Iowa sophomore golfer Noah Kent almost completed one of the most remarkable Cinderella stories involving Hawkeye sports in a very long time on Sunday, as he finished runner-up at the 124th U.S. Amateur Championship. Kent lost the 36-hole final, 2 Down, to Arizona State senior Jose Luis Ballester.
Kent never led in the final, going down early as Ballester won three of the first four holes to open up a healthy lead. Ballester kept Kent at arm's length for the morning session and led 4 up after the first 18 holes of the final round. Kent shot what amounted to a +4 round for the first 18 holes, while Ballester shot an even-par to build his lead.
Kent started the afternoon session with a bang by chipping in to win the first hole of the second 18 holes and cut the deficit to 3 down. A few holes later, he sank a dramatic eagle putt to reduce his deficit to 2 down.
As they made the turn on the course, Kent trailed Ballester 2 down with nine holes to play. Unfortunately, Kent's comeback charge hit a snag at that point with Ballester birdieing the first two holes of the back nine to restore his lead to 4 up. At 4 down with seven holes to play, Kent's comeback odds looked remote -- but he kept battling.
Kent finally caught fire with some good shots -- while Ballester also started wobbling with some shaky strokes of his own -- which enabled him to win the 13th and 14th holes and cut his deficit in half. Kent and Ballester tied the 15th hole before Kent won the 16th hole to go 1 down with two holes to play.
That was as close as Kent was able to get, though. He and Ballester halved the 17th hole , before an errant tee shot -- and an over-hit second shot -- doomed Kent on the final hole. Ballester regained his composure, hit the ball well, and was able to win one final hole to come away with a 2 Up win and the title of U.S. Amateur Champion.
The runner-up finish capped off a spectacular week of golf for Kent. After shooting five over par in the opening round of stroke play competition on Monday, Kent was lights out on Tuesday, finishing with a round of six under par to make the cut down to 64 golfers. The remainder of the tournament was match-play, with Kent winning five consecutive matches to advance to Sunday's final against Ballester.
Kent was a decided underdog in the final as well, at least based on their pre-tournament accomplishments -- Ballester was the 10th ranked amateur in the world prior to this tournament, while Kent was ranked just 560th. Fair to say that he'll be moving up those rankings after his performance this week.
The winner of the U.S. Amateur claims the Havemeyer Trophy and earns exemptions into the following year's U.S. Open, Open Championship, and Masters, assuming they remain amateurs at the time those events take place. Kent doesn't go home empty-handed, though -- the Masters and U.S. Open grant exemptions to both finalists at the U.S. Amateur, meaning that Kent locked up spots in the 2025 Masters and the 2025 U.S. Open just by winning his semifinal match on Saturday.
Kent had a good freshman season at Iowa in 2023-24 -- he was named a Rolex Junior All-American in 2023 and his scoring average of 72.8 led the team during the 2024 spring season. His six Top 25 finishes also led the team and he finished tied for 11th at the Big Ten Championships, which was the best finish among Iowa golfers.
Those freshman year performances announced that Kent was a golfer to watch. Suffice to say, expectations will be even higher for Kent in his second year at Iowa after the display he put forth at the U.S. Amateur this week at Hazeltine, a venue which has hosted the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, and the Ryder Cup in years past. Given how well he handled the pressure all week -- but especially on the back nine this afternoon, when the tournament was on the verge of slipping away from him -- Kent looks well-positioned to make good on those big expectations this season.
