José Luis Ballester and Luis Masaveu are still in the US Amateur. They are already in the quarterfinals. A milestone. The USGA confirmed to Ten Golf that in the last 20 years, never have two Spaniards made it to the round of 16 in the most prestigious tournament in the world for amateurs, along with the British Amateur. Well, not only did they get into the round of 16, but they both won their match last night and are now in the quarterfinals, one step away from the semifinals and one from the grand final. The last time a Spaniard reached the quarters was Jon Rahm in 2015, who was eliminated in that round.
The one from Castellón and the one from Madrid are still determined to make history. Never has a Spaniard won this tournament. It has been played since 1895. It is said soon. But never has a Spaniard even made it to the grand final. If Ballester and Masaveu manage the feat of overcoming their quarterfinals this Friday, they will have already secured this historic fact, as they would face each other in the semifinals, so at least one would be in the grand final at the Hazeltine course, Chaska, Minnesota. The last time it was played on this course, in 2006, the champion was Richie Ramsay and the Malaga-born Pablo Martín, the best Spaniard in that edition, fell in the round of 16 against Rickie Fowler.
Ballester defeated American Christian Brand in the round of 16 by 2 and 1. It was a dog-faced duel, with many alternatives and resolved in the final stretch of the round thanks to an excellent Josele. The two players tied the first two holes, Ballester went up on the 3rd and so the duel was until the 8th hole, where Brand tied and started a prodigious exchange of blows. Brand won the 10th and 12th and Ballester won the 11th and 13th. Total, tie with five holes to go. The moment of truth.
That’s where the best version of Josele was seen. He won with birdies on holes 15 and 16 and sealed the victory with a par on the 17th to win by 2 and 1 and get into the quarterfinals. “It was impressive how I played golf, fantastic from the beginning. Both in the morning in the round of 32 and now in the round of 16. I played very well the first seven holes until I hit a shank on the 8th and lost some momentum. However, I knew I was hitting well and had to be patient, I knew he could fail and on the 16th I was lucky and took the opportunity. I missed the fairway on the left, but I was fortunate to clear the estuary and ended up making birdie and, however, Brand had to hit from the water. I’m happy and keep going. Now a game of ping pong with the caddy (Alberto Ballester, good friend and sports director of the Valencian Golf Federation) and rest for tomorrow”, explained the one from Castellón.
Luis Masaveu, on the other hand, defeated Thai Phichasksn Maichon by 3 and 2. The duel was quite similar to Ballester’s, very even at the beginning, with initiative even for Maichon and resolved in the final part with an explosion of the Spaniard. In fact, Luis reached the 11th hole one down, but resolved the match by winning four of the next five holes. He won on the 12th, 14th, 15th and 16th, with a three-under par, and not only turned the scoreboard around, but closed the match and got into the quarterfinals without needing to reach the 17th. Sensational.
“I felt very good, especially about the swing. Almost all of them were coming out on the line. I went one down to the 11th tee and I would say that from there to the 16th I didn’t miss a shot. On the 14th I put in a good putt of about nine meters, very key. In the morning I had had a similar one and it escaped me on the left and the truth is that in the afternoon it came out just as I wanted. I am very happy to have two Spaniards in the quarterfinals. We also play a bit for our country. We are friends and happy. Now I’m going to stretch a bit, have dinner and get into bed as soon as possible because I’m quite tired after today’s two matches.”
This Friday they will both play the quarterfinal duel. Ballester faces Bobby Massa. Last year he made his debut on the PGA Tour. He played the AT&T Byron Nelson and missed the cut. Meanwhile, Masaveu will face Brendan Valdés, a player from Auburn University. This year he qualified to play the US Open at Pinehurst, although he did not make the cut.
Of the eight quarterfinalists, six are from the United States and two from Spain. Masaveu is the only one who does not belong to an American university.
