Rounds of golf can feel never-ending. It’s just you, the competition and a boundless course. The routine of riding the golf cart from tee to tee 18 times can seem mundane, ceaseless and nerve-wrecking — especially when there are no breaks. No time to stop, think and … pee?
Except on Thursday at the Masters, where U.S. Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester just could not hold it in anymore and risked his pride for a much-needed bathroom break.
Ballester, a 21-year-old from Spain, had to use the restroom in the worst way on the par-5 13th hole, where Justin Thomas in his group had hit into the azalea bushes behind the green. Waiting for Thomas to search and rescue his ball, Ballester took the chance to find relief.
“Didn’t really know where to go, and since JT 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,'” he said.
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“It was not embarrassing at all for me,” he added. “If I had to do it again, I would do it again.”
After all, it would be tough to focus on a chip from the rough or a putt from the green while trying to hold in a pee. Regardless, Ballester sits at 4 over par and tied for 73rd place after Round 1 on Thursday.
For a second, after relieving himself, Ballester thought he had avoided the public’s eye as his back was turned to the grandstand while he went in Rae’s Creek. Instead, as he finished up, he was met with a round of applause.
“Probably one of the claps that I really got today, real loud,” Ballester said after opening with a 76. “So that was kind of funny.”
His big mistake was not realizing there was a restroom near the 13th tee box. This is the first Masters for the Arizona State senior.
Using the course to relieve oneself is not all that unusual in golf; players will often duck into the woods or go somewhere away from the crowd. But there’s no hiding at Augusta National, and for Ballester, this was no time to wait.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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