CHASKA, MINN. — Standing well north of six feet with an athletic build, Iowa sophomore and U.S. Amateur semifinalist Noah Kent is in many ways the physical embodiment of the modern golfer.
After making six birdies and an eagle in his quarterfinal match at Hazeltine National, Kent, ranked 560 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is now one win away from securing a spot in the 2025 U.S. Open and a likely invite to Augusta National.
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On to the semifinals!
An absolutely sizzling round of golf from @IowaHawkeyeGolf's Noah Kent. pic.twitter.com/ETj6Pc6wP0
— USGA (@USGA) August 16, 2024
Kent played a bunch of other sports growing up in Naples, Fla., including hockey, which he says was his main activity until high school. With his dad having competed in a U.S. Junior Amateur and Kent’s stepfather being golf course architect Dana Fry, golf had always been a part of Kent’s childhood, but he didn’t take it too seriously.
Hockey was his thing, that is, until Kent entered high school. “I was a hockey player,” he said. “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.”
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Why the sudden change? “Hockey was getting to the point where you could hit people, and I was like, I didn’t want to be in a wheelchair,” Kent said.
OK, so that is certainly a relatable admission, until you consider the fact that Kent is built more like an Iowa wide receiver than an Iowa golfer. Kent is the guy who is supposed to put other guys in wheelchairs on the ice.
Chris Keane
The comment is more puzzling considering that one of Kent’s mentors is 1993 U.S. Amateur champion John Harris, who was also a star hockey player at the University of Minnesota, helping to lead them to a national championship in 1974. Kent remains very close with Harris and his Harris’ initials written on his glove this week.
In all fairness, though, Kent had a pretty large growth spurt in high school, so freshman Kent did not have the perspective of the guy who towers over the other remaining three players—Jackson Buchanan, Jose Luis Ballester and Luis Masaveu—at Hazeltine.
Ironically, it’s those guys who should be thankful there’s no hitting in golf. If there was, Kent would already be lifting the Havemeyer Trophy.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
