U.S. Amateur Champion Jose Luis Ballester Is Keeping His Professional Options Open

The newly minted U.S. Amateur champ from Spain, who is close with fellow countryman and LIV golfer Sergio Garcia, will return for one more year at Arizona State before turning pro.

Jose Luis Ballester, pictured at this year's British Open, will return to the Open and other majors next year after winning the U.S. Amateur. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Winning the U.S. Amateur was a dream moment for Jose Luis Ballester, but he returns to a different grind this week.

“I start classes tomorrow,” the Arizona State senior said Wednesday in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “Back to reality.”

Ballester made history Sunday by becoming the first U.S. Am champion from Spain, defeating Iowa’s Noah Kent 2 up in a 36-hole finale where he never trailed, a feat that is still sinking in. He’s also trying to process the spoils, which include invitations to the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. 

What he’s not worrying about yet is which professional road he will take.

Ballester has been coached for the last seven years by Victor Garcia, Sergio’s father, and along the way has grown close to the 2017 Masters champion. In an interesting bit of symmetry, Ballester’s title last week came at Hazeltine in Minnesota, the same course where Garcia was heckled by fans during the 2016 Ryder Cup.

“He gave me a couple pieces of advice before the championship match,” Ballester said. “He told me to enjoy and do my best, but the second was a little more related with the crowd. He knew I’d be playing an American and he assumed fans would be rooting for the other guy, and he said the best way to show the crowd or the opponent is with your game, not by doing anything stupid or confronting them.”

That advice paid off as Ballester (who also turned 21 on championship Sunday) showed off the same high level of game as he had flashed throughout the match-play bracket, where he won three of the six matches without trailing and was only behind for 15 total holes during six wins.

So, might Ballester see more of Garcia after graduating from Arizona State? Garcia, of course, is the captain of Fireballs GC in LIV Golf. And one of Garcia’s teammates is Eugenio Chacarra, a former standout player at Oklahoma State who bypassed a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour via the PGA Tour University rankings in order to sign a multi-year LIV contract.

LIV Golf is returning in 2025 and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed last week that the rival tours will remain apart for the foreseeable future. It doesn't take a big leap to wonder if the young Spaniard might end up on the Saudi-backed tour but Ballester said that hasn't been a point of discussion or in his thoughts.

“He hasn’t even brought it up,” Ballester said of his conversations with Garcia. “I’m still in my college career, I feel like he knows that.

“I’m going to enjoy this final ride with ASU, hopefully win a national championship.”