Jose Luis Ballester has caused a stir on his Masters debut after he admitted to weeing into Rae’s Creek during his opening round at Augusta National. The Spaniard was drawn alongside defending champion Scottie Scheffler and another major winner Justin Thomas as he made his major debut.
He endured a mixed round with birdies coming after bogeys but his headline moment came on the 13th hole, known as Azalea, as the US Amateur champion used Rae’s Creek – the body of water that flows through the course – as a makeshift toilet spot when he realised he needed to urinate.
After doing so he went on to score par and confessed that he would repeat the controversial moment. Ballester wasn’t shy in sharing his story after the round: “I completely forgot that we had those restrooms to the left of the tee box. Then I’m like, ‘I really need to pee’.
“Didn’t really know where to go, and since JT [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’. Then they clapped for me! Probably one of the claps that I got real loud, so that was kind of funny. It was not embarrassing at all for me. If I had to do it again, I would do it again.”
The Masters has incredibly strict traditions and rules, the majority of which are impeccably observed, but Ballester didn’t seem concerned about facing the potential wrath from those within the clubhouse.
The Spaniard went on to card a round of 76, leaving him four over par. Alongside him though Scheffler began his ambition to land a third Masters and a second in succession, which would see him join an exclusive group of players who’ve defended their crown at Augusta.
In the past only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Sir Nick Faldo have retained the Green Jacket and Scheffler began his attempt by carding a round of four under, which leaves him three shots off leader Justin Rose.
The American, who already has three majors do his name, said: “I think anytime you get close to the lead, it’s going to be easier for you to win the golf tournament. That’s a simple fact of the matter. You get off to a good start, statistically you’re going to have a better chance to win the tournament.”
Rory McIlroy has been tipped to eventually end his wait at the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam, but his final few holes left him with a lot of work to do. The Northern Irishman was sitting at four under heading to the 15th, but that is where things went downhill.
McIlroy carded a double bogey and then repeated the trick two holes later to take him back to level par. Already he’s seven shots off the lead heading into Friday’s second round.
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