Jose Luis Ballester Facts: 16 Things You Didn't Know About The 2024 US Amateur Champion

Jose Luis Ballester is one of the best young Spanish golfers in the world, with the amateur having already picked up multiple significant titles. Find out more about the 2024 US Amateur champion via these facts.

Jose Luis Ballester Facts

1. His full name is Jose Luis Ballester Barrio, a.k.a Jose Luis Ballester or just Josele Ballester.

2. He was born on August 18, 2003 in Castellón de la Plana, Spain - north of Valencia on the country's east coast.

3. Ballester's parents are both former Olympians. His mother, Sonia Barrio, won gold with Spain at the 1992 Summer Games in field hockey. His father, Jose Luis Ballester, was a swimmer at three different Olympic Games.

4. He has a sister, Julia, who plays golf at Kansas State.

5. Ballester is coached by Sergio Garcia's father, Victor, and considers Sergio to be a mentor, while the amateur talent also works with Joaquin Niemann's mental coach.

6. He attends Arizona State University - the same college from which Jon Rahm graduated in 2016 and Phil Mickelson also went to.

7. After missing the cut on debut (2023), Ballester won the US Amateur in his second start (2024). He claimed a 2-up victory over Noah Kent in the championship match to secure the biggest title of his career. By reaching the final, he had already earned exemptions into the 2025 US Open and 2025 Masters tournament. Victory then ensured that - as long as he remains an amateur - he will play at the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, too.

8. Ballester became the first Spaniard ever to play in the US Amateur championship match and only the second to claim a USGA title after Rahm's 2021 US Open triumph.

9. Ballester has five amateur victories in total - including wins at the 2020 Spanish Amateur and the 2023 European Amateur where he shot a 10-under first round.

10. His European Amateur success earned him a start at the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where he missed the cut after carding rounds of 73 and 74.

11. As of January 2025, he had reached a best of World No.4 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

12. While at Arizona State, he earned All-American honors in each of his first three seasons.

13. Ballester was a late replacement for Eugenio Chacarra at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup after the fellow Spaniard turned pro before the event. Ballester won 3.5 points from a possible four to help the International team beat Team USA 33-27.

14. His career-best round was a seven-under 64 at the Thunderbird Collegiate in April 2023.

15. Ballester has represented Spain several times, most notably at the European Amateur Team Championship between 2022-24. He helped Spain win the event in 2023.

16. Ballester has managed nine amateur victories so far, including college titles. His ninth arrived just two starts after his US Amateur success, with Ballester winning the Fighting Illini Invitational. In between triumphs, the Spaniard finished runner-up at the Sahalee Players Championship.

Jose Luis Ballester Bio