Josele Ballester is not satisfied. The start of 2026 has not been a disaster, far from it, but it cannot be described as good either. He is certainly far from the expectations, his own and others’, generated after a magnificent end to 2025. So far, he has played three events on LIV Golf and his record is as follows: 27th in Riyadh, 32nd in Australia and 41st in Hong Kong. Beyond the raw final results, which are indicative, the reality is that he has not been in contention for the top spots at any time. He hasn’t even given himself a chance to finish in the top 10. He hasn’t managed to fight for it
This is only just beginning and it is worth staying calm, but Josele already wants to push this run up a gear. The aim is to be seen among the upper echelons of the leaderboard. In short, to appear on the radar once and for all. Ballester came into professional golf to make noise, not to be just another. He proved that convincingly last year, when, as a newcomer to LIV Golf and the professional game, he managed two top 10s (including a playoff in Chicago) in the final three events of the season. His mark was even deeper when he won in Saudi Arabia at the end of November on the Asian Tour and was able to string together two top 10s on the DP World Tour in the two Australian events. As you can see, the excitement and expectations, his own and others’, were more than justified
We insist his start to the season hasn’t been disastrous. In fact, his rounds have been more than decent. Of the 12 scorecards returned in Saudi Arabia, Adelaide and Hong Kong, nine were under par, two at par and only one over par, specifically the second in Riyadh. That is, he has now accumulated ten consecutive rounds without losing the battle against the course. In addition, he has three very good rounds of six under, six under and five under. It is obvious he is close to putting it all together and delivering a great tournament
What he is really missing is a change of gear and there is no better place to find it than Singapore, at least as far as the Spanish contingent is concerned. A good group of Spanish muses flit around the Sentosa Golf Club each year, whispering good words into the ears of our players. Josele makes his debut on this course and hopes to reap all the good that Spanish golfers have sown in recent years. The results are indisputable. Singapore, and especially Sentosa, suit us well
Looking only at the performances of the Spaniards currently in LIV Golf, it turns out that between Sergio García, Jon Rahm, David Puig and Luis Masaveu, they have played 39 rounds on this course, specifically the Serapong course, the tournament venue. Of those 39, only one was over par, Sergio García’s first last year. That is, Rahm has never played over par here, nor have David Puig or Luis Masaveu. We can go a bit further back, as Eugenio Chacarra, in his two appearances in Singapore with LIV Golf, also never played over par
If we look at the more specific results, the record is also very good:
– Sergio García has played at Sentosa six times with a record of one victory, a second place, a seventh, an eleventh, a fourteenth and his worst was last year with 32nd
– Jon Rahm has played twice and finished fifth and tenth
– David Puig has played three times and finished 35th, 27th and fourth. From worst to best
– Luis Masaveu has played only once and finished 14th last year, his best ever performance in LIV Golf
Even, as before, we could include Chacarra in the group, who was tenth and thirteenth in his two appearances on this course. As if that weren’t enough, it is worth remembering that Gonzalo Fernández Castaño won here on the DP World Tour in 2011 and to add even more positive energy, Puig also claimed a victory in Singapore, although it was at another course, the Tanah Merah Country Club in 2023
In short, Josele is looking for a change of gear and Singapore seems a good place to find it
