The US Amateur has caused two significant rises in the world amateur ranking for Josele Ballester and Luis Masaveu. It was expected after their brilliant performance at Hazeltine, resolved with a victory and a third position. Both debut this week, it updates on Wednesdays at noon, the best ranking of their entire career. Ballester moves up from tenth to seventh place, behind the American Preston Summerhays and ahead of the also American Jackson Van Paris. Meanwhile, Masaveu has gained seven places and has placed himself in the sixteenth position, between the Dane Jacob Slov Olesen, winner of the British Amateur, and the American Jackson Buchanan, another of the US Amateur semi-finalists. Josele is currently the only European present in the world top 10.
The most significant rise due to the immediate consequence it produces is that of Masaveu. Thanks to this rise, as we announced this Tuesday on Ten Golf, the Madrid-born player has already secured the Challenge Tour card for 2025 through the Global Amateur Pathway Ranking. He is going to be placed in the third position of this ranking, only behind the Chinese Wenyi Ding, current Number 3 in the world amateur ranking, and the aforementioned Olesen. The Global Amateur Pathway Ranking closes on October 13 and will award a card for the DP World Tour 2025 to the best and between two and three cards of the Challenge Tour 2025 for the next classified. Right now, Masaveu would take the second Challenge card, although the case of Olesen has its crumb.
The Dane, as champion of the British Amateur, has secured an invitation to play the Augusta Masters next year. The condition, as you know, is to remain as an amateur player. According to what he has told his closest environment, the Nordic player will only turn professional if he finishes first in the Global Amateur Pathway Ranking and, therefore, gets the DP World Tour card. Otherwise, he will remain as an amateur to play the Masters. He would only sacrifice Augusta for the first division. As it stands, unless there is a brilliant performance this week at the Danish Golf Championship, a European circuit tournament held in his country and for which he has received an invitation, it seems impossible that he can reach the eastern Ding in the ranking. Therefore, he would reject the Challenge Tour card, which means that right now, virtually, Masaveu is second in the Global Amateur Pathway Ranking and first for the Challenge cards.
Is there any chance that Masaveu will catch up with the Chinese golfer and take the DP World Tour card? It seems very unlikely. He would need an extraordinary performance at the Spanish Open, the only tournament left for the Spanish player to play until the Global Pathway deadline closes on October 13. Beyond that date, there are hardly any important tournaments at the amateur level, so it is not expected that the aforementioned ranking will move much.
By the way, the Number One in the world amateur continues to be the American Luke Clanton one more week.
