ASU golfer and PGA amateur Josele Ballester tees off on hole one during round one of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Feb. 6, 2025, in Scottsdale (Photo by Giuliano Moller/Cronkite News)
TEMPE – Augusta National Golf Club’s natural beauty boasts many colors, whether it’s the perfectly manicured green fairways or bright pink azaleas bursting alongside them. At the 2025 Masters Tournament, the maroon and gold of Arizona State will clash with those symbolic spring hues.
Josele Ballester, a senior at Arizona State, will make his Masters debut April 10. After winning the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship at Hazeltine National last August – the first Spaniard to do so – Ballester earned trips to three of the four major tournaments, including the Masters.
It won’t be his first trip to a major, however, as Ballester played in the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. While he missed the cut there, he came away with the experience of performing under the pressure of a major championship event.
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“I go back on that sometimes and think on how nervous I was on the first tee on Thursday at the Open,” Ballester said. “I’ve never been as nervous as that moment in my life.”
Ballester received one of five sponsor exemptions into the WM Phoenix Open in February and used that opportunity to rid himself of some of those butterflies.
“Having played at the Phoenix Open, where there were a lot of people as well, I really felt like I improved in that aspect,” he said. “Also, the experience of winning the (U.S. Amateur) and having a lot of people watching me, I’m pretty sure helped as well.”
While Augusta can be daunting to even the greatest golfers, Ballester took advantage of several opportunities to learn the ins and outs of the iconic track. He explained that Augusta National allowed him, as the U.S. Amateur winner, to play up to five rounds there prior to tournament week, which begins April 5. He played all five times.
“It’s such a unique and special place, but at the end of the day, it’s another golf course,” he said. “Especially if you go there as a rookie for your first Masters, you might think that everything is so incredible, so cool and it is, but you have to act like you would act on a different course.”
While donning the legendary green jacket might be a lofty goal for the younger Ballester, his fellow countrymen have had tremendous success in Georgia over the years, with four Spanish golfers securing wins at the Masters throughout its history, including 2023 Masters winner and former Sun Devil Jon Rahm.
If Ballester were to shock the world, he’d join two-time champions Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal and one-time winners Sergio Garcia and Rahm as a Masters champion.
“I have a good relationship with the Spanish guys,” Ballester said. “Jon, Sergio … those are the guys that I connected with the most, that I talked to the most and that I learned the most from, also.”
ASU golfer and PGA amateur Josele Ballester and his caddie talk strategy before hitting a fairway shot during round one of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Feb. 6, 2025, in Scottsdale. (Photo by Giuliano Moller/Cronkite News)
Rahm and Phil Mickelson are the only former ASU golfers to win the Masters, with Mickelson’s closet including three green jackets. Ballester hasn’t overlapped with Mickelson and Rahm too much on the professional circuit, given that both decided to move to the controversial LIV Tour. David Puig, another former ASU star from Spain, also chose to play on the LIV circuit.
In terms of preparation, Ballester isn’t trying to make any drastic changes leading up to the tournament. He said he is honing in on a couple aspects of his game, however, to ensure he’s prepared for Augusta National, where the fast, undulating greens put a premium on putting the ball in the right position.
“Around the greens is what I think I have a little more improved right now,” Ballester said. “At Augusta, with those greens, it’s going to be pretty important. Another thing is going to be middle to long irons. It’s been an area of my game that I haven’t been that great lately, so I put more emphasis on that during practices.”
ASU golfer and PGA amateur Josele Ballester walks off the green after putting during round one of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Feb. 6, 2025, in Scottsdale. (Photo by Giuliano Moller/Cronkite News)
No athlete wants to go to an event without some love from the crowd and Ballester is no exception. The Spaniard will have a large contingent of family and friends spread across two rented houses near the course for support.
“Really cool to have some of the most meaningful people of my life over there,” he said.
Ballester plans to stay in the well-known Crow’s Nest for the Monday night after the amateurs dinner that evening. The Crow’s Nest is a small space on the third level of Augusta National Clubhouse that accommodates amateur players during the tournament. The clubhouse was erected in 1854.
As for his goals, Ballester obviously will try to be the low amateur and be a part of history in the Butler Cabin come Sunday, but he is trying to remain realistic.
“One of the goals could be staying in the present at all moments,” he said. “It’s such a cool experience that you don’t want to put yourself ahead or do anything that doesn’t let you live in the moment.
“Unless I win or I make my way into the tournament every year … I’m going to try to leave as if it’s the last time I’m going to be there,” Ballester said, adding, “Although I know it’s not going to be the last time.”
