Woodland in 'a lot better place' than a year ago
Gary Woodland discusses the impact of receiving the PGA Tour's Courage Award and assesses the state of his game at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.
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LIV signs Josele Ballester, golfer who urinated on 13th hole at Masters, to multi-year deal
LIV Golf has signed its first Whiz Kid. But this is not quite the splash the Saudi-backed league looks for. Spaniard Josele Ballester, who is best known for urinating on the 13th hole at the 2025 Masters, signed a multi-year contract to join the Fireballs captained by Sergio Garcia. Advertisement Ballester, who played at Arizona State, is No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and won the 2024 U.S. Amateur. After hitting his third shot on the par-5 13th during the first round of the Masters, the 21-year-old Ballester walked toward a tributary of Rae's Creek that runs along the left side of the fairway and took relief … into the water with his back to the fans but in plain sight. After zipping up he received a loud ovation. AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Amateur Jose Luis Ballester of Spain walks on the 18th hole during the first round of the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2025 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by) "They saw me. They saw me," Ballester said after carding a 76. "It was not embarrassing at all for me. If I had to do it again, I would do it again. "Probably one of the (loudest) claps that I got today. Real loud, so that was kind of funny." Advertisement Ballester said he forgot about the restrooms behind the 13th tee box. After shooting a 78 in the second round, and missing the cut at 10-over, Ballester said he apologized to the club. "I think we just move on from this moment,' he added. Garcia has known Ballester "since he could pick up a golf club." Ballester has been coached by Victor Garcia, Sergio's father. "Josele is going to be a great addition not only to the Fireballs but also to the LIV League and I can't wait to be with him by his side as he makes his professional debut,' Garcia said. Ballester will make his LIV debut this week at the event held at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. Luke Clanton says joining PGA Tour simple, wants to play 'against the best' Luke Clanton waves to the crowd on the 15th hole during the third round of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches at PGA National Resort & Spa on Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Ballester's decision comes as Luke Clanton, the former Florida State standout who has been the world No. 1 amateur for the last 10 months, said his decision to join the PGA Tour over LIV was simple. Advertisement "I want to play the PGA Tour, pretty simple," Clanton, 21, said at the RBC Canadian Open, where he will make his professional debut. "I want to play against the best, I want to compete in majors, and that's it. Simple." Clanton, who is from Hialeah, has made 13 PGA starts as an amateur. He earned the required points for full PGA Tour status when he made the cut at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches in February. Clanton finished tied for 18th at Cognizant with a 12-under 272. Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Josele Ballester, who urinated at Masters, signs with LIV Golf
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Luke Clanton came prepared. Before he answered his first questions as a professional golfer on Tuesday afternoon at TPC Toronto ahead of his PGA Tour debut at the RBC Canadian Open, the 21-year-old Clanton opened with a two-page statement he had typed out a couple days earlier. Advertisement 'I didn't want to forget anything,' Clanton said. He thanked his 'foundation' – dad, David; mom, Rhonda; and older sisters, Ray and Abby – all of whom 'laid the groundwork for this moment' with their 'love, belief and sacrifices.' He thanked his coaches, mentors and teammates, and then the various junior tours and organizations he cut his teeth on as a youth. Finally, as he's done faithfully, he thanked God. 'I know the professional game is a new world, and I cannot be more excited for this moment,' Clanton said in closing. 'I'm ready.' It's hard to argue. Clanton, who just wrapped up his third and final season at Florida State, has taken an unprecedented path to the big leagues. While Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent also debuts this week as the first player to graduate from the PGA Tour University's Accelerated program, it was Clanton who earned his 20 points with his play, not with help from awards. Advertisement Clanton began last summer's U.S. Open at Pinehurst with no Accelerated points before matching Jack Nicklaus as the only amateurs to record three top-10s on the PGA Tour in a single season. Clanton did one better than Jack, though, notching four top-10s, including a pair of runners-up. When he made the cut at the Cognizant Classic last February, it marked the final point needed for PGA Tour membership. 'It was just kind of really quick,' Clanton said. 'It all happened very fast, and it was amazing.' In recent months, Clanton had blended back in with his team. He won four times this spring, including the NCAA Tallahassee Regional on the Seminoles' home course. He also captured the Hogan Award a couple weeks ago, a formality. But sometimes the perfect ending is hard to achieve, and Clanton found that out at last week's NCAA Championship; he closed in 4-over 76 after starting the final round inside the top 10 individually, and his missed birdie putt on his 72nd hole allowed Ole Miss to edge Florida State by a shot to earn the eighth and final match-play berth. Advertisement A year after Clanton lost his match to Auburn's J.M. Butler as Florida State fell in the NCAA final, the Seminoles didn't even make it to Tuesday at La Costa. And Clanton's amateur career was over. 'It was a hard one to kind of wrap up,' Clanton said. 'Kind of coming back and hanging out with the guys for the last couple of days was definitely a bit rough. … But it's something we all chase for to become a professional.' When Clanton, with a fresh cut and no facial hair, boarded his flight to Canada, it finally hit him. All those nights rolling putts on the scruffy practice green at Country Club of Miami, a municipal in Hialeah, Florida, while David held an industrial-sized flashlight had paid off. Advertisement David owned two businesses, in landscaping and glass treatment, while also teaching a few junior golfers, including his only son until Luke turned 17 years old and began working with instructor Jeff Leishman. So that Clantons could afford to put Luke through private school at American Heritage, David offered to do the school's landscaping. Rhonda worked as a flight attendant with Delta, which provided the family free flights and Rhonda the flexibility to home school her kids and travel with them to tournaments. Both David and Rhonda are now retired, ready to cheer on Luke as he lives out his dream. 'My dad and my mom never, ever get enough credit for what they did for me in my journey and my life, but I always think about it because it's what my dad set for me as goals,' Clanton said. 'Ever since I was a kid, he always told me I was going to be the best in the world, and he kept saying that to me every single day, and he made me believe it. Without that belief and without that trust in the process of what we were doing, 11 o'clock at night with a flashlight on plastic greens, it was definitely tough, but we did it. Advertisement 'It just shows that if you have a dream and you have a goal, you can get there.' And now, Luke Clanton is here – and he's ready.
