U.S. Amateur champ declines Korn Ferry Tour membership, joins LIV Golf

LIV Golf has a new, decorated player making his debut this week. Josele Ballester, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, turned down Korn Ferry Tour membership last week and has now officially signed with LIV Golf, joining the Fireballs team captained by fellow Spaniard and 2017 Masters champ Sergio Garcia.

LIV announced the Fireballs signed Ballester to a multi-year deal on Wednesday, and he’ll make his first start Friday at LIV Golf Virginia at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va.

Ballester just completed his senior season at Arizona State with a T4 finish at the NCAA Championship, although his biggest victory of the past year came last August at Hazeltine in Minnesota, where he beat Noah Kent 2 Up to win the U.S. Amateur title.

As a senior at Arizona State, Ballester rose all the way to No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He missed the cut at the Masters (a start earned via his U.S. Am win) but made more headlines for relieving himself in Rae’s Creek (which he later apologized for).

Ballester was in line to receive Korn Ferry Tour membership by finishing third in the PGA Tour University program, which was formed to create pathways to the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour for golf’s top collegiate players, but on Monday Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine reported that he had declined the membership.

On Wednesday, the assumption most had regarding why he turned it down became clear.

Ballester, 21, joining Garcia’s team is also no fluke. Garcia’s dad, Victor Garcia, is Ballester’s long-time golf coach and Sergio and Josele have known each other for years.

“Josele is going to be a great addition, not only to the Fireballs but also to the LIV league,” Sergio Garcia said in a release. “I can’t wait to be with him by his side as he makes his professional debut.”

After playing his first LIV event this week, Ballester heads to Oakmont for next week’s U.S. Open, another start he received following his U.S. Am title.