CHASKA, Minn. – History was made Friday at Hazeltine National.
With Arizona State senior Josele Ballester and fellow Spaniard Luis Masaveu set to meet in Saturday’s semifinals of the U.S. Amateur, it guarantees that one player from Spain will advance to the championship match, a first for the nation that boasts nine men’s major titles, including Jon Rahm’s 2021 U.S. Open crown.
“Once we made it to match play and we both won our first matches, we looked at the bracket and realized that if we kept winning, we would meet in the semifinals, so it was like, ‘Let’s do it then,’” said Ballester, who beat mid-amateur Bobby Massa, 3 and 1, in Friday’s quarterfinals. “Now, we’re done with all those matches and tomorrow we’re going to have a chance to play against each other, and one of us is going to be playing in two majors next year, which is pretty incredible.”
Previously, Spain had boasted just one U.S Amateur semifinalist – Sergio Garcia in 1998 at Oak Hill. Garcia has been following the action this week while also texting Ballester frequently and reminding the gifted 20-year-old, who turns 21 on Sunday, “Believe in yourself. You’re great. You deserve to be here.”
The same can be said of Masaveu. Ballester is a three-time All-American for the Sun Devils, the winner of last year’s European Amateur and currently the world’s 10th-ranked amateur. But Masaveu is not far off, ranked No. 23 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Unlike Ballester, Masaveu eschewed college golf in the U.S., instead choosing to study in Spain and prepare for professional golf. He qualified for the Open Championship earlier this summer – using an old set of club with no 3-wood after his gamers were lost flying back from the British Amateur.
This week is supposed to be Masaveu’s final amateur event; he’s ranked fifth in the Global Amateur Pathway ranking, and with this run at Hazeltine likely enough to bump him up at least one spot, he is in line to earn a Challenge Tour card when the ranking ends Oct. 13.
After rallying from 2 down to top Auburn senior Brendan Valdes, 3 and 2, on Friday in a match highlighted by a towering 4-iron to 6 feet on the par-5 15th hole, Masaveu may have to change his plans.
“If I win tomorrow, probably I won’t turn pro because obviously playing the Masters, it’s like different,” Masaveu said. “I mean, it’s a dream. … I played this year a major (he made the cut at Royal Troon), and it was amazing, but you never know if you’re going to play the Masters again in your life.
“It’s a moment that you have to take it.”
Both Masaveu and Ballester have dreamt of moments like this since before they first met. That introduction was more than a decade ago at the U-10 Spanish National Championship. Ballester was still 7 years old, Masaveu a year older. While they lost touch for a few years after that, they have recently grown much closer, leading their country to back-to-back European Team Championship titles, in 2022 and 2023.
Ballester, whose parents are both Olympians (dad in swimming, mom a gold medalist in field hockey), never enjoyed soccer as a kid, instead swimming and playing tennis in addition to golf. But Masaveu has turned Ballester into a Real Madrid fan.
“Might as well root for the best,” Ballester said.
Speaking of rooting for the best. When Ballester and Masaveu’s semifinal match begins at 1:15 local time at Hazeltine – 15 minutes after the first semifinal between Illinois’ Jackson Buchanan and Iowa’s Noah Kent – it will be 8:15 p.m. in Spain.
Two hard-hitting flushers – one from outside of Madrid, the other north of Valencia – in primetime.
Said Ballester: “I hope that everyone in Spain tomorrow is watching Golf Channel.”