It's been a Masters debut to forget for the US Open Amateur champion golfer.
21-year-old Jose Ballester endured an eventful first round at the historic, revered and infamously strict Augusta National Golf Club, and some golf fans on social media have already grown tired of his presence at the year's first major.
Ballester's cap was emblazoned with the words 'Sun Devils' in homage to Arizona State University, where he played college golf, only upside-down – part of a trend that began in 2020 when the Spanish-born golfer was a teenager.
"That came after his college coach, Matt Thurmond, drew the ire of Augusta National officials by wearing shorts onto the tournament’s practice area," reported brobible.
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If those two perceived transgressions seem laser-guided to raise the ire of the stuffier end of the golf community, disrespectful act number three was much more widely condemned.
Ballester "urinated into the tributary some 60 yards short of the green" at the 13th hole, according to Sports Illustrated.
"With his back to the grandstand that is behind the 14th tee, Ballester did his business and then got a loud round of applause from the spectators who figured out what was going on."
Perhaps aware that he was up the creek he peed into, Ballester made the case for his defence.
"I completely forgot that we had those restrooms to the left of the tee box," he said.
"And then I’m like, I really need to pee. Didn’t really know where to go, and since [fellow competitor 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."
Ballester's alfresco bathroom activity has been predictably divided as golf fans of various stripes took to social media, with some demanding his expulsion from the Masters.
"Rename it to Ballester’s Stream" suggested one user on X, formerly Twitter.
"Wait, so not only did Ballester wear that atrocious hat, he pulled his hog out in front of the patrons at Rae’s Creek? Ban him for life," rattled another.
"Yeah, let’s not let Ballester through the gates tomorrow," wrote a golf fan who'd previously expressed dismay at the amateur champ's Sun Devils hat.
Topics: Golf
Chris Nee