2024 U.S. Amateur winner Jose Luis Ballester entered the 89th Masters Tournament looking to make headlines. He accomplished that goal already, but maybe not the type of headlines he was looking for.

While playing the par-5 13th with playing partners Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas, Ballester felt the need to go. You know, go number one. He missed the chance to relieve himself at the restrooms near the tee box, so he took fate into his own hands, literally.

“I completely forgot that we had those restrooms to the left of the tee box,” said Ballester after his round.

“Then I'm like, ‘I really need to pee.' Didn't really know where to go, and since JT [Justin Thomas] had an issue on the green, 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. Probably one of the few claps that I really got today real loud, so that was kind of funny.”

His play on Thursday did not warrant much applause. The 21-year-old signed for a 4-over 76, which admittedly, is not a poor showing considering his age and lack of experience.

Nevertheless, if the Spanish amateur wants to play this weekend, he will need to play much better.

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“Didn't start well. Got really tough, really early. A couple of unlucky breaks at the beginning, but I tried to stay positive with a smile on my face. I think I did a good job with that. I wouldn't say that I got rewarded but I started playing much better towards the end. It's true that I didn't really make anything, which kind of sucks, but happy with how I competed, happy with how I played.”

Ballester is a highly accomplished amateur, beyond just the U.S. Amateur. He captured the Spanish Amateur title at the age of 16. Shortly thereafter, he enrolled at Arizona State where he would earn All-American honors in each of his first two years there. In 2023, Ballester won the European Amateur.

His play earned him a spot in the Open Championship in 2023, but he missed the cut.

Following Thursday's opening round of the Masters, he trails Hiroshi Tai for low amateur at Augusta National.