| José Luis Ballester | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | José Luis Ballester Barrio |
| Nickname | Josele |
| Born | (2003-08-18)18 August 2003 (age 22) Castellón de la Plana, Castellón, Spain |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 13 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  Spain |
| Career | |
| College | Arizona State University |
| Turned professional | 2025 |
| Current tour | LIV Golf |
| Professional wins | 1 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| Asian Tour | 1 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | CUT: 2025 |
| PGA Championship | DNP |
| U.S. Open | CUT: 2025 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 2023 |
José Luis "Josele"Ballester Barrio[1][2] (born 18 August 2003) is a Spanishprofessional golfer who plays onLIV Golf. He won the 2020Spanish Amateur, 2023European Amateur and 2024U.S. Amateur.
Ballester was born inCastellón and is known asJosele. His parents areJosé Luis Ballester, an Olympic swimmer, andSonia Barrio, a field hockey player who won gold at the1992 Summer Olympics.[3] Ballester is coached bySergio García's father and considers Sergio to be a mentor, and usesJoaquín Niemann's mental coach.[4]
Ballester had a successful junior career and lost the final of the 2018Boys Amateur Championship atRoyal Portrush Golf Club toConor Gough, 3 and 1.[5][6] In 2019, he won the Spanish U-16 Championship and played for Spain in theEuropean Young Masters, where he won silver at Kunětická Hora in the Czech Republic.[7] He was runner-up at the 2019 Junior Orange Bowl International and the 2020 Desert Amateur in the United States.[8]
Ballester won the 2020Spanish Amateur at Real Club Sevilla Golf, beatingJannik De Bruyn of Germany, 3 and 1, in the final.[9]
Ballester attendedArizona State University from 2021 to 2025, and played with theArizona State Sun Devils men's golf team, where he earnedAll-American honors twice.[10] He has trained with Sun Devils alumniJon Rahm andPhil Mickelson.[4] At the2022 Arnold Palmer Cup in Switzerland, he replacedEugenio Chacarra who turned professional before the event. Ballester won 3.5 of 4 possible points as the international team beat the Americans 33–27.[11]
In 2023, he won theEuropean Amateur by 2 strokes at Pärnu Bay Golf Links in Estonia, which earned him invitation to the2023 Open Championship atRoyal Liverpool Golf Club.[12]
He won the 2024U.S. Amateur, 2 up, againstNoah Kent atHazeltine National Golf Club to capture the Havemeyer Trophy.[13]
In 2025, Ballester competed in theMasters Tournament and made headlines during the first round when he urinated in a tributary ofRae's Creek.[14][15][16] He was seen by some members of the crowd, who cheered; Ballester – who shot a 4-over-par 76 in the round – later remarked that it was "Probably one of the claps that I really got today real loud. So that was kind of funny." Initially, Ballester appeared unremorseful, saying, "It was not embarrassing at all for me. If I had to do it again, I would do it again." He later clarified that he had apologized toAugusta National Golf Club.[16][17] Ballester followed his 76 on Thursday with a 6-over 78 on Friday, missing the cut by eight shots.[16][17]
Ballester finished third in thePGA Tour University standings, earning him fullKorn Ferry Tour status, but declined membership in June 2025 and signed withSergio García's Fireballs GC team on theLIV Golf League, making his professional debut at the Washington, D.C. event.[18]
Source:[8]
| Legend |
|---|
| International Series (1) |
| Other Asian Tour (0) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 Nov2025 | PIF Saudi International | −22 (66-65-66-65=262) | 3 strokes |  Caleb Surratt |
LIV Golf League playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2025 | LIV Golf Chicago |  Dean Burmester,Jon Rahm | Burmester won with birdie on first extra hole |
| Tournament | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | ||
| PGA Championship | |||
| U.S. Open | CUT | ||
| The Open Championship | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
Amateur
Source:[8]