Will Augusta National Disqualify Amateur for Peeing in Rae’s Creek? Jose Luis Ballester’s Fate Explored

Nature’s call, but when should you answer? Well, the solution for Jose Luis Ballester was simple: Immediately. You see, on the first day of the 89 edition of the Masters, the Spanish amateur golfer had to relieve himself, so he urinated into Rae’s Creek—golf’s most iconic water stretch—from a ledge at Augusta National. What he missed was the fact that there were restrooms just left of the 13th hole tee box!

While the 21-year-old thought he was being discreet, he didn’t realize that patrons had an eye on him, and he soon heard an ovation from galleries. SB Nation’s Jack Milko was among the people who spotted the golfer in action, and couldn’t help but post an update on X: “Immediately after playing his 3rd shot, he sprinted toward the tributary and urinated about 60 yards short of the green and into the creek. I have never seen a golfer do that.” But was Ballester apologetic about his actions? Not really. Talking about the incident, he stated: “I completely forgot we had restrooms on the left of the tee box.

“And then, I’m like, ‘I really need to pee’, didn’t really know where to go, and since JT 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’. They clapped for me. Probably one of the claps that I really got today, real loud. So that was kind of funny.

“I mean, it was not embarrassing at all for me. If I had to do it again, I would do it again,” the golfer laughed. While he saw humor in the situation, Augusta National might not. You see, just last year, they reprimanded Australia’s Jason Day for sporting a sweater with bold designs. Then, earlier this week, Ballester’s coach, Matt Thurmond, was removed from the venue simply because he was wearing shorts. He wrote on X: “Strolled onto the Augusta range today with my coach badge. Got removed for wearing shorts. First bogey of the week.” So will Ballester face any consequences for his most recent actions?

The chances are that he will not be fined or disqualified. History tells us that no such penalties have occurred at Augusta, but we do know that the officials are not going to look favorably on this matter as they expect that decorum be followed. What’s interesting is that the golfer also wore an Arizona State hat in which ‘Sun Devils’ was printed backwards and also upside down. Many viewers disliked this. However, while the restroom incident is a surprising one, it is not as uncommon as one would think. Let us revisit one such incident from the past.

Going all the way back to the 2023 Masters, viewers watched as Tiger Woods made his way to the iconic fairways. In the opening rounds, he was joined by Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland, but it was the latter’s caddie who stole all the attention! The cameras spotted Hovland’s caddie taking a quick leak near some pine trees. Now, what’s interesting is that during the 2023 Masters, Jon Rahm, who was paired with Brooks Koepka, made some interesting comments about restrooms.

Top Comment by Waslo

Should have been immediately removed from the course. Lifetime ban!!!

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During the final round, something really annoyed Koepka. “I think Jon [Rahm] went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting,” he stated, but later on Rahm too shared his thoughts when questioned what he would like to see the PGA Tour make. He responded, “I can tell you right now my priorities are a lot lower than what a lot of people would think. If I have to—if I go by request—I know this is going to sound very stupid, but as simple as having a freaking Port-a-Potty on every hole—I know it sounds crazy, but I can’t choose when I have to go to the bathroom. I’ve told the tour this many times, as simple as that.”

All that discussed, there have been several instances of top pros relieving themselves in and around the golf course during emergencies.

Nature’s call is common for golfers on the course…

More than a decade ago, Ernie Els had a very forgettable incident in Australia. At the Royal Melbourne, one of the oldest golf courses in Australia, the South African was not able to control his bladder. “I had an emergency one year at the Heineken Classic, and they have those [sponsor] signs around the tees. There was no place to go, but it was in an area where the fans couldn’t get anywhere close to the tee. So I just walked behind those signs and went. Just had my hands on my hips, and there I went. I wouldn’t have done that if it hadn’t been kind of an urgent deal,” Els stated.

Even caddies find themselves needing the occasional break for nature’s call. Ted Scott recalled an incident he had at one of the Ryder Cup rounds. “We were at the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, and it was rainy and cold. This was like the second day, and we’re playing with Jeff Overton. We get to the second tee, and I have got to go. I have no idea what to do because there are no Port-a-Johns around.” The caddie recalled the incident.

Similar to Ballester’s case, some fans took notice of the action, and they called him out. But again, similar to Ballester’s case, Scott did not have the option to care, choosing to relieve himself as it was an emergency.

Well, it seems like officials would like to find solutions soon. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.