CHASKA, Minn. — Josele Ballester is like many Spanish golfers who have grown up idolizing the greats from their country.
On Sunday, Ballester did something none of those before him have been able to accomplish: win the U.S. Amateur.
Ballester, the rising senior at Arizona State, dominated throughout the day then held on late against Noah Kent to capture the Havemeyer Trophy at Hazeltine National Golf Club. Ballester led 4 up with six holes to play, but by the time he was on the 17th tee, his lead was down to 1. However, Ballester found a way to clinch his biggest victory yet, and it’s one that has given him a title no Spanish golfer has ever been able to achieve.
“I think I’m still not conscious of what just happened today,” Ballester said. “Super thankful to have the opportunity to live this moment. We have many great Spaniards, many great legends, and being able to add my name into that history, it’s pretty sweet.”
As a cherry on top, Ballester’s 21st birthday was Sunday. The Havemeyer Trophy, and everything that comes with winning the biggest amateur event in the world, makes for a good present.
He’s the fourth winner of the U.S. Amateur from Arizona State, joining Billy Mayfair (1987), Phil Mickelson (1990) and Jeff Quinney (2000).
Ballester’s journey to becoming a U.S. Amateur champion began long before he hoisted the trophy on the 18th green at Hazeltine on Sunday.
When Arizona State coach Matt Thurmond was recruiting the talented youngster, he and Washington coach Alan Murray were watching him when the latter quipped, “It’s just a man amongst boys. He’s just a big silverback gorilla, and all these are little cubs around him.”
It’s a phrase that has stuck with Ballester his entire career at Arizona State. Often overlooked on a talented roster, Ballester has always been the gorilla, an alpha who’s consistency shines through, even if the results didn’t show.
“He actually hasn’t won a college tournament,” Thurmond said, “yet he’s a three-time All-American. If it’s possible to be a top-10 amateur in the world and be under the radar, then he is.”
U.S. Amateur: Best photos from Hazeltine
Ranked No. 10 in the world, Ballester, by ranking, was a heavy favorite against Kent, No. 560 and a rising sophomore at Iowa. However, the crowd at Hazeltine resembled the likes of one from the 2016 Ryder Cup at the same venue rather than a U.S. Amateur championship match.
Kent was a heavy, heavy fan favorite, and his following grew by the day. During the Round of 64, his family, girlfriend and a couple others were his only followers. On Sunday, more than 95 percent, if not more, of the crowd was pulling for Kent.
On Saturday night, after Ballester and Kent had secured their spots in the match, Kent remained at Hazeltine more than two hours after his semifinal victory celebrating his achievement, hanging out with friends and others on the clubhouse’s back patio.
Ballester retreated to his hotel, where he ate some sushi, played ping pong to get rid of his stress and had a phone call with one of his idols: Sergio Garcia.
The two texted throughout the week, but this conversation was more in-depth.
“The most important one was continue to be myself,” Ballester said of the advice Garcia shared. “That was key for today. And the other one was how to deal with the crowd, right? He’s been in that position multiple times, especially on this course, in the Ryder Cup 2016 playing against Phil, one of the best Ryder Cup matches ever. So he told me just stay patient in your game, and the best way to demonstrate to the other fans, it’s with your game.”
Ballester struggled to sleep Saturday night, waking up at 3:30 a.m. Sunday and not being able to fall back asleep. He got a workout in, headed to the course early, and at 6:30 a.m. as the sun rose over a fog-blanketed Hazeltine, Ballester was alone on the practice green, getting in some last-minute prep.
In the morning 18 holes, Ballester calmly took a 4-up lead into the break while Kent struggled with his game. Kent said he retreated to the locker room, where he had to reset.
“I sat in the shower for 20 minutes and kind of let all my thoughts come out, and then called Mr. (John) Harris for a while and called Brett McCabe, my sports psychologist, and called Claude (Harmon III) and kind of got some thoughts and opinions from them,” Kent said. “Mr. Harris just said be creative. So I got up there on the range. I was hitting slices. I was hitting soft shots. I was ripping them. I just wanted to have fun and give it a fight.”
And give it a fight Kent did.
The crowd, which quadrupled in size for the afternoon session, exploded on the first hole when Kent’s chip shot from beyond the hole slammed into the flag then dropped, shrinking his deficit right out of the gate. Ballester blasted a drive on the next hole, hit a brilliant wedge and got his 4-up lead back with a birdie, but Kent again responded, the crowd willing him to a birdie on the par-5 third.
“I knew it was going to be like that from yesterday,” Ballester said of the crowd. “Again, 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.”
By the turn, Ballester’s lead was 2 up, but it quickly grew to 4 up with seven to go when he won Nos. 10-11. Both players missed birdie looks on the par-4 12th, and harnessing a 4 up lead with six to go, Ballester closed in on history.
But no champion is crowned without facing some adversity. Ballester’s started on the par-3 13th, when his tee shot drifted left and he made bogey.
3 up with five to play.
On the par-4 14th, both players missed the green, Ballester having the better lie from the fairway short than Kent did long. With a short game like Seve Ballesteros all week, it seemed as if Ballester would easily get it up and down.
He didn’t. Kent did. 2 up with four to play, and the pro-Kent crowd was raucous, doing anything it could to will a comeback.
“It was awesome to have them here,” Kent said of the fans, admitting they fueled his late push.
On the par-5 15th, both players made birdie, with Ballester rolling in his putt and giving a strong fist pump as if he was his idol, Garcia, while yelling “Vamos!”
Come the 16th, Kent’s tee shot bounded through the fairway, but from a different tee than players had used all week, Ballester’s tee shot drifted right and got lucky to stay in bounds. He caught a putrid lie. His second shot barely came out, and it trickled into a penalty area, with fans cheering when the ball disappeared into the brush. He was able to find the ball and somehow hit it onto the green for his third, but with Kent having 15 feet for birdie, the lead was down to 1 with two holes to play.
The tees were moved forward on the par-3 17th, making it play closer to 145 yards. Kent’s shot landed on a ridge and rolled away from the front right hole location, and Ballester’s ball landed long and gave him a tricky downhiller.
“That pin, I’m not going to say anything, but it was pretty close to being illegal,” Ballester said. “It was super fast, couldn’t really touch the ball.
Again channeling his inner Sergio, Ballester gently lagged the ball to about 3 feet from the cup and confidently poured in the par putt, giving a subtle fist bump when it dropped. Kent also made par, and the duo marched between the thousands of fans scurrying up and along the 18th fairway.
On the 18th tee, Kent’s tee shot sailed long and into a fairway bunker, leaving the door open for what seemed like the first time in an hour for Ballester to be on offense. It was his chance to show he was a champion, and he capitalized.
Using his Jon Rahm-esque power off the tee, his drive found the center of the fairway, and then he perfectly placed his approach 20 feet from the hole. When Kent’s fairway bunker shot went long and left, Ballester and his caddie embraced walking up the 18th fairway.
“We just looked to each other and say, ‘OK, let’s enjoy this final walk,” Ballester did.
The same youngster that looked like a man amongst boys as a junior proved he was indeed an alpha on the biggest stage Sunday, even when everything was against him.
“The opportunities that are going to open up for him are amazing,” Thurmond said. “But the best part is, no matter what, he’s going to be an 80-year-old man on the southern coast of Spain, and they’re still going to be knowing him as the U.S. Amateur champion.”
Ballester channeled various elements of his Spanish idols in a victorious march around Hazeltine on Sunday.
Now, kids back in Spain will want to follow in the footsteps of the champion from Castellon de la Plana.
