CHASKA, Minn. — At the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National, Rory McIlroy shushed the crowds after holing a long putt in his singles match against Patrick Reed. On Sunday in the U.S. Amateur final, didn’t raise his finger to his lips to keep the raucous Minnesota crowd quiet, but instead did the work with his clubs in defeating University of Iowa sophomore Noah Kent, 2 up.
In doing so, Ballester, a three-time All-American at Arizona State entering his senior year, became the first Spaniard to win the U.S. Amateur and joins Jon Rahm as the only two players from Spain to win a USGA championship.
Jose Luis Ballester poses with the trophy after the 36-hole championship of the U.S. Amateur.
David Berding
“I think I'm still not conscious of what just happened today,” said Ballester, who entered Sunday at the world’s 10th-ranked amateur. Kent was ranked No. 560. “I'm super thankful to have the opportunity to live this moment, especially on my 21st birthday.
“We have many great Spaniards, many great legends and being able to add my name into that history, it's pretty sweet.” His love of country was shown through his bright yellow shorts, which he borrowed from his close friend whom he beat in the semifinals, Luis Masaveu.
The 36-hole championship began at 7:15 a.m., when a few hundred fans had already gathered, many out to support Kent, who plays college golf a few hours down the road in Iowa City. The group included a couple dozen close friends and family dressed for the second-straight day in former Iowa basketball standout Caitlin Clark t-shirts.
As might be expected at the end of a long week and in the biggest match of either player’s career, the play through the first seven holes was scratchy. Still, when Ballester rolled in a birdie at the par-3 eighth, he moved to 3 up. Both settled in for the middle part of the first 18, before two three-putts on Nos. 16 and 17 from Kent left him 4-down heading into the afternoon 18.
“I was a little bit accelerated with my rhythm in the first few holes,” said Ballester, who has worked on his swing with Sergio Garcia’s dad, Victor, for seven years. “But then got into rhythm again and feel pretty confident in the last final holes of the morning match.”
Noah Kent pitches his shot in to win the 19th hole during the final match of the U.S. Amateur.
Chris Keane
“Keep up the good rhythm” were the final words uttered in Spanish by Ballester’s caddie, Alberto Ballester (no relation), before Josele hit his first tee shot in the afternoon 350 yards down the middle of the fairway. It was a message sent to Kent, that he answered by chipping in from over the green in gnarly rough. With one shot, the momentum shifted, the crowd awakened, and “USA” chants signaled this was more than a match between college players, but rather a battle between an American and European.
But Ballester, the 2023 European Amateur champion, had been expecting it. Sergio Garcia called him Saturday after Ballester won his semifinal match and gave him two pieces of advice. “The most important one was to continue being myself. That was key for today,” Ballester said. “The other one was how to deal with the crowd. … He told me, ‘Stay patient in your game and the best way to demonstrate to the other fans is with your game.’”
Ballester listened and answered Kent’s heroics by making a 12-foot birdie putt on the second, the 19th hole of the match, to restore the 4-up lead. That was the margin heading into the 31st hole of the match, the 250-yard par-3 13th, and the crowd was nearly silent.
But Ballester found the water, made double bogey, and after he made another bogey on the following hole, his lead was only two with four to play. After Kent rolled in a six-foot par save on the 32nd hole, the crowd erupted, reaching the most boisterous levels of the day.
That was the moment Ballester said afterward that he wanted to shush the American crowd, ala McIlroy. “Especially on 15 when he won 13 and 14, and I gave him those two holes. All the fans were, shouting his name, I was like Ah, these Americans, no? … What Rory did is pretty great and special, but I think it's even better to just be cool than really do anything and just show what you can do with your game.”
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Ballester’s coach at Arizona State, Matt Thurmond, followed all 36 holes and knew the partisan support for Kent would not have an effect on his man.
“This is why the Americans always get beat by these guys,” Thurmond said, noting that although the atmosphere was difficult for Ballester, the crowds were great. “They do that, and it just fires them up and it gives them a reason to stick it to him. So every time I heard stuff in the crowd, it was like, alright, here we go. You're going to regret that. So proud of him. That was a tough environment.”
Noah Kent plays his tee shot on the 25th hole during the final match of the U.S. Amateur.
Chris Keane
Though the crowd re-energized Ballester, who birdied the 33rd hole, Kent answered with a five-foot birdie of his own, displaying a determined fight that had not been present in the morning. His ball-striking was slightly improved, but more so his demeanor seemed more engaged and comfortable. He attributes the turnaround to some quiet reflection and discussions with three of his mentors during lunchtime.
“I went and sat in the shower for 20 minutes and just let all my thoughts come out,” Kent said, adding he then called his mentor, 1993 U.S. Amateur champion John Harris, as well as his mental coach Dr. Bhrett McCabe and swing coach Claude Harmon. “Mr. Harris just said be creative, so I got out there on the range, I was hitting hooks, I was hitting slices, I was hitting soft shots, I was ripping them out. I just wanted to have fun and give it a fight.”
Though Ballester’s lead was 2-up with three holes to play, Kent had the momentum, and after Ballester bogeyed the next hole, Kent was just 1-down, the closest the match had been since the second hole of the day.
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Ballester missed a 15-foot birdie try on the short par-3 35th hole that would have won him the championship, and after both tapped in for par, the Spaniard was 1-up with one hole to play.
“I fought like crazy out there. … I'm sure a lot of people were like, Oh, it's going to be a wipe early. To get it to the 18 tee, it meant a lot,” Kent said.
Jose Luis Ballester reacts after winning the final match of the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
Chris Keane
Playing first on the final hole, Kent’s drive found the right fairway bunker, while Ballester split the center of the fairway, leaving him 185 yards into the green perched on the top of a hill.
“I could feel the adrenaline in my veins, in my forearms,” Ballester said. He and his caddie debated whether to hit a hard 8-iron or a smooth 7, and after committing to a smooth punch with the longer club, “I just believed in myself and I pulled out a really good shot.”
The tight draw finished 15 feet right of the back-left hole location, and after Kent failed to make par, the match was over. With a long embrace with his caddie, Ballester’s emotions finally came out.
“I started thinking a lot on my family and friends, especially my mom and my dad,” he said. “It's been a hard summer for me. I wasn't feeling really good and [had] some personal issues. My grandma isn't feeling very good. She’s just pretty sick, and it was a hard summer back in Spain. So I feel like all those emotions just came out thinking about my family and my friends back in Spain.”
The tears confirmed what Thurmond described as a very emotional person, even if Ballester doesn’t fit the . “I think that the Spaniard emotion tends to be seen as fire,” Thurmond said. “When I say emotion for him, it's much more fire and love and passion that doesn't necessarily get demonstrated outwardly. He's not the vocal leader. He's very relaxed and low key. Doesn't take anything too seriously. Kind of marches to the beat of his own drum.”
After an extended hug with his caddie, Ballester shared the same with Thurmond, Arizona St. associate coach Thomas Sutton, and one of his childhood best friends, Navid Mousavi, who flew in on Saturday from college in Mississippi. It was a small entourage, but Ballester didn’t mind. After all, this one was for Grandma back home.
He said: “She'll be super proud, super happy, and she's probably crying right now.”