THE CLOSER
Ballester opened the final round with an eagle and opened up a four-shot lead quickly over those closest to him, including Sun Devil teammate Michael Mjaaseth (Norway). Windy conditions didn’t allow him to run away from the field, but a birdie on the 13th put him back at a four-stroke lead. He shot 21-under 267 (62-66-66-73) to win the event by two strokes. The victory earns the Spaniard a spot in The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool July 20-23.
Jose Luis Ballester ???? is the 2023 European Amateur Champion!
The Spanish 19-year-old navigated a windy final round at @ParnuBay in Estonia to secure a wire-to-wire victory and an invitation to @TheOpen! pic.twitter.com/M3l3s0Iz3p
— European Golf Association (@EGA_golf) July 1, 2023
JOSE BALLESTER SUN DEVIL THREE-DOT DATA
Has earned honorable mention All-America honors in each of his first two seasons, as in 2022-23 he had a 70.56 stroke average in 13 tournaments (39 rounds) that included three top-10 finishes in his final five tournaments…tied for fifth out of 72 at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional with a 15-under 201, tied for seventh out of 80 at the Thunderbird Collegiate and tied for fourth out of 45 at The Calusa Cup…in his three tournaments prior to the NCAA Championship, he posted a 64 in each of the first rounds, as he was 22-under par in his first round in the final four tournaments of the year…has a career 70.80 scoring average in 64 rounds (21 tournaments), with 20 rounds in the 60s and 37 at par or better.
FIRST SINCE SERGIO
The EGA gold medal will be the second earned by Ballester, who secured the winning point for Spain in the 2022 European Amateur Team Championship at Royal St. George’s. He also ends a 28-year wait for a Spanish winner in the event, becoming the first Spaniard to claim the European Amateur title since Sergio Garcia in 1995.
ANY OTHER SUN DEVILS WIN THIS?
Stephan Gross, won the 2008 European Amateur, shooting 4-under 280 (73-68-69-70) at the Esbjerg Golf Club in Denmark. He entered the final round one shot off the lead, but two birdies in the final seven holes gave him one-stroke win over Richard Kind of the Netherlands. Gross earned honorable mention All-America…
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