Iowa
Jose Luis Ballester fends off Iowa’s Noah Kent in U.S. Amateur final
CHASKA, Minn. (AP) — Jose Luis Ballester, a senior-to-be at Arizona State, became the first player from Spain to win the U.S. Amateur, fending off Iowa sophomore Noah Kent 2 up Sunday at Hazeltine in the 36-hole match on his 21st birthday.
Ballester, who was the only player in the top 10 of the world amateur ranking to reach the round of 16, took the lead on the second hole and never trailed. He joined Jon Rahm as the only players from Spain to win a USGA tournament. Rahm, who also played for the Sun Devils, won the U.S. Open in 2021.
“We have many great Spaniards, many great legends,” Ballester said. “Being able to add my name into that history is pretty sweet.”
Both finalists gained exemptions for the Masters and the U.S. Open next year, and Ballester also got a spot in the British Open.
Ballester trailed at some point in his last three matches before taking control in the grueling final. Wearing a red polo, yellow shorts on loan from Spaniard he beat in the semifinals, Luis Masaveu, and black socks to match his country’s colors, Ballester went 3 up after four holes on two early birdies. He had a 4-up lead at the lunch break on a vintage 82-degree day with a slight late-summer breeze.
Kent, who entered the week as a long shot at No. 560 in the world amateur ranking, refused to fade on the exhausting final day.
“You don’t want to be 4 down going into an 18-hole match, but it’s been done before, and I kept telling myself that. Everybody in my corner kept telling myself that,” Kent said. “I fought like crazy out there.”
He hit a long putt for eagle on No. 25 — the seventh hole on the course — to move within two. Then after falling behind by four with seven holes to go, the player from Naples, Fla., snapped back to win Nos. 31, 32 and 34 and pull within one.
On the 34th hole, Hazeltine’s signature lakeside No. 16, Ballester hit into the thick rough off the tee and, after clipping a tree, landed in worse shape in the reeds. He wound up with a bogey.
But with his lead down to one, Ballester got back on track to par the final two holes. He nailed the shot off the No. 17 tee within striking range on the green.
“I was juiced. I could feel the adrenaline in my veins, in my forearms,” Ballester said.
Kent hit into the bunker off the No. 18 tee, then the rough. His last-chance chip overshot the hole. Once the victory was secured, Ballester began to cry as he thought of friends and family in Spain, including his grandmother who’s been ill this summer.
“It was a hard summer back in Spain, so I feel like all those emotions kind of came out,” Ballester said.
Wearing a white polo with a Hawkeyes logo, Kent was attempting to become first Iowa player to win the event. The 19-year-old had the clear edge in fan support with dozens in gold Caitlin Clark shirts cheering from the gallery.
“I knew it was going to be like that from yesterday. I kind of liked it a little bit,” Ballester said. “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.”
Kent hadn’t trailed since the 12th hole of his second round match until Ballester took the early lead. Kent beat 17th-ranked amateur and Big Ten rival Jackson Buchanan of Illinois in their 18-hole semifinal match.
Ballester, who won the European Amateur last year, took a congratulatory call from fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia after his semifinal win. He shined with the short game all week.
“I think it’s in the blood,” Ballester said. “It has to be.”
Hazeltine, which was designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1962 in what was then mostly farmland and now a suburb filled with lakes and cul-de-sacs about 25 miles southwest of Minneapolis, last hosted the men’s amateur in 2006. Since then, the course has seen the PGA Championship (2009), the Ryder Cup (2016) and the Women’s PGA Championship (2019). The Ryder Cup is due back in 2029.
The event began Monday with 312 players over two courses, the 130th edition of the tournament that has helped launch many greats of golf into a decorated career on the pro tour.
Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are among the dozens of notable names who won the U.S. Amateur. Jones won the event a record five times. Woods won three. The last European to win the U.S. Amateur was Viktor Hovland of Norway in 2018 at Pebble Beach.
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Iowa
Iowa Mastodon Bones Indicate Humans Ate It
![Iowa Mastodon Bones Indicate Humans Ate It Iowa Mastodon Bones Indicate Humans Ate It](https://img1-azrcdn.newser.com/image/1553972-12-20240819072202.jpeg)
The well-preserved skull of an extinct mastodon has been discovered in Iowa. Officials from the University of Iowa’s Office of the State Archaeologist said a 12-day excavation yielded “several mastodon bones,” largely from the skull of the massive animal, belonging to the same order as elephants and mammoths. Mastodons roamed North and Central America from 3.5 million years ago to about 10,500 years ago. This one, dated to 13,600 years ago, is in “pristine condition,” revealing possible evidence of human interaction, per Fox News.
State archaeologist John Doershuk said the bones showed what “could be identifiable cut marks,” indicating humans consumed the flesh of the animal. “We’re really hoping to find evidence of human interaction with this creature—perhaps the projectile points and knives that were used to kill the animal and do initial butchering,” Doershuk added, per NPR. Iowa Archaeology said it was the first-ever well-preserved mastodon excavated in the state, per Fox. The bones were taken from an eroding creek bank in Wayne County and will eventually find a place at the Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon, the university said.
Meanwhile, an amateur fossil hunter came upon a 7-foot-long mammoth tusk while scouring a creek bank in Mississippi on August 3. Eddie Templeton tells CNN he was wading through about three feet of water when he spotted the tusk sticking out of the mud bank. It turned out to be completely intact. George Phillips, curator of paleontology at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, confirmed it belonged to a Columbian mammoth, a distant relative of the woolly mammoth. It has not been dated but is likely between 11,700 and 75,000 years old, Phillips said. (More discoveries stories.)
Iowa
Voices carry: “Framing a Fair Iowa” art show
![Voices carry: “Framing a Fair Iowa” art show Voices carry: “Framing a Fair Iowa” art show](https://www.bleedingheartland.com/static/media/2024/08/AJJones_racisminmaternitycare.jpg)
AJ Jones is a writer and creator of art, expressing herself across different mediums. She embraces her neurodivergence as a unique way to view the world in hopes of creating a better future.
“Useful art is about transforming people’s lives, even on a small scale. It is art as activism and activism as art.”
Tania Bruguera, Tate Exchange Lead Artist, 2018–2019
Voices. How they slide into the ear. How they penetrate with inflection and tone, easing inside thoughts with gravelly, sparkling vibrancy. All too soon, we must leave a conversation. The words become jumbled as other facets of life set in and conversations are replayed as ideas swap and manifest in solitude. Sometimes those exchanged voices rest within, waiting to emerge. Some ideas don’t adhere, while others resonate through one’s soul.
One finds they are not alone in ideas, ideals, and values. It is difficult to keep these conversations fresh, much less vital, in our minds as we deal with the everyday needs that keep us moving from task to task, place to place, bombarded by advertising, social media, care for others, care for ourselves.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if there were a place where people could gather together, share ideas, and, if possible, leave their voice to be reflected upon later in a way that allows for expression and manifestation. A place that allowed bringing the intangible into the visible reality of space, time, energy, and matter?
Iowa
Iowa’s 39 EF1 tornadoes set single-year record, NWS says
![Iowa’s 39 EF1 tornadoes set single-year record, NWS says Iowa’s 39 EF1 tornadoes set single-year record, NWS says](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/05/22/PDEM/73803358007-tornado-3.jpg?auto=webp&crop=8639,4861,x0,y449&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Iowa’s violent and tumultuous weather has set a new mark.
The 122 confirmed tornadoes so far in 2024 are a state record, the National Weather Service in Des Moines recently revealed. That’s two more than the total for all of 2004 (122). Ninety-eight tornadoes touched down in April and May, with each month tallying 49 local tornadoes.
More: Iowa has seen more tornadoes than most states in 2024. Will fall bring more destruction?
Consistent power also sets a record
The National Weather Service also noted that 2024 has already broken the record for the most EF1 tornadoes in any year on record (39). This year has witnessed the most EF3 (4) and EF4 (2) tornadoes since 1999.
The 49 tornadoes in both May and April are tied for the third most tornadoes in a single month in Iowa’s history. December 2021 produced 63 tornadoes, which is the Iowa single-month record.
A widespread derecho tore across Iowa in December 2021, producing 63 tornadoes, a single-day Iowa record.
May 2004 produced 57 tornadoes, the second-most in history.
Wide-reaching devastation
The widest tornado in 2024 was the Minden tornado, which reached 1.1 miles at its widest point, while the longest tornado was in Greenfield at 42.4 miles.
The Greenfield tornado was the most devastating, which reached an exceedingly rare 300 mph wind speed. The twister destroyed at least 153 homes in a single minute and caused 35 injuries and five fatalities.
The Minden tornado in April also caused a fatality and was one of two Iowa tornadoes to travel longer than 40 miles.
More: Greenfield tornado damaged, destroyed at least 153 Iowa homes in roughly one minute
Technological advancements improve tornado data
The National Weather Service said they can more accurately track tornadoes in 2024 thanks to better technology and a “more active storm spotting and chasing network,” which may contribute to higher totals. The organization also said improved radar technology helps staff track twisters.
“NWS Des Moines expresses deep sympathy for all those impacted by the devastating tornadoes this year,” the NWS Facebook post said.
Ryan Magalhães is a reporter for the Register. Reach them at rmagalhaes@dmreg.com.
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