Breakfast Ball #33: Y Viva España

In This Week’s Newsletter:

Vamos! Jose Luis Ballester Becomes the First Spaniard to Win the US Amateur

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jack Nicklaus—what do they all have in common? They are former US Amateur champions. Yesterday, Spain's Jose Luis Ballester joined their ranks, securing his place among the greats with a 2-up victory in the championship match against Noah Kent.

The US Amateur is one of the world’s oldest tournaments, yet Europeans have struggled to succeed at the event. Only five Europeans have won the event in the last 100 years, and the most recent winner was Viktor Hovland in 2018. The tournament consists of two days of stroke play, with the leading 64 competitors then playing a knockout matchplay competition over the course of five days. Every match is 18 holes except for the championship match which takes place over 36 holes, split into amorning and afternoon tee times.

Ballester entered the championship match after playing against fellow Spaniard Luis Masaveu in the semi-final. The two had first faced each other 14 years earlier as 7 and 8-year-olds in the Spanish U10 national championship. Now, they found themselves competing for the honor of being the first Spaniard to reach the final of the US Amateur. Ballester was behind for most of the front nine, but turned on the style in the back nine and won 3&2.

Ballester seized an early advantage in the 36-hole championship match, going 3 up through 8 holes with birdies on the 2nd, 4th, and 8th. He closed the opening round with a 4-hole lead and held onto that margin with just 6 holes remaining. However, Noah Kent wasn’t going down without a fight. A University of Iowa golfer, Kent and many Hawkeye fans had made the four-and-a-half-hour drive to Hazeltine National Golf Club—a relatively short trip for a Midwesterner.

Kent mounted a fierce comeback, winning three of the next four holes, reducing Ballester's lead to just one with two holes remaining. Both players made par on the par-3 17th, setting the stage for the decisive 36th hole—the 162nd they had played over the prior six days. Ballester unleashed a powerful drive down the center of the fairway, while Kent's tee shot found the bunker. Struggling to save par from the greenside rough, Kent fell short, and Ballester emerged as the champion.

Ballester was overcome with emotion on the final green as he accepted the Havemeyer trophy: “I’m still not conscious of what just happened this week. All my dreams as a kid came true here.” Ballester will return to Arizona State for his final year as a collegiate golfer, and earned exemptions into The Masters, US Open, and The Open next year with the victory. Spain’s successful sporting summer goes on!

Matsuyama Wins in Memphis While Koepka Defeats Rahm in Playoff for LIV Greenbrier Title

Hideki Matsuyama added the St. Jude Championship to his Olympic Bronze medal after a two stroke victory over Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele at TPC Southwind. Matsuyama had a commanding five stroke lead with seven to play, but bogeys on 12 and 14 followed by a double bogey on the 15th left him one stroke behind a surging Viktor Hovland. However, Hovland was unable to capitalize as he played the final two holes in +1 and Matsuyama recovered from his mid-round wobble to birdie the final two holes and win the tournament.

Matsuyama did all of this without his caddie or coach because their passports were stolen during a layover in London. In need of an emergency caddie, he tapped up Ryo Hisatsune’s caddie Taiga Tabuchi who was taking some time off in Japan. It was worth the trip, as Matsuyama won $3.6 million and Tabuchi will likely pocket 10% of his winnings.

Other Results from Memphis:

• 🇳🇴 Viktor Hovland played some of the best golf we have seen from him since the playoffs last year to jump from 57th to 16th in the season-long FedEx Cup rankings and qualify for the BMW Championship next week.

• ☘️ Rory McIlroy finished in a tie for 68th (in a field of 70) as he struggled with the putter and his wedges all week. He was 66th in strokes gained putting and 64th in strokes gained approach.

• 🌍️ The top 50 players in the FedEx Cup rankings qualified for the BMW Championship, but also for all of the signature events on tour in 2025. Some of the Europeans who are in the top 50 for the first time include Ludvig Åberg, Matthieu Pavon, Bob MacIntyre, Stephan Jaeger, and Aaron Rai.

Brooks Koepka clinched the LIV Greenbrier title after defeating Jon Rahm in a playoff, earning his fifth individual win since joining LIV and his second victory in 2024. Despite Rahm’s disappointing back-nine performance at the Olympics, it didn’t seem to impact his form, as he fired impressive rounds of 64, 62, and 65 to finish at 19-under. However, Rahm's challenge faltered on the first playoff hole when he found a greenside bunker on the par-3 18th and could only manage a bogey. Koepka made par to secure the win.

LIV will now take a three week break before its final event from September 13th to 15th in Chicago.

Other News and Results:

• 🇫🇷 David Ravetto won the D+D Real Czech Masters on the DP World Tour by four shots.

  • Ravetto had only made one cut since April and was struggling to maintain his status on tour, but this victory has changed his career trajectory.

  • “Walking up the 18th after driving the middle of the fairway was a lot of emotion, I almost cracked and started crying on the fairway. When I saw my caddie and my girlfriend I couldn't hold it in any more.”

• 🇮🇪 Seamus Power and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Justin Rose were the only Europeans to drop out of the PGA Tour playoffs this week as they were outside of the top 50 in the FedEx Cup rankings

  • Power produced his best finish of the year in T10 but it was not enough; neither player will have an exemption to signature events in 2025.

  • The cut off for the Tour Championship will be the top 30;. 8 Europeans are currently inside the top 30 but plenty could change this week in Colorado.

Coming up this week on Tour

• The PGA Tour’s top 50 players will compete at the BMW Championship in Colorado

• Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard will return home as the Danish Golf Championship takes place on the DP World Tour

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