Josele Ballester Reveals Q School Plan - With DP World Tour Inundated With LIV Golfer Enquiries

Josele Ballester is one of a number of LIV Golf players whose plans for next season could include a trip to DP World Tour Qualifying School this November.

The Spaniard says he's prepared to try his luck in Qualifying School in a bid to secure a card - and he's not the only one as Golf Monthly understands the DP World Tour has been inundated with LIV pros enquiring about entering Q School.

Thomas Pieters has already told us that he'd head to Q School to earn back a DP World Tour card, and Ballester will follow suit if he can't play his way in before then.

"There's definitely many things that need to happen before seeing myself in that scenario, because I'm working on getting my membership at DP through the non-members affiliate list," Ballester told Garrett Johnston from Beyond The Clubhouse on behalf of Golf Monthly.

"I've still got to play a little better with hopefully a couple more invites and if that doesn't happen I'm going to have to go to Q School and and do my best over there. But I would love to mix both and have a pretty full calendar next year."

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil has announced a possible new investor to help the league continue into 2027 and beyond, but even if that proves to be the case it will be a more condensed schedule.

It leaves plenty of space for LIV players to fill in their schedules, and Ballester is busy trying to navigate an increasingly complicated world golfing landscape, with the DP World Tour's new affiliation with the Asian Tour also offering an opportunity.

The 22-year-old claimed his maiden professional title at the PIF Saudi International last November so should have opportunities to play there.

"Honestly I don't know," he said of his Asian Tour eligibility. "And I'm curious to see how is it going to apply for me next year because although it's been partnered with LIV throughout these years, I'm also a champion on the Asian Tour.

"So I feel like I should have some sort of a status on the Asian Tour for next year. And I also don't know how that's going to apply for certain tournaments or invites that might be sanctioned with DP [World Tour] so just curious to see how that plays."

Ballester's Eventful Career Path To Date

He'll only turn 23 this August, but it's already been an eventful ride for Ballester, who won the 2024 US Amateur before finishing third in the 2025 PGA Tour University rankings.

The Arizona State star turned down the Korn Ferry Tour card that was on offer though, and instead moved to LIV Golf and joined Sergio Garcia's Fireballs GC in June last year.

He's had five top 10s in 19 LIV events so far, including one playoff defeat last year, and made his first Major cut this year at Royal Birkdale after getting into The Open for the second time.

Ballester made a big decision to turn down a traditional route into the pros of taking up a Korn Ferry Tour place and trying to play his way onto the PGA Tour, and that route could well now see him having to tackle Q School in Europe.

But he insists that his first year as a pro has set him up nicely for the future, having experienced plenty of ups and downs and drama on and off the course.

"I feel like I'm in a way better spot than when I was when I turned pro right away, last year," says Ballester

"This year and couple of months of me being a professional have been really great for not just my game but my life as a professional outside of the golf course.

"I think I've changed a few things that have made me more professional and I think that's showing off on the course as well.

"I've lived many moments in my professional career, although it's been pretty short. I've been able to contend in events, lost in a playoff, I've won a tournament, I've been top ten many times, I've also missed cuts, I've also been in the bottom, so I feel it has given me a lot of experience, but it has also proved to me that when I'm playing good I can contend among the best players in the world."

There's a host of young Spanish talent lining up to be the next Sergio Garcia or next Jon Rahm - Ballester has been tipped to be the very best of the class but he may have to get through a tough Q School process to prove it.

And with a reduced LIV Golf season next year, the DP World Tour could be the beneficiary and Qualifying School in Spain this year could be a star-studded affair.