– The staging of Josele Ballester (PAR) in his debut at the WM Phoenix Open has been sublime. It’s worth savouring. Immaculate tee shot on hole 1, magnificent second shot and a four-metre birdie chance. Impressive tee shot on hole 2, second shot even better than the previous hole and a two-metre birdie chance. Another fantastic tee shot on hole 3, second shot to the green and a long putt, about 22 metres, for eagle. This is how the 21-year-old golfer from Castellón started the first regular tournament of his career on the PGA Tour. Unfazed, with flair and an overdose of determination.
The downside to this start was settling the tee-to-green exhibition with a mere one-under. Two putts on the 3 for birdie. This was the constant in his first round at TPC Scottsdale. He was superb from tee to green, but lacked the finishing touch with the putter to be much higher up the leaderboard. There’s no exaggeration. On the three par 5s he played (holes 3, 13, and 15), he reached the green in two, with eagle chances, the aforementioned on 3, another of just over six metres on 13, and another two-metre chance on 15. He had another very clear birdie chance on 16, less than three metres that slipped away, and he missed three par putts from less than two metres. This is the difference between his current par score and a possible two or three under par, without getting too carried away.
Ballester couldn’t finish his round due to lack of light. A classic on the PGA Tour. Play was suspended at 2:13 am in Spain with nine players still on the course. There’s no dealing with slow play. Before the horn, Josele still had time to do one of his own. A bomb on 17, landed on the green in flight and ended up in the back bunker. He left himself a 13-metre bunker shot for Friday morning, as well as a more than interesting target in this connection set up with Jon Rahm ten years later. The golfer from Barrika played his first Phoenix Open in 2015 and finished in fifth position, making himself known to the general public. Well, he signed for 70 strokes in the first round, one under par, and was in 41st place. Ballester is on track to match that one under par, which would currently be 44th place.
– Let’s continue with the 600-volt connection. The first leader in 2015 was Ryan Palmer with a score of -7. Today’s first leader is Wyndham Clark, also with a score of -7. Curious. Clark, who holed everything on the greens, always aiming for the board, being very aggressive with the putter, has a one-stroke lead over Taylor Moore (-6) and Lee Hodges (-6). The three played in the afternoon. The best of the morning session were Justin Thomas (-5) and Nicolai Hojgaard (-5).
– Rory McIlroy said after winning at Pebble Beach that he had recently tried to draw inspiration from some aspects of Scottie Scheffler‘s golf (-2). He was referring mainly to strategy, patience, and discipline. “To put it another way, play a bit more boring, but more effective.” Well, this Thursday was the world upside down. Scheffler signed a very McIlroy-like round in his best Rorylandia days. Certainly, he wasn’t bored: he made three bogeys, three birdies, a double bogey, and two eagles. A round against his usual style. It’s rare to see Scheffler make so many mistakes. The reason lies in his short game and putting. He struggled immensely to recover. He missed five greens and only made par on one occasion. He also couldn’t make an approach and putt on the 3, par 5, from near the green to make birdie. A dismal day in this area, capped off with the ball in the water on 12.
That said, hats off again to Scheffler and his ability to pull through rounds. Anyone else, with the level of frustration he had, would have let the tournament slip through their fingers. However, he saved the day with brilliance. He holed out on the 10th from the fairway bunker, just under 100 metres from the flag, and also made eagle on the 15th with a masterful second shot two metres from the hole. Bam, bam. He still missed two good chances on 17 and 18. He’s left some ground in this first round, but he’s still very much in the mix. Totally in the thick of it. However, Scottie is asking for a bit more boredom for the next three days.
– Play will resume for Josele at 2:15 pm, Spanish mainland time.
