AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jose Luis Ballester made quite an impression on the fans in his first Masters appearance Thursday.
The 21-year-old Spaniard, who plays at Arizona State, was in need of a bathroom break and decided, when you gotta go, you gotta go.
Ballester said he forgot there were bathrooms just to the left of the tee box on the 13th hole, so he ran down to the tributary to Rae’s Creek and relieved himself while playing partner Justin Thomas was still on the 12th green.
“I’m like, I really need to pee,” Ballester said after his round. “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.”
Except they did see him that much, leading to a roar from the patrons.
“They clapped for me,” Ballester said. “Probably one of the claps that I really got today real loud. So that was kind of funny.”
Ballester, who was paired with Scottie Scheffler and Thomas, made waves by wearing an Arizona State cap featuring the words “Sun Devils” upside down, with fans on social media saying it was uncouth at an event such as the Masters.
Ballester struggled to a 76, going 4 over on the first nine with a birdie, two bogeys and a triple bogey. He said he was able to chat with Scheffler a bit, calling it a “VIP pass” to play with the two stars.
“I tried to get loose warming up, tried to be myself, listen to music, tried to stay focused,” Ballester said. “I was not intimidated at all by the pairing that I had.”
He said he regretted how he started, made a couple of mistakes and got unlucky on the fifth hole, where he carded a double-bogey 7. But he didn’t have any issue with what got him the most attention on the day, and said he was unconcerned with any blowback from his bathroom break.
“It was not embarrassing at all for me,” Ballester said. “If I had to do it again, I would do it again.”
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