The 21-year-old wins the prestigious tournament that neither Ballesteros, Olazábal or Rahm himself managed to win at the beginning of their careers.
Spain never tires of producing great talents in the world of golf . It all started more than 50 years ago with Severiano Ballesteros , when he made a sport with little tradition in Spain become more and more popular. He was followed by José María Olazábal, Sergio García and, finally, Jon Rahm .
However, a new hope for Spanish golf has appeared. His name is Josele Ballester , he is 21 years old and has just been proclaimed champion of the US Open amateur, the most prestigious tournament outside the professional circuit. What’s more, none of the best Spanish golfers that we can remember (Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal or Jon Rahm) have won this title. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods ‘ historic career began to take shape after winning this championship.
¡Historia hecha! History made! 🇪🇸
— USGA (@USGA) August 18, 2024
@sundevilmgolf's Jose Ballester is the first U.S. Amateur champion from Spain! pic.twitter.com/ckR7T45Z5g
The Vinaròs (Castellón) native is another gem from the University of Arizona , the same one that launched Jon Rahm’s career. And, coincidentally, the Basque is his role model: “I learned that a player like Jon, with the confidence and mentality that he has, has to give it his all. As he says, no one is going to give you anything ,” he said after reaching the final .
This championship is contested in the Match-Play format. That is, it is a head-to-head between two golfers , the loser is eliminated and the winner goes on to the next round. And after beating the other Spaniard Luis Masaveu in the semi-finals , he defeated the local player Noah Kent in the final .
Josele arrived at this tournament as the European Junior champion , so expectations are starting to rise for the Spaniard. In fact, by being crowned US Open amateur champion, he is guaranteed an invitation to participate in the next US Open professional tournament .
The Spaniard also comes from a family of athletes and Olympians . His mother, Sonia Barro , won gold in women’s field hockey in Barcelona 1992. While his father, José Luis Ballester , participated in Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 in the butterfly swimming events, but did not win any medals.