CHASKA, Minn. — Jose Luis Ballester, a senior-to-be at Arizona State, became the first player from Spain to win the US Amateur, fending off Iowa sophomore Noah Kent 2 up Sunday at Hazeltine in the 36-hole match on his 21st birthday.
Ballester, who was the only player in the top 10 of the world amateur ranking to reach the round of 16, took the lead on the second hole and never trailed. He joined Jon Rahm as the only players from Spain to win a USGA tournament. Rahm, who also played for the Sun Devils, won the US Open in 2021.
Ballester trailed at some point in his last three matches before taking control in the grueling final. Wearing a red polo, yellow shorts on loan from Spaniard he beat in the semifinals, Luis Masaveu, and black socks to match his country’s colors, Ballester went 3 up after four holes on two early birdies. He had a 4-up lead at the lunch break on a vintage 82-degree day with a slight late-summer breeze.
He hit a long putt for eagle on No. 25 — the seventh hole on the course — to move within two. Then after falling behind by four with seven holes to go, the player from Naples, Florida, snapped back to win Nos. 31, 32 and 34 and pull within one. “It was a hard summer back in Spain, so I feel like all those emotions kind of came out,” Ballester said.
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