Behind Noah Kent's U.S. Amateur Performance Was His Dad's Belief He'd Succeed

Ahead of the 2024 Amateur Championship in Ballyliffen, Ireland, Noah Kent wrote a special Father's Day note to his dad David.

"Thank you for everything you have done for me the past 19 years. You're the best Dad ever and the best role model," Noah wrote. "Hopefully, I can take home the win so we can go inside the ropes at Augusta! Happy Father's Day!"

While Noah was not able to get the job done in Ireland, his runner-up finish in this year's U.S. Amateur guaranteed him a spot in not only the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club . . . but also, that elusive invitation to the 2025 Masters.

"For me, personally, as his father, it was the greatest golfing experience of my life," said David, the PGA General Manager at The Golf Club at Crown Colony in Fort Myers, Florida, recalling the week he spent watching Noah at Hazeltine National. "It felt like the entire world was pulling for Noah Kent, and I think he could feel it too.”

As special as the opportunity was for Noah and his dad, who make annual appearances in the South Florida PGA Pro-Scratch Championship, the most impactful message from Noah’s letter to David was being named a "role model."

"If I've been any sort of example or role model to Noah that's influenced him to get to where he is," adds David, "it's one of the greatest gifts that I could ever hear from my son."

A former South Florida Junior Tour member, Noah, being the son of a PGA of America Member, was born and raised on the golf course, picking up the club at the age of three.

“As a PGA of America Golf Professional, it was a blessing that he had access to the facilities that I served at,” expresses David. “We had so much fun on the range and course together.”

David was keen on the fundamentals and etiquette of the game and instilled proper mechanics, encouraging Noah to embrace the challenge the game provides and pushed him to always believe in himself.

When Noah received his first set of U.S. Kids Golf clubs, he loved the 3-wood, wanting to hit it over and over again, David remembers.

“As soon as he struck one pure and perfect, he would look up at me and say, 'Dad, that's the 3-wood sound!' ”

From an early age, Noah was obsessed and David knew the potential in his son.

At 11-years-old and sitting in church, Noah wrote a note on a church offering envelope, saying that he would be a winner on the PGA TOUR and win the grand slam before Dustin Johnson, one of his golf idols. At next year's Masters with the help of Noah's new coach Claude Harmon III, Kent and the 2020 Masters winner are planning to play a practice round together. We'll see if the topic of grand slams come up.

While bold, Noah, now 19 and a sophomore at the University of Iowa, took a step towards that grand slam dream at Hazeltine, where he entered the 124th U.S. Amateur as the 561st-ranked amateur in the world.

Noah carded a 77 in the first round of stroke play, which put him outside the top 200 and well shy of the top 64 which was needed to move on to the match play rounds. As David recalled, Noah stuck to his routine, stayed positive and regrouped for a vital round two.

"You could see when he started his second round that he brought a level of focus and determination to that round of golf that was not quite like I had seen before," explains David. "He got himself into a zone incredibly early in the round, and he rode that focus and excellent execution all the way to the finish with a 64 to make match play."

Entering the match play portion, it was game on, and David and all his supporters knew it.

"There was a simple confidence in Noah and all of us supporting him," says David.

As Noah advanced through the rounds of 64, 32, and 16, his quarterfinal match was the standout moment for David. Noah was facing 64th-seeded Ethan Fang, who was coming off a win against the number one-seeded player. Noah was ready and came out firing.

"To start your match birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie was just sensational, and that was really the difference," notes David. "It was like okay . . . Noah Kent can very well run the table this week."

Next up, the semi-final match, a massive opportunity as all competing and watching are aware of the Major Championship implications that come with a victory. Noah never trailed, and after a two-up victory over Jackson Buchanan from Dacula, Georgia, he secured entry into the 2025 U.S. Open and Masters.

"It was just a beautiful and magical moment to win and to know what comes with it," explains David. "It was the most amazing celebration around the game of golf for your son."

Noah had made it to the Championship Match and was up against Spain's Jose Luis Ballester, the 10th-ranked amateur in the world coming in. Noah and Jose battled for the next 36 holes, with Luis ultimately coming out on top, but the resiliency and composure Noah showed could not have made David more proud as a father.

"I have always believed 100 percent in Noah's ability and how he plays the game," says David. "It's just incredible pride in your son, and the turning point for him happened after that first round, where his self-belief just completely blossomed."

As a father and PGA of America Golf Professional, the response heard from peers and supporters was almost indescribable for David, recalling the entire experience as "incredibly humbling."

"From the core of our family to the core of the PGA of America, the staff at the South Florida PGA, my peers, the members at the club, the team at the club, it's amazing," David adds. "And you feel incredible pride as the father and as a PGA Member for how amazingly the entire group rallied around Noah, both in staggering numbers and staggering ways so positively every day."