Impeccable in defeat. A gentleman. Luis Masaveu has shown enormous elegance at the end of his semi-final duel against José Luis Ballester. He was left without a US Amateur final, he was hurt, but he did not hesitate to acknowledge the merits of his rival. “Right now I feel a bit disappointed, although I’m sure that when I get to Spain, some time passes and I look at it with perspective I will be happier. I have played very well all week, today I lacked the short game, it was not there, I missed hitting the correct shot at important moments. But nothing, Josele has played better than me and has been deserving of the victory”, the Madrid player affirmed.
Believe it or not, this is the first time that Ballester and Masaveu have faced each other in a match play game. The same Saturday circulated on the internet, from the account of Brentley Romine, journalist of Golf Channel, a couple of photos of Josele and Luis playing together in one of the matches of the Spanish Under 10 Championship. Since then they have shared a lot, they have fought for a lot of tournaments, but they had never played a match play game. Not even friendly. The first has been for Ballester.
Masaveu acknowledged at the end that holes 8 and 9 have done a lot of damage to him. There he arrived one up and left one down. “I got a little distracted on the shot of hole 8. I hit it badly, I was short and things started to go wrong. At 9 it got very bad again, bad number and in the second round I was not able to hit the shots I needed or hole the putts that I have made during the week. That’s the way it is. I told Josele that he has played very well, he has deserved it, he has been very solid and that he should win tomorrow”.
Finally, Masaveu made a confession. If he had gone to the final, and therefore had qualified for the Masters and the US Open, he would not have turned professional until next year to play those two tournaments. We’ll see what Ballester does.
Precisely, the player from Castellón was very excited about the achievement. “It’s something incredible, I’m still not aware of what has happened and what the victory entails. Now it’s time to focus again and try to give Spanish golf this victory. It would be very important”, he assures.
Ballester has been betting all week on a very aggressive strategy. Drive-drive-drive. Every time he can. The explanation is simple. “Driving is what I have done best this week, so if something goes well why stop using it. Also, with the public there are areas where the rough is somewhat flattened and it’s not that bad. It’s the same strategy all week and I’m going to continue like this. It has always been one of my strong points and I know that if I go long and straight it is an advantage over the rest”.
The key to this comfort he is experiencing at the moment with the driver lies in a club. “I have always been a good driver, but when you hit hard it is easy for the mistakes to be bigger. I have found a mini driver that I am using and it gives me more advantage and more security. The plan is to continue the same in the final”, he explains.
Ballester admits that he does not know much about his rival in the final, Noah Kent. They have not seen each other much, although he is clear that “he will be playing great golf, otherwise he would not be in the final”. What does seem to be the case is that he will have the public against him, something that does not worry him at all. On the contrary, it motivates him. “It’s even better, I like that narrative of people not wanting you to win and you giving your all because of your ego. I have several friends here and that’s enough for me. Maybe they will go against me, but I like the role of villain”, he concludes.
