Josele Ballester (-4) reached the 18th hole at Vidanta Vallarta with the absolute certainty that he needed a birdie to almost 99.9 percent guarantee making the cut at the Mexico Open. Of course, the three under par he had when he reached the tee was in serious danger, and barring a big surprise, the four under should earn him the right to play 36 holes. As you know, it will ultimately depend on the wind and how the afternoon session plays out, but it would be unusual right now for four under par not to make it to the weekend.
Back to the 18th tee. It’s a par 5, the third easiest hole on the course, which doesn’t mean it’s giving away birdies. In fact, just fifteen minutes earlier, Aldrich Potgieter (-16) had passed through there with a round of ten under for the day and had to settle for par. Adding to this, the South African was under no pressure, leading solo with a margin, while Josele was fighting for his continuity in the tournament and had just made two consecutive bogeys, making the situation even more complicated. Pressure.
To add a bit of drama to the situation, Josele’s tee shot ended up in the left fairway bunker. Interestingly, the same spot where Potgieter was. The birdie, uphill. From there, Ballester showed grit, magic, and character. He hit a sublime second shot from the sand. It bounced on the green and went a bit long, to the back, to an escape area. He left himself a shot of about ten metres to the flag. He was obliged to make two. Pressure.
The third shot wasn’t bad at all, on line with the hole, but a bit short. He left himself some work. He had to suffer. He had a birdie putt of almost two metres. A penalty. In, in. Out, out. There was no more. Adding to the situation, in the previous four holes, he had missed birdie and par putts from between three metres and a metre and a half. Pressure.
Well, there Josele stood firm, reminding everyone that he is the US Amateur champion, in case anyone had forgotten. He made the putt to make the birdie, finish with a round of 70 strokes, and practically secure the weekend. The first thorn is removed. In his first three professional tournaments, he had missed all three cuts. The golfer from Castellón himself had acknowledged that the first goal was to play the weekend. He suffered, but he got it done. The fourth time was the charm.
Ballester admitted this week, in the lead-up to the tournament, that one of the main differences he felt at the Phoenix Open between professional and amateur golf is the ability of the former to achieve good results without having their best day of golf. Today he proved to himself that he can do it too. It wasn’t his best day of golf from tee to green. He hit some bad shots, like the two tee shots on the first par 3s, the 5th and the 9th. He also complicated things on the 1st and the 10th. And yet, he managed to make very good pars. Great recoveries.
Right after the 10th, he displayed his best golf. He hit a great shot on the 11th, redeeming himself on the par 3s to leave the birdie almost done. He made another comfortable birdie on the 12th, a par 5, and one more on the 14th, putting for eagle from less than three metres. Once again, he demonstrated that he has more than enough potential to score very low. Potgieter’s 61 is incredible, but if Josele has a day where everything, or almost everything, goes right, he shouldn’t see that result as crazy. Surely, he doesn’t.
After the birdie on the 14th, he really started looking more at the top of the leaderboard, especially the top 10, which was within reach, than anything else. However, two consecutive bogeys on the 16th and 17th put him back on the edge. There, right there, with all the pressure in the world, Ballester showed what kind of player he is. If nothing strange happens, he will be able to continue showing and proving things to himself in the next two rounds. A thorn removed. A barrier broken.
As for the top of the tournament, Potgieter (-16) made a significant impact in pursuit of his first victory on the PGA Tour. He is not the king of consistency, but if anything has been demonstrated in his short career, it’s that he doesn’t back down when he’s at the top. He has a four-stroke lead over Stephan Jaeger (-12) and five over Aaron Rai (-11). Also appearing in the top positions is Akshay Bhatia (-10), one of the favourites, and currently occupying spots in the top 10 are the ‘Europeans’ Jesper Svensson, Ryo Hisatsune, and Sami Valimaki.
It is also worth highlighting the cut made by Blades Brown (-5), a 17-year-old golfer who played his first PGA Tour tournament as a pro in January, the American Express, and missed the cut after a second round of 64 strokes, the third lowest in the history of the American circuit by a player under 18.
