“I kind of liked it a little bit. It’s true that, when the other guy is feeling it and he’s kind of grabbing that momentum and you see all the supporters that are going for him, it can be a little depressing. So, it’s important to face it with a nice mindset, and I think I did.”
And after doing all the media interviews, including a Zoom call with reporters back in Spain, Ballester left the premises with the Havemeyer Trophy, and ready to celebrate the hours remaining of his 21st birthday.
A nice meal with his caddie/longtime friend Alberto Ballester (no relation), his college coaches at Arizona State, Matt Thurmond and assistant Thomas Sutton, and two Spanish friends, including best friend Navid Mousavi, who plays collegiately at NAIA William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss.
“So super special to have him here, even in this [media] room,” said Ballester. “It was a great birthday present as well to see him rooting for me today.”
What the Champion Receives
-A gold medal
-Custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for one year
-Exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Amateur Championships
-Exemption into the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club
-Likely invitation to next April’s Masters Tournament (must be an amateur)
-Exemption into the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush (must be an amateur)
-Name engraved on 2024 USGA Champions’ plaque that will reside in the Hall of Champions at the USGA Museum & Library in Liberty Corner, N.J.
Notable
Runner-up Noah Kent received a silver medal, an exemption into the 2025 U.S. Open and likely invitation into the Masters Tournament (must be an amateur) as well as exemptions into the next three U.S. Amateur Championships.
What a summer it’s been for Spain. Carlos Alcaraz claimed the French Open and Wimbledon, the soccer team won Euro 2024, and the Under-23 soccer squad captured the gold medal in the Olympics. Spain also won gold in women’s water polo in Paris. Now Jose Luis Ballester made history in the U.S. Amateur.
Seven members of the Iowa men’s golf team made the four-hour drive from Iowa City to Hazeltine on Friday: Ian Meyer, Cale Leonard, Hogan Hansen, Josh Lundmark, Chance Rinkol, Ryan Shellberg and Gabe Messingham. The team’s coach, Tyler Stith, had been on property for several days.
USGA Executive Committee members Bryan Lewis and Andrew Biggadike served as the referees for the morning and afternoon rounds of the final, respectively. USGA president Fred Perpall was the first-tee starter and presented the Havemeyer Trophy to the champion at the prize ceremony.
Next year’s U.S. Amateur will be conducted at The Olympic Club (Lake Course), in San Francisco, Calif., from Aug. 11-17. The club’s Ocean Course will serve as the stroke-play co-host.
Jose Luis Ballester’s father, also named Jose Luis, was a three-time Olympic butterfly swimmer for Spain (1988, 1992, 1996). He also swam collegiately at the University of Florida. His mom, Sonia Barrio, won a gold medal in field hockey for Spain in the 1992 Barcelona Games, and competed in 1996 and 2000 (lost bronze-medal match to The Netherlands). His sister, Julia, is a sophomore on the Kansas State women’s golf team.
Not long after he won his semifinal victory on Saturday afternoon, Kent received texts from four-time major champion Rory McIlroy and two-time major winner/Iowa native Zach Johnson about setting up a practice round at next April’s Masters. Kent first met McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champion and runner-up in the last two U.S. Opens, at the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, a course his stepfather, Dana Fry, helped design. Johnson won the 2007 Masters. His longtime instructor, Claude Harmon, works with major champions Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson.
Jose Luis Ballester’s bogey on the par-4 fifth hole in the final was his first since making a 4 on the par-3 eighth in the quarterfinals on Friday against Bobby Massa, a span of 30 holes.
Before turning to competitive golf, Kent played youth hockey in Florida where one of his coaches wasretired defenseman Brian Rafalski, who spent 11 seasons in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings. Kent said he gave up hockey at 14 because he didn’t like the contact.
The 125 holes Ballester needed to win the championship matched the second-most in U.S. Amateur history, just one behind Gunn Yang in 2014. Jeff Quinney (2000) and Nick Flanagan (2003) also needed 125 holes to win their titles.
Ballester borrowed a pair of yellow shorts from semifinalist Luis Masaveu after his semifinal victory over his fellow countryman on Saturday. He wanted to wear the Spanish Team’s red and yellow colors for the final.
Quotable
“Started crying. I don’t know why, but as soon as the match finished, I started thinking a lot about … my family and friends, especially my mom and my dad. It’s been a hard summer for me. I wasn’t feeling really good and had like some personal issues. My grandma isn’t feeling very good. She’s pretty sick. It was a hard summer back in Spain, so I feel like all those emotions kind of came out thinking about my family and my friends back in Spain.” – Jose Luis Ballester
“That’s what everybody says. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to watch him play that much. Again, it’s always nice to hear that comparison, especially with his last name and my last name, about his short game. I’m pretty happy they can say that about my short game.” – Ballester when asked about how his remarkable short game compares favorably to Spain’s greatest champion, the late Seve Ballesteros
“We just looked at each other and said, okay, let’s enjoy this final walk.” – Ballester when asked about the stroll up the 18th fairway with his caddie/friend Alberto Ballester
“Maybe, but we have Leon Marchand that just won four gold medals [in swimming]. So, I’m just going to be like the second guy, I guess (laughter).” – Ballester on whether he’ll be the Big Man on Campus at Arizona State now as the U.S. Amateur champion
“Some strawberry tequila maybe.” – Ballester when asked what adult beverage he might drink out of the Havemeyer Trophy
“After 1 (chip-in birdie on the 19th hole), that was pretty awesome. They’re all in Iowa City, so I get to spend a lot of time with them during school. They’re a lot of big supporters for me and kind of build me up. It was awesome to have them here.” – Noah Kent on the support he received from friends/fans/relatives
“It means the world. I kind of made a joke to Claude [Harmon] the other day. He teaches [U.S. Open champions] Brooks [Koepka] and D.J. (Dustin Johnson). I’d like to play a practice round with them. It would be pretty cool. He’s like, ‘I know a guy who can set this up.’ We have a college tournament before the Masters. I made a joke to my coach [at Iowa] before the week, I could still play. No, I want to go play the par-3 contest now. [And] Oakmont for the [U.S.] Open is pretty unreal.” – Kent on some cook perks headed his way for being a U.S. Amateur finalist
“I just fight. I’m gritty.” – Kent on what he was most proud of this week