Jose Luis Ballester, better known as Josele, made quite the splash during his first-ever appearance at The Masters. Literally!
Not only did the reigning U.S. Amateur Open wear a hat that sent golf purists into a tizzy, he urinated in the sport’s most sacred spring and laughed about it afterwards.
Ballester very quickly became the biggest storyline from the first round. Scores did not matter. Leaders did not matter. The 21-year-old student-athlete at Arizona State and his unruly behavior at the most historic and prestigious setting in golf proved to be the headline.
A large number of fans at home called for Ballester to be banned from the grounds henceforth. I genuinely expected him to just ~disappear~ under the guise of night never to return again. I did not expect Augusta National to allow him back on the course. It made sense to me that he would not be invited back to The Masters even for the second round.
Josele Ballester arrived to the first hole wearing a hat with the words ‘SUN DEVILS’ spelled upside down. His choice of headwear sparked widespread outrage that turned a large number of fans against him.
And then, on 13, he did the unthinkable. Ballester skipped past a bathroom to pee in Rae’s Creek.
Even though most people would agree that his behavior was unacceptable, The Masters allowed him to continue forth with the second round on Friday. I would guess that it was easier for the club and the tournament to issue a stern reprimand behind closed doors than deal with the backlash.
Jose Ballester narrowly escaped permanent banishment on Thursday. He traded his upside down hat for an Arizona State trident on Friday. It was a much better choice.
Ballester cannot control the gaudiness of his school’s logo and he simply chose to rep his school on the biggest stage in golf. Nothing wrong with that!
Based on the color of his shirt, I would imagine this outfit was planned in advance. He likely did not make a big change because of the controversy during the first round. And as long as he doesn’t stop to tinkle in the famous creek on 13, day two will go much better than day one, regardless of his score.
All of this could’ve been avoided if someone told Josele Ballester to reconsider his hat choice. Nobody would’ve batted an eye if he wore on Thursday what he wore on Friday!