“Work until your idols become your rivals” is an old cliche many sports stars take to heart, and Jose Luis Ballester, a.k.a Josele, is living it. He celebrated his 21st birthday on August 18, 2024, by winning the U.S. Amateur Championship against Noah Kent at Hazeltine National Golf Club. He became the first Spaniard to achieve this feat and secured his invitation to the 2025 Masters. ​The amateur golfer is currently teeing off in the iconic Masters Tournament – his debut at Augusta, and in the field against him is his idol and mentor, Sergio Garcia.

The similarities between Jose Luis Ballester and Sergio Garcia don’t just stop at them coming from the same region in Spain (Castellon). Coached by Sergio’s father, Víctor Garcia, for seven years, Ballester says their friendship has grown stronger recently, and he values the opportunity to learn from García. The pathway is similar between the two. Coached by the same person, the duo’s performances differed initially. For instance, at the Boys Amateur Championship, Sergio Garcia won his competition in 1997, while Ballester fell short of the final hurdle in 2018, losing to Conor Gough. Then, Garcia became the youngest person to win the European Amateur in 1995, and the 21-year-old waited until 2023 to win the same. But, one could argue that it’s only the beginning for Josele.

His triumph came in 2024 at the US Amateur, while Garcia reached the semifinals of the same competition. The tables turned for a bit here. Now, Ballester seemingly is set up to be the next great thing Spanish golf brings out, joining several greats like Seve Ballesteros, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jon Rahm, Jose Maria Olazabal, and Sergio Garcia. “It’s nice to have a relationship like the one I have with Sergio and to get the chance to learn from him every day,” said Ballester, acknowledging Garcia’s impact on enhancing his performances.

The young Spaniard has the ideal mentor, Sergio Garcia. The duo had been in constant contact during Ballester’s magical run at the US Amateur last year, with the older Spaniard being very regular with giving helpful advice to the amateur golfer. “The most important one was to continue to be myself. That was key for today. And the other one was how to deal with the crowd, right? He’s been in that position multiple times, especially on this course, in the Ryder Cup 2016, playing against Phil (Mickelson), one of the best Ryder Cup matches ever.”

So he told me just stay patient in your game, and the best way to demonstrate to the other fans it’s with your game,” Ballester told Golfweek about how Garcia’s mentorship had helped him in his victory. The Amateur title had given him the invite for the Masters, where he is now battling against his idol on the hallowed grounds of Augusta.

A tough Masters debut for Ballester

Despite playing against his idol, the Masters has not been smooth for the young Spaniard. Ballester is teeing off in a group that contains Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas, but has largely struggled. He is currently T73 on the leaderboard with a score of 4 over par, due to three bogeys and a double bogey on hole 5, Magnolia. A difficult day that turned worse due to a controversial incident at Rae’s Creek.

Ballester was caught relieving himself into Rae’s Creek after seemingly forgetting about the availability of toilets on the course. “I didn’t really know where to go, and since JT [Justin Thomas ] had an issue on the green, I’m like, I’m just going to sneak here in the river, and probably people would not see me that much, and then they clapped for me. Probably one of the claps that I really got today real loud, so that was kind of funny,” Josele explained later.

He runs the risk of a fine and possibly a bigger punishment if the authorities decide it, especially after his reaction. Ballester stated, “It was not embarrassing at all for me. If I had to do it again, I would do it again.” This mindset is a little contradictory to his mentor’s teachings, who had advised that “the best way to show the crowd or the opponent is with your game, not by doing anything stupid or confronting them.” Overall, it will be an interesting decision for the authorities to make.

Despite the rough start at Augusta, it is only a matter of time before Ballester comes into his own and starts becoming a regular player on the top golfing circuits. When that happens, expect the mentor and the mentee to go head-to-head more often. Will Sergio Garcia continue lending a helpful hand, or will the student become the master? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!