Well, it appears as if there's a strong chance that yet another Spaniard who attended Arizona State University could find a spot on the LIV Golf roster, thus joining Jon Rahm and David Puig, as rumors are swirling that reigning U.S. Amateur champion José Luis Ballester could make his debut with the Saudi-backed series as soon as this weekend.
Ballester, who recently caused a little controversy at Augusta National by urinating in Rae's Creek during the opening round of The Masters, recently closed out his collegiate career with the Sun Devils with a T4 finish in the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship individual competition and a quarterfinal exit in the team portion of the event.
As the 21-year-old finished third overall in the PGA Tour University standings behind only North Carolina's David Ford and Auburn's Brendan Valdes, he was eligible for exemption on the Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of this season and exemption into the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School. He also could have accepted unlimited sponsor exemptions on the PGA Tour for the remainder of the year, as well as all of 2026.
But according to a report from Golf Channel, Ballester declined all of it.
Now, it's no secret that the Havemyer Trophy winner's swing coach has long been Victor García, he being the father of none other than Sergio García, whom Ballester considers a mentor.
Sergio, of course, is one of several high-profile players who jumped ship from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf when the circuit debuted in 2022 and is the captain of the Fireballs GC squad that currently sits in second place in the 2025 team standings.
Naturally, given Ballester's decision to spurn his shot at the PGA Tour via the Korn Ferry Tour, rumors have been running wild that he's set to sign with LIV Golf as part of García's team, perhaps as a replacement for Luis Masaveu.
The aforementioned David Puig is still seemingly dealing with back problems that nearly forced him to withdraw from the PGA Championship and may have been the reason for his withdrawal from U.S. Open qualifying. So there's a shot that Ballester could start his pro career this weekend at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
And once Puig returns, Masaveu would seemingly become a backup while also taking starts on the DP World Tour and the Asian Tour.
Some have even suggested that Ballester could ultimately be a full-time replacement for Abraham Ancer, which would make Fireballs FC an all-Spanish team. But that seems a little far-fetched. Nevertheless, anything seems possible with LIV Golf, wouldn't you say?
Now, let's be clear about this. At the time of this writing, neither LIV Golf nor Ballester has confirmed any of this. But the writing is on the wall, and an official announcement could be coming soon.