Josele Ballester has received the invitation to play his first tournament on the PGA Tour. Matt Thurmond, his coach at Arizona State University confirmed it on social media. The Spaniard will play the upcoming Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Unless there are any changes, the player from Castellón will make his PGA Tour debut on the 6th of February, in just two months.
Josele will debut precisely in the event where Jon Rahm played in 2015, also as an amateur, his second tournament on the American circuit. The Barrika native did not make the cut in his debut, but at TPC Scottsdale he already gave a preview of what was to come for world golf by finishing in fifth position, three strokes behind the tournament champion, Brooks Koepka. Exactly ten years later, Josele has a nice challenge ahead.
This continues a tradition. If the US Amateur winner belongs to Arizona State, the tournament extends an invitation for them to play at home. This has already happened with Phil Mickelson, Billy Mayfair and Jeff Quinney.
It was about time. It’s surprising that until now, Josele, a US Amateur champion, had not received any invitation to play on the American circuit. The siren calls directing him towards LIV Golf probably haven’t helped. What he has made clear is that he won’t make any moves in any direction until the NCAA ends in 2025. A victory in the style of Nick Dunlap could change everything, who knows.
The first invitation is already here and now it’s up to the player from Castellón to demonstrate his level on the field and thus knock on the doors of future invitations. The first apple has already fallen.
