Arizona State’s Jose Luis Ballester Barrio finishes T17 at Mexico Open, moves within five points of No. 1 in PGA TOUR University Ranking
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Written by Staff
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Jose Luis Ballester Barrio moved to No. 2 in the PGA TOUR University Ranking after a T17 finish at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld in Vallarta, Mexico.
In his third career PGA TOUR start, Ballester recorded his first made cut and top-25 to regain control of the No. 2 spot in the ranking. With his finish in Mexico, Ballester moves within five points of North Carolina’s David Ford at No. 1 spot.
Florida’s Ian Gilligan (No. 3), Auburn’s Brendan Valdes (No. 4) and Arizona State’s Preston Summerhays (No. 5) round out the top five.
Ballester was not the only player to move up the ranking after a strong week at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld. San Diego State’s Justin Hastings moved up four spots in the ranking to No. 11 with his first made cut on TOUR, which he converted into a T13 finish. Hastings earned an exemption for the event with his victory at the 2025 Latin America Amateur Championship, which also earned him an invitation into the 2025 Masters Tournament and exemptions for the 2025 U.S. Open and The Open Championship.
Justin Hastings' interview after Round 3 of the Mexico Open
While Ballester and Hastings made multi-spot jumps in the ranking after strong performances on TOUR, Texas Tech’s Charles DeLong and North Carolina State’s Nicholas Mathews moved up multiple spots after strong showings at their respective collegiate events. DeLong was the biggest mover this week, jumping from No. 31 to No. 23 after a T4 finish at The Prestige at PGA West, while Mathews jumped three spots to No. 17 after a T6 finish at the Watersound Invitational.
In addition to the chase for the No. 1 spot, Florida State’s Luke Clanton is in the field at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Clanton currently sits at 19 PGA TOUR University Accelerated points and can secure his 20th point with a made cut this week.
If Clanton makes the cut, he would join Gordon Sargent as the only other player to earn his TOUR card through PGA TOUR University Accelerated.
PGA TOUR University Ranking
Week 08/2025
| Rank | Change | Player | University | Points average | Events |
| 1 | - | David Ford | North Carolina | 1089.0823 | 21 |
| 2 | +2 | Jose Luis Ballester Barrio | Arizona State | 1084.0938 | 18 |
| 3 | -1 | Ian Gilligan | Florida | 1062.2022 | 18 |
| 4 | -1 | Brendan Valdes | Auburn | 1060.8847 | 19 |
| 5 | - | Preston Summerhays | Arizona State | 1056.99 | 21 |
| 6 | - | Jackson Van Paris | Vanderbilt | 1007.8817 | 17 |
| 7 | - | Jackson Buchanan | Illinois | 998.6638 | 21 |
| 8 | - | Omar Morales | UCLA | 971.2881 | 22 |
| 9 | +1 | Pablo Ereno Perez | UCLA | 952.5794 | 19 |
| 10 | -1 | Sebastian Moss | Louisville | 949.1527 | 18 |
| 11 | +4 | Justin Hastings | San Diego State | 921.961 | 19 |
| 12 | -1 | Algot Kleen | LSU | 919.6842 | 19 |
| 13 | -1 | Phichaksn Maichon | Texas A&M | 907.858 | 21 |
| 14 | - | Andrew Goodman | Oklahoma | 899.4044 | 18 |
| 15 | -2 | Calum Scott | Texas Tech | 891.7773 | 19 |
| 16 | - | Enrique Dimayuga | SMU | 865.713 | 13 |
| 17 | +3 | Nicholas Mathews | NC State | 845.0164 | 17 |
| 18 | - | Jake Peacock | South Florida | 841.80 | 16 |
| 19 | - | Gray Albright | Florida State | 830.6568 | 16 |
| 20 | -3 | Maxwell Ford | North Carolina | 827.7744 | 18 |
| 21 | - | Carson Bacha | Auburn | 812.7906 | 16 |
| 22 | - | Deven Patel | Virginia | 802.7017 | 17 |
| 23 | +8 | Charles DeLong | Texas Tech | 795.2341 | 12 |
| 24 | -1 | Kye Meeks | Mississippi | 792.1053 | 13 |
| 25 | -1 | Stephen Campbell Jr. | Oklahoma | 786.5646 | 13 |