The Masters: Jose Luis Ballester urinates into Rae’s Creek while playing alongside Scottie Scheffler at Augusta National | Golf News

Jose Luis Ballester has caused controversy on his Masters debut after admitting to urinating into Rae’s Creek during his opening round at Augusta National.

The US Amateur champion was drawn alongside defending champion Scottie Scheffler and former world No 1 Justin Thomas for his major debut, where he struggled to a four-over 76.

Ballester bounced back from two bogeys in his first three holes and a triple-bogey at the par-four fifth to birdie the sixth, then cancelled out a bogey at the 11th hole by birdieing the par-three next.

The Spaniard found himself caught short on the par-five next, known as Azalea, with Ballester electing to use Rae’s Creek as an alternative toilet spot before completing the hole in par.

“I completely forgot that we had those restrooms to the left of the tee box,” Ballester admitted to reporters after his round. “Then I’m like, ‘I really need to pee’.

“Didn’t really know where to go, and since JT [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’.

“Then they clapped for me! Probably one of the claps that I got real loud, so that was kind of funny. It was not embarrassing at all for me. If I had to do it again, I would do it again.”

Scheffler, aiming to become the first back-to-back winner of The Masters since Tiger Woods and first to win the Green Jacket three times in four years since Jack Nicklaus, carded four birdies in a four-under 68.

Each of the last six men’s major champions have been in the top four after the opening round, while 18 of the past 20 Masters champions have been inside the top 10 following the opening day, although Scheffler played down the importance of a good start.

“I don’t really think about that stuff very much,” Scheffler said. “I don’t really care what happened in the last few tournaments.

“I think anytime you get close to the lead, it’s going to be easier for you to win the golf tournament. That’s a simple fact of the matter. You get off to a good start, statistically you’re going to have a better chance to win the tournament.

“I think around major championship golf courses, it’s funny because this is a golf course where there’s a lot of opportunities. There’s a lot of opportunity over the weekend. There’s a lot of opportunity on Sunday with where they put the pins. I’m a bit surprised that it’s like that, but I wouldn’t say that it can’t be done.”

Scheffler got up and down from short of the green to take advantage of the par-five second before draining a remarkable 60-foot birdie at the par-three fourth, with the world No 1 then scrambling pars over each of the next three holes to continue his bogey-free start.

A brilliant pitch at the par-five eighth set up a 12-foot birdie that moved Scheffler to three under and saw him reach the turn in 33, the same total as the opening day of his title defence in 2023, with Scheffler ending a run of pars with another long-range birdie at the par-three 16th.

Former world No 1 Justin Rose – a two-time Masters runner-up charged into the lead with a seven-under 65, with the Englishman now having more first-round leads at Augusta National than any player in history.

When is The Masters live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports Golf will be showing record hours of live coverage from the 2025 contest, including more action over the final two rounds than previous years. Wall-to-wall coverage continues on Friday from 2pm, with Featured Group action and regular updates until the global broadcast window begins at 8pm.

A new addition to this year’s coverage sees a Masters build-up show live from 3pm over the weekend ahead of full coverage starting at 5pm, covering all the action until after the close of play.

Sky+, Sky Q and Sky Glass will provide plenty of bonus feeds and allow you to follow players’ progress through various parts of Augusta’s famous layout, including Amen Corner and more.

Who will win The Masters? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the second round begins with Featured Groups on Friday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.