21-yo Jose Luis Ballester makes bold statement about continuing Jon Rahm’s ‘legacy’ on PGA Tour

Jose Luis Ballester is from Spain, and so is Jon Rahm. The rookie player sees the champion golfer as his mentor. Currently, Ballester is in Mexico to play in the Mexico Championship at Vidanta Vallarta.

In the pre-tournament press conference, when he was asked whether he watched Rahm winning the Mexico Open in 2022 and then finishing runner-up to Tony Finau the next year, and if he had spoken to him about any specific insights into Vidanta, his answer was:

“Honestly, I didn't have the chance to talk to him. I wish I did. I had the chance to play with Jon a few times last year, and I can understand why this is a course where he won. Again, if you hit it as long and straight as he does, you're going to have success on this course. So, excited with the shape that I came in this week, and hopefully, I'll continue the legacy that he left on this course.”

In August last year, Ballester became the first Spaniard to win the U.S. Amateur Championship. After that win, he chatted with Jack Milko of SB Nation. In that conversation, he shared his experience of playing with Rahm. Milko recently shared this part of the conversation on X (formerly Twitter):

While talking to Milko, Ballester said:

“I was able to play with Jon, I think, like a week after I won when I got back to school. He actually played a few rounds with us in some of the qualifying events. It was kind of shocking because I played really, really bad. I hadn’t touched a club in like 10 or 12 days after that victory at the Am, and I told Rahm, I’m like, ‘Man, I promise I played better to win. It was not like this.’ It was kind of funny.

But he kind of told me it was more normal after a big win to lose your game a little bit with all the media and all the other things that come with it. It was cool to share also that moment with Jon.”

Apart from being Spaniards, another similarity between him and Jon Rahm is that they both attended Arizona State University.

---

Some lesser-known facts about Jon Rahm's compatriot Jose Luis Ballester

Jon Rahm's fellow Spanish golfer Jose Luis Ballester was raised in Arizona, USA. His head coach, Matt Thurmond, says that he has a “relaxed and carefree attitude,” which makes him a quiet leader off the course.

Thurmond further added (via Golf Digest):

“Everyone loves and appreciates Jose, and he’s never uptight or stressed. He’s open and comfortable with all and can fall asleep any time he wants.”

Ballester’s parents are Olympians. His mother, Sonia Barrio, won gold for Spain in field hockey at the 1992 Summer Olympics. His father was a swimmer at three different Olympics. When he was in Spain, he was coached by Sergio Garcia’s father, Victor.

Jon Rahm's countryman has also won the 2020 Spanish Amateur and the 2023 European Amateur tournaments. In January 2025, he reached No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.