U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 16, 2024

Noah Kent

Hazeltine National Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. That was a remarkable start to go four birdies in a row, then five birdies, I think, in seven holes. Talk about that stretch. How good was that stretch?

NOAH KENT: There was no wind early, and I knew the course got rain, so it was a little soft. Ethan, he made a 25-footer on the 1st hole, then I followed it up with a 15-footer and stuffed it on the next. Hit it close again, close again.

I kind of got in the zone really early, and everything just kind of felt right in the beginning of the round.

Q. Talk about the eagle on the first par-5 on the back. You had a really bad lie, it looked like.

NOAH KENT: I went for the green. I had 215 and kind of chunked the 7-iron. That was kind of dead where it was. I thought, I'm just going to swing as hard as I can, and hopefully it will come out soft. Swung as hard as I could, and it came out soft, and I just saw it rolling and break.

All my family is standing behind the green, and they were going crazy. I saw it drop in. It was like an out-of-body experience.

Q. How good is this round of all the matches you've played in your life, all the rounds you've played in your life?

NOAH KENT: It was really good. Ethan was really good. He kept me on my toes. He's a grinder. Kept it close, made a lot of putts.

I kind of like whenever the pressure gets really high. Like I kind of like whenever my back gets put against the wall, and you kind of have to make birdies to win holes. I can make a lot of birdies as I kind of showed today. Just a good round of golf.

Q. Did that contribute to your Tuesday round? Obviously needed to go low to make it here, kind of the pressure?

NOAH KENT: Yeah, the putter feels really good right now, which is a big club for me. I just feel really confident over the golf ball, which is nice.

Q. What was going through your head when he sinks that birdie on the 1st hole? Like you said, is that like, okay, it's time to go?

NOAH KENT: I was like, oh, it's on now. I mean, you've kind of got to expect a player to pull off everything in match play, but to see it go in, it's like, all right, let's go. It's game time.

Q. You only had one bogey all day, shot 3-under through 16 holes, and you still beat him 3 and 2. Does that feel better than some other matches?

NOAH KENT: It feels good. I think I was 7-under, 6-under through 12 or something like that. I holed the shot, which is good because I made a mess of 10. It was good because I felt like I he had a little momentum, and then my shot went in, and the whole momentum of the match switched back to me. So it was nice.

Q. What age did you start playing?

NOAH KENT: I was a hockey player. I quit hockey at 14. I played golf, like my whole family was around it, but I didn't start taking it serious until freshman year of high school.

Q. Why did you switch?

NOAH KENT: Hockey was getting to the point where you could hit people, and I was like, I didn't want to be in a wheelchair.

Q. John Harris ain't saying that. He was a hockey player at Minnesota, on the National Championship team.

NOAH KENT: I played a bunch of sports. Like it was good. I didn't really love golf, but I met Rory at the U.S. Open in 2017, and that kind of switched my whole view of golf.

Q. How old were you when you met Rory?

NOAH KENT: 13. 12 or 13.

Q. What hockey skills translate to golf?

NOAH KENT: Driver, like a slap shot, I can hit it a mile. I feel like all hockey players have fundamentals.

Q. A hockey player in Florida?

NOAH KENT: Tampa Bay is nearby, and so are the Florida Everblades. A couple of kids that I played with growing up are now in the league. A couple play for the Blue Jackets and the Devils.

Q. I guess you have John Harris initials on your glove today. Did you just put it on today?

NOAH KENT: I had it on the whole week.

Q. Did you talk to him last night?

NOAH KENT: I talked to him this morning. He was just like keep it simple today. Keep doing what you're doing. You're good enough, and you belong here. Just show -- like you know what you need to do.

Q. Any karma there's the fact that he's a Minnesota guy, you won a USGA event here with the state team in 2001. Is there anything that's kind of --

NOAH KENT: It feels a little special. I definitely feel like he's guiding me around the golf course for sure.

Q. What about the other two initials on your glove?

NOAH KENT: I have my initials and my girlfriend's initial on here too.

Q. What's her name?

NOAH KENT: Livi.

Q. The significance of that, just good vibes?

NOAH KENT: Yeah, just good vibes, started doing it whenever we got together. She's on the dance team at Iowa. I just kept it on my glove, just something to remind me during the round, like it's a lot bigger things out there than golf.

Q. You mentioned the ranking is just a number. Does that motivate you?

NOAH KENT: Yeah, I mean, they talk about it, and it's like you're 560 in the world, but it's like I know I can beat anybody here. It doesn't matter if they're ranked 1, 1,000, 10, 20, it doesn't really matter to me. It's just a match.

Q. You spent a lot of time going around the world. I saw you went to Australia, went to the British Am. What was the reasoning behind going to some of those far away places to play some high level golf?

NOAH KENT: I played with two kids from Australia in a tournament in New York, the Porter Cup three years ago, and they were like you should come to Australia if you can get in. Playing is great. You can experience all kinds of different conditions. I did that, and I played really well.

Then I got in the British this year. It was another good experience getting to play links style golf for the first time. It wasn't my best, but it was pretty cool.

Q. You've got Jackson Buchanan tomorrow. He just polished off his match. What do you know about him? I know you both play in the Big Ten. What do you know about him?

NOAH KENT: I know he plays for Illinois. They're a really good school. Saw him at Big Tens. It's another match. It's you versus the course. You can't really play your competitor.

Q. Do you feel like it's a hometown crowd out here this week?

NOAH KENT: My uncle and his friends flew out here today. I made a comment to my caddie, with them by me on the 1st tee, the other person is 1-down with all of them going crazy.

Q. They're from Florida?

NOAH KENT: No, they're all Iowa guys.

Q. How many people in your support group today?

NOAH KENT: Probably 15, I'd say.

Q. It's not like there's more coming?

NOAH KENT: There might be more coming, yeah. My sister, she's a senior in high school down in Florida. She might fly up. My grandparents are down there.

Q. Sister's name is?

NOAH KENT: Cameron.

Q. How did the meeting with Rory come about?

NOAH KENT: Meeting him at Erin Hills?

Q. Yeah.

NOAH KENT: Dana, my stepdad, who designed the course, was out there early and walked the course with him. Kind of just hit it off with his agent and got to meet him, which was nice.

I was out at the club and saw him again there, which was really cool.

Q. Tonight will you allow yourself to think about what might happen if tomorrow goes well?

NOAH KENT: No. Sit back, play college football, just take my mind off of it.

Q. Is that what you play, some video game? NCAA?

NOAH KENT: Yeah, NCAA 2025.