemeyer trophy, joining Billy Mayfair (1987), Phil Mickelson (1990), and Jeff Quinney (2000).
“I think I'm still not conscious of what just happened today,” said Ballester to the USGA after the win. “Super thankful to have the opportunity to live this moment, especially on my 21st birthday. That's what I'm considering now.
Ballester added, “Super sweet. Again, we have many great Spaniards, many great legends, and being able to add my name into that history, it's pretty sweet.”
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ABOUT THE
US Amateur
The U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA
championship, was first played in 1895 at
Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. The
event,
which has no age restriction, is open to
those
with a Handicap Index of .4 (point four) or lower. It is
one
of 15 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA.
A new two-stage qualifying process went into effect in 2024, providing exemptions through local qualifying for state amateur champions and top-ranked WAGR playres. See the USGA website for details -- applications are typically placed online in the spring
at www.usga.org.
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