Noah Kent, Josele Ballester advance to 2024 U.S. Amateur championship match

CHASKA, Minn. — On Monday, 312 players teed off with hopes of hoisting the Havemeyer Trophy. Now, it's down to two who can make that dream become reality Sunday at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

The 2024 U.S. Amateur is down to its final day, as Saturday's semifinals have concluded and produced the two golfers who will battle it out over 36 holes on Sunday for the biggest championship in amateur golf. There's a bit of history on the line, too, as for the first time in U.S. Amateur history there's a player from Spain in the championship match.

On one side of the bracket, an unproven American playing in his first USGA championship is looking to make his mark as a force to come in the future. On the other side is one of the best amateurs in the world, and Sunday is a shot for his signature win with a piece of history added.

Oh, and the duo who won Saturday locked up spots in the 2025 U.S. Open and likely exemptions into the 2025 Masters. Not bad.

U.S. Amateur: Best photos from Hazeltine

Here's what you need to know from the semifinals of the 2024 U.S. Amateur:

Noah Kent's killer instinct propels him into the championship match

Last year, it was Neal Shipley. This year, it's Noah Kent.

Thousands of fans roamed the fairways of Hazeltine National on Saturday afternoon, many of them clad in yellow and black following Kent, a rising sophomore at Iowa. They were loud the first 17 holes of his match against Illinois senior Jackson Buchanan, but they roared on the par-4 18th hole.

Kent's tee shot found the fairway, and Buchanan's was in the bunker. Buchanan's ball hit the lip on his second shot, and it only advanced about 15 yards into the rough. That's when Kent took control.

It has been his modus operandi all week: when Kent's opponents hit a big shot or drained a big putt, he responded with one of his own. Like on the par-5 15th, when Buchanan made a putt for birdie, but Kent responded and stole any chance of stealing momentum. The putt would've tied the match.

On the next shot, Buchanan's drive bounced off a fan and into the water. He made par on the hole and went 2 up with two to play.

His tee shot on the par-3 17th found a penalty area, and Buchanan made a birdie putt to make it 1 down. Fans then rushed to surround the 18th hole and circled the players as they walked up the fairway, but Kent's approach shot sent them into a frenzy.

He smoked a 7-iron from 180 yards into the wind, and it never left the flag. He stuck the approach about 6 feet from the pin, and the match was over.

"I don't know what it is with me," Kent said. "I mean, I love whenever the pressure gets really high, and I kind of just have been feeling it the whole week.

"I feel like I was just born with it. I mean, I played hockey. I'm a really competitive person, whether that's playing here, that's playing just a fun game with friends, I just bring the same intensity and energy the whole entire day."

Kent, who's ranked 560th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, has played 83 holes of match play this week. He has trailed for only five of them, none in the last three rounds.

His 2-up win against Buchanan was significant for many reasons. It's a culmination of hard work over the past year since he broke his right wrist before teeing it up in what was supposed to be his first USGA championship, the U.S. Junior Amateur. He missed 11 weeks and wasn't able to do anything before his freshman season at Iowa.

This week is his USGA debut, and it has been nothing short of spectacular.

"It's all up here (points to head), in my heart, like I have way more competitiveness," Kent said. "I feel like I have a lot more belief in myself, and I have a lot more drive to want to get where I want to go. So I just feel like I wanted a lot more than I used to."

Josele Ballester adds name to Spanish golf lore

Seve Ballesteros. Jose Maria Olazabal. Sergio Garcia. Jon Rahm.

All golf greats from Spain, legends of the game who have or are continuing to add their legacies in the annals of the sports.

Josele Ballester did something no one from Spain has ever done on Saturday, however and that's advance to the U.S. Amateur championship match.

It was a foregone conclusion before the match teed off, but someone was going to be the first Spaniard to make Sunday at the U.S. Amateur, but Ballester and longtime friend Luis Masaveo had to battle it out in the semis it figure out who it was. And Ballester, the rising senior at Arizona State who turns 21 on Sunday, got the better of his fellow countryman at Hazeltine.

Ballester topped Masaveu 3 and 2 on Saturday, dominating down the stretch after losing two of the first three holes.

"I think I'm still not conscious of what just happened today. It's unbelievable," Ballester said. "Feelng super grateful for the opportunity. I'm just grateful that I'm living this moment."

Masaveu birdied the first and third holes Saturday while Ballester had birdied the second. The Spaniards seemed destined to throw shots at each other all day, and the first to blink would lose. But Hazeltine is a tough course, and the players soon were fighting for pars instead of birdies. That's when Ballester pounced.

A poor tee shot on the par-3 eighth and approach on the par-4 ninth led to consecutive losses for Masaveu, and Ballester took a 1-up lead to the back nine. The two halved the next three holes beforeBallester extended his lead with a par on the 13th and birdie on the 14th. Two pars later, and Ballester punched his ticket to Oakmont for the U.S. Open, a likely invite to the Masters and a spot in Sunday's finale.

"I had an amazing experience last year, winning the European Amateur Championship," Ballester said of his recent success. "Coming into this week, it's always exciting coming to the U.S. Amateur, and as soon as you see yourself moving forward in the match play, you're like, 'OK, this is actually getting better and better.'

"Right now we're in the final, and I know that whatever happens tomorrow, it's probably the best week of my life so far."

Sunday schedule

First 18 holes: No. 41 Noah Kent vs. 47 Josele Ballester, 8:15 a.m. ET

Second 18 holes: scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET

TV information

Sunday, Aug. 18: 2-5 p.m. ET, Golf Channel

More U.S. Amateur

To check out some of the best photos all week from Hazeltine, click here.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Noah Kent, Josele Ballester advance to 2024 U.S. Amateur championship match