Jose Luis Ballester watches his tee shot on the 4th hole during the quarterfinals of the 2024 US Amateur at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minn.
Chris Keane/USGA
CHASKA, Minn. – After five days of golf, there are four names left and we know only one thing for sure: the final of the US Amateur will be the American versus the Spaniard.
As for which players will represent those countries, that’s what we’ll find out in the semifinals, as back-to-back games at 2 pm and 2:15 pm ET at Hazeltine National Golf Club will determine who plays in Sunday’s final. On one side of the bracket are two Americans, and on the other side are two players representing Spain.
There’s a lot on the line now too. The US Amateur winner gets an exemption from the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, but the winner again the runner-up received invitations to the 2025 US Open at Oakmont and possibly the 2025 Masters. As you can imagine, that will be on the players’ minds as an added bonus for a win on Saturday.
How to watch the 2024 US Amateur Saturday
The US Amateur semifinals begin at 2 pm ET on Saturday. The action will be broadcast on the Golf Channel from 3-6 pm ET.
2024 US Amateur semifinal matchups (ET)
2pm – Noah Kent, Naples, Fla. (Age: 19 / Rank: 560) vs. Jackson Buchanan, Dacula, Ga. (Age: 22 / Position: 17)
Noah Kent birdied the first four holes against Ethan Fang and birdied the fifth hole on the 8th hole, going 4 up on the turn. He also birdied for eagle on 11 en route to his 3-and-2 win.
While Kent is the most underrated player on the field, Iowa’s rising sophomore has been in charge since Tuesday. He shot a 77 on Monday, but shot a six-under 64 on the Chaska Town Course on Tuesday – 13 strokes better than the previous day – to move into a playoff. He didn’t slow down. He has won two more games 4 and 2 and has yet to play the 18th hole.
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Buchanan, however, will not be easy to beat. The rising star from Illinois – last year’s Big Ten Player of the Year – is ranked 17th in the world and took down top-ranked Luke Clanton in the Round of 32. Buchanan defeated Jacob Modleski of Notre Dame 4 and 3 on Friday.
2:15 pm – Jose Luis Ballester, Spain (Age: 20 / Position: 10) vs. Luis Masaveu, Spain (Age: 21 / Position: 23)
Jose Luis Ballester and Luis Masaveu will face each other in the second of two games on Saturday, and they are already very familiar with each other’s game. They have known each other for almost ten years and became close a few years ago while playing with the Spanish national team and other European teams.
“I wish I could face him in the finals, but the fact that we will compete for a place in the US Amateur finals is amazing,” said Ballester.
Ballester, a freshman ranked 10th in the world, is a senior at Arizona State and earned honorable mention All-American honors in his first two seasons. On Friday he beat Bobby Massa 3 and 1, the second day in a row that he sent home half an hour of play.
Masaveu is the only player who did not study in the semi finals but he is busy overseas. He won the Open Championship last month and finished 78th. He beat Brendan Valdes 3 and 2 on Friday.
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