Josele Ballester shares what Sergio Garcia has been like with him since he joined LIV Golf

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Josele Ballester made a bold move by joining the LIV Golf tour straight out of college.

The young Spaniard followed in the footsteps of Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm as Arizona State University alumni who have joined LIV Golf, even though he earned eligibility for the Korn Ferry Tour. Rahm is a big fan of Ballester, who was an exciting addition to LIV.

Ballester joined Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC, and finished 35th in the Individual standings. He had a rocky start, finishing T50 and 48th in his first two events, but a T2 finish at LIV Chicago following a top-10 LIV UK performance proved he belonged on the tour with some of the best in the game.

He joined Fireballs GC after they had won three events on the bounce, but after his arrival, Garcia’s team fell to 8th in the standings by the end of the year. Ballester said whether he thinks he made a mistake by joining the team.

Josele Ballester says if joining Fireballs GC was a good move

Ballester admitted that his slow start on LIV made him question whether he was good enough to play on the tour, but he made changes to his game to be able to compete at the top of the leaderboard.

He explained to Flushing It: “My first three tournaments weren’t good at all. They were actually pretty bad and almost made me, you know, wondering and asking myself if I was good enough to be with those guys. But fortunately, I made a couple adjustments.

“Obviously, coming right out of college. You know, it’s not easy, and it took all the time to just settle in and start realising what professional golf is about.

“And yeah, right now, I mean, I feel like the last 3 months, I’ve made a big jump, a big quality jump in my entire game. There’s obviously things that I still need to get better and get sharper, but really happy with all the work that I’ve put in and where my game is right now.

“Out of college I was not playing as good as I am right now, but also I was doing some things outside that weren’t helping me. But yeah, I mean, the reason of joining LIV, it’s been great and why now I’m seeing these better results slowly is when you’re surrounded by players that are better than you, you gotta bring your best, right?

“So I feel like slowly I’m bringing my better version of myself and yeah, I’m really excited to learn from all these players.”

Ballester went on to say how Garcia has been as captain since he joined LIV Golf. He continued: “They’ve been, especially Sergio and David, have been really close friends for a long time. And Abe, he’s an amazing guy as well, and I didn’t know him that much, but he’s been super welcoming since day one.

“And the vibe is really cool on the team, right? I feel like that makes it even easier, that adaptation time. So joining the Fireballs was definitely a good idea, and it’s been great for me, and really excited for next season.”

Josele Ballester predicts which team will win the LIV Team Championship next season

After Rahm won the LIV Individual title last season, his Legion XIII team won the Team title in a clean sweep of the awards for the Spaniard.

Legion XIII is stacked, featuring two Ryder Cuppers in Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, and talented Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, who finished 20th individually.

But Ballester said they’re not a lock to repeat as champions. He said it’s between them, and Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC.

He said, “I mean, it’s hard not to say Legion XIII or the Crushers, right? I mean, they’re both led by Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, two of the main figures on LIV Golf. And when they’re hot with all the guys that they have on the team, they’re going to be tough to beat.”

A battle between DeChambeau and Rahm is exactly what LIV needs to flex its star power in its battle against the PGA Tour. A good season from DeChambeau, in the team and individual standings, would do wonders for the tour’s future.