Amateur Jose Luis Ballester has sparked his fair share of headlines throughout the Masters week – with none really to do with his golf game.
The reigning US Amateur champion made his debut at Augusta National this week, missing the cut after shooting a four-over 76 and six-over 78.
He managed to ruffle some feathers among golf fans along the way. Yet, his latest viral moment has little do with his game or even himself. Instead, it is his girlfriend who is stealing the limelight.
The Spaniard’s girlfriend, Hayden Riley James, has gone viral in online golf circles after she shared a series of snaps of herself cheering on her golfing beau.
James, a hairstylist in the Scottsdale area, shared a number of photos commemorating the couple’s week in Augusta, showing her supporting Ballester throughout the tournament alongside his sister Julia, parents and other family members.
‘the most special place with the most special people. i’m so proud of you @joseleballester , go kill it this week babe!,’ she captioned the post, which was shared on Thursday.
Amateur Jose Luis Ballester has sparked his fair share of headlines throughout the Masters
Now, the Spaniard’s girlfriend has made waves, going viral among raving golf fans
Hayden James shared a series of snaps from Augusta National to her Instagram profile
Fans flocked to her Instagram to trawl through her photos after her boyfriend shot to fame
‘So happy to share this week with you. ILY!,’ Ballester replied in the comments.
While Ballester’s Masters came to a close after just two rounds, the golfing world is still going wild over the beautiful blonde.
Ballester plays college golf at Arizona State, earning his spot in the 2025 Masters thanks to his US Amateur win last summer.
However, the Amateur caused a stir during the first round when, playing alongside world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, he sported a cap with ‘Sun Devils’ written upside down on the front. An apparent fashion faux pas among golf’s traditionalists.
He truly horrified Augusta’s most orthodox patrons when he took relief of a very different kind at one of the course’s most famous landmarks.
Ballester urinated into Rae’s Creek at the 13th at the risk of facing punishment from the powers that be at the church of golf.
‘I completely forgot that we had those restrooms to the left of the tee box,’ an unrepentant Ballester explained after he was caught in the act.
‘I really needed to pee. I didn’t really know where to go…I’m like, I’m just going to sneak here in the river and probably people would not see me that much, and then they clapped for me.’
James, a hairstylist in the Scottsdale area, supported the US Amateur champion
James shares a snap from her recent vacation to Nuevo Vallarta in Mexico
Her social accounts have added thousands more followers amid her boyfriend’s Masters fame
However, he appeared to have avoided the wrath of the Augusta officials over his unscheduled pit stop when he was permitted to return to tee it up for the second round alongside Scheffler and Justin Thomas.
Ballester is the son of two Spanish Olympians with his mother Sonia Barrio winning a gold medal in field hockey at the 1992 Barcelona games.
Meanwhile, his father, Jose Luis Ballester Sr., was an Olympic swimmer, who also competed at the University of Florida.
Ballester, who hails from Castellón, Spain, has one sister, Julia, who is also a collegiate golfer as a sophomore at Kansas State.
