El Quijote fought against giants that were actually windmills. Josele Ballester has his own windmills in the lead-up to the US Open starting this Thursday at Oakmont. The difference with the ingenious gentleman is that the young golfer from Castellón, who is only playing his second tournament as a professional, also faces a real-life giant. Obviously, we are referring to the course. There is no trickery here. It is not a dream or an idealization. It is a true giant. Extremely tough. Probably, and as Ballester himself admits, the hardest test he has played in his life.
The problem is that Josele has the giant combined with the windmills. It’s not that he is inventing enemies, as the knight from La Mancha did, but in a way, in his mind, they are becoming bigger than they are. This is what happens when we delve into the always turbulent world of emotions, confidence, and feelings. It is an intangible terrain, difficult to measure and counteract.
Ballester, the first Spaniard in history to win the US Amateur, is going through a rough patch. It all started at the Masters Tournament, with that incomprehensible and excessive controversy regarding the bathrooms and the way to relieve oneself when nature calls. Much of what was said and how it was said affected him. He felt that he couldn’t or didn’t know how to explain himself well, and it became a sort of tsunami that he didn’t see coming and overwhelmed him.
Afterwards, his results in recent tournaments with the university were not as desired. He didn’t reach the number one spot in the PGA Tour University, his main goal, and it felt like a stab in the chest when he was eliminated with Arizona State in the first match of the Nationals after finishing first in the stroke play phase. In short, lately, it seemed that everything that could go wrong ended up even worse. His signing with LIV Golf also sparked great controversy, especially in the United States, and his first tournament there last week was one to forget. Nothing went right for him, and he felt very uncomfortable in all areas of the game, except for the greens. Josele is clear that he has made the best decision for his career, but it hasn’t been easy, and it’s inevitable that from time to time, especially if you’re not playing well, some ghosts may appear.
All these concatenated events have turned into windmills against which Josele is fighting to leave behind and face the US Open with maximum confidence and the energy he has always exuded since he first held a club in his hands. “It’s tough. Since I was little, I’ve always entered tournaments with the conviction that I could win, but this week is the first time I see myself far from the top,” he confessed today shortly after playing his practice round.
These are his windmills. A practice round like today, Tuesday, in Oakmont helps to dispel them. He played very well, especially when he was alone, in the first nine holes. He hit the driver and irons splendidly, and even during the morning warm-up, he found a feeling in the short game that helped him feel much more comfortable. He also feels more at ease on the greens since he put a new putter into play after the Masters. It’s the same model with which Jon Rahm won the US Open in 2021. It’s curious because in October he came to Oakmont for the first time and posted a great result. He hasn’t disclosed the scorecard, but it was good, and it’s true that the rough wasn’t as tough, but he found the greens even faster than these days. Thursday will surely be different.
The thing is, in October, he was full of confidence, fighting for the number one spot in the world and the University, winning with the university, and still savoring the sweet taste of having made Spanish golf history in the US Amateur. There were no windmills. Now they have appeared, and he has to deal with them. It happens to everyone. “I have to learn and improve at starting fresh after a bad week where the feelings have been bad,” he explains.
Josele not only has something of Quijote because of the windmills but also because he is brave and an idealist. He knows his potential and is convinced that he can show it at any moment. “I’m going to try to show my best version. It’s true that the expectations aren’t as high as other times, but who knows, maybe because of that, this week things will work out differently and go better,” he points out.
Oakmont is enough of a giant to worry about the windmills.
