This Wednesday, the presence of Rory McIlroy has been confirmed for the upcoming Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a Rolex Series tournament on the DP World Tour held annually at the Majlis course of the Emirates Golf Club. Undoubtedly, one of the best tournaments of the year on the European Circuit. Alongside the defending Northern Irish champion, there will be, as always, a good number of Spanish players, among whom we might have a surprise guest. We write in conditional because that spot still needs to be earned. It’s within reach, but a few more birdies are needed to confirm participation.
It all relates to the PGA Tour University ranking. Each year, the Desert Classic invites the Number One from that ranking at the end of the previous year. Thus, in the last two editions, we have had Michael Thorbjonsen (this year) and Ludvig Aberg (2023). It was one of the first times we saw the Swede in a top-level professional tournament, and he already had time to showcase his quality by making the cut.
Well, Ballester is fully engaged in the fight to finish the year as Number One in the PGA Tour University. Right now, he occupies the third position, behind Brendan Valdes, a golfer from Auburn University, and David Ford, a player from the University of North Carolina. Additionally, behind Josele are his Arizona State teammate Preston Summerhays and Omar Morales, a golfer from UCLA. They are all very close, and there is very little left to play until the deadline.
In fact, there is the curious circumstance that Valdes, Ford, Ballester, and Summerhays only have one collegiate competition left, and it is the same one. So they will compete among themselves for that spot in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The tournament in question takes place from October 19 to 21 at the Eagle Point Golf Club course in Wilmington, North Carolina, David Ford’s territory. They will compete for the spot among themselves. In contrast, Omar Morales has two tournaments left to play, the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational and the The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate.
As it stands, in less than two weeks, we will know if Josele Ballester has earned an invitation to play in the Desert Classic, a tournament with a wide array of Spanish winners: Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Álvaro Quirós, Rafa Cabrera Bello, and Sergio García. Rory McIlroy has won the last two years.
