NEWS THAT a stricken Seve Ballesteros lies gravely ill in a Madrid hospital will surely have touched the hearts of true golf fans everywhere. The most charismatic, exciting and historically significant European player of the last half-century, the 51 year-old Spaniard was the standard bearer for a generation that brought an end to a long era of American domination at the highest level of the game.
A winner of five major championships, a record 50 European Tour events and as many as 87 times around the world between 1976 and 1995, Ballesteros at times touched heights of aesthetic achievement attained by only those blessed with true genius. Fo
r the wee boy who grew up hitting pebbles with a stick on the beach near his home village of Pedrena on Spain's northern coast golf was, however, never really just about the numbers.
Where his direct contemporary and great rival, Nick Faldo, was a mere artisan obsessed with technique and consistency between tee and green, Seve was an artist, a "feel" player for whom the creation of truly memorable shots was routine. Where Faldo provoked mere admiration, Seve was loved and revered.
By way of example, Ballesteros hit the best shot Jack Nicklaus ever saw, a towering 230-yard 3-wood from under the lip of a fairway bunker on the 18th hole at PGA National in Florida during the 1983 Ryder Cup. Think about that for a second. The greatest golfer of all time, someone who must have hit and witnessed any number of extraordinary strokes in his life, unhesitatingly singles out one made by Seve.
Nicklaus though is hardly alone in his admiration for Ballesteros' virtuosity. Such has been his lasting impact on both spectators and fellow competitors since he first emerged on to the world stage with a startling second-place finish at the 1976 Open Championship, almost everyone in golf has a favourite "Seve moment".
When, years ago, former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy made his first visit to Royal Lytham as a young amateur, the Australian made straight for a small swale just left of the 18th green. It was from there, in 1988, that Seve conjured a magical chip shot, one that gently kissed the edge of the cup before stopping mere inches away, en route to his third and last Open victory.
"I just had to see the spot where he had been," remembers Ogilvy. "I had played that shot in my mind so often."
There are so many other unforgettable images. As a callow 19-year old at Royal Birkdale in '76 Seve conjured an imaginative running chip through the narrow gap between two greenside bunkers to set up a last-hole birdie. Watching at home, no less a shot-maker than Lee Trevino jumped from his armchair in admiration at such audacity and touch.
Then there was St Andrews in 1984. Ten feet from the cup in two on the 72nd hole and with his only remaining rival for the Old Claret Jug, Tom Watson, on the road right of the penultimate green, Ballesteros made his putt for what he knew was virtually a clinching birdie. But it wasn't just that the ball went into the hole, it was how it went into the hole and the way Seve reacted that sticks in the memory.
Two feet from the cup, the ball was missing on the topside. Even one foot short it seemed that the great man had allowed too much right-to-left break. Not so. As if by magic – or guided by a higher power – the ball fell, at the very last moment, into the hole.
As it did so, every single member of the huge crowd spontaneously rose as Ballesteros broke into a sustained and unforgettable celebration, one that defines his attitude to both the game he played and the people he sought to entertain. Again and again he punched the air, his expressive face alive with the sheer excitement of the moment, the connection between player and spectator almost palpable.
Perhaps just as endearing to his adoring audience were the wild slices and hooks off the tee, shots that sent Ballesteros off into trees, bushes and rough the world over. None were so damaging, however, as the 4-iron Seve duffed into the pond fronting the 15th green at Augusta National during the 1986 Masters. Had he found that distant putting surface, the then 29-year old would surely have won a third green jacket.
Still, for all his heroics in golf's four most important events, for many Ballesteros' play in the Ryder Cup provided even more distinguished moments. On and off the course, his air of supreme confidence more than anything epitomised the previously unimaginable sense that the mighty Americans could and would be beaten.
"Seve was unbelievable," says Sam Torrance, eight times a Ryder Cup player. "He was always there when you needed a boost, always there when you needed help with your game. He always seemed to put the team first, which was remarkable, as he was the world's No.1 player. Of course, he didn't much like the Americans. He really wanted to win."
Hopefully that legendary desire to succeed, along with the good wishes of millions of golf fans around the globe, will be enough to sustain Ballesteros as he awaits the results of tests that may or may not confirm the presence of a brain tumour. Los mejores deseos para el futuro, amigo.
MADRID MASTERSCHARL Schwartzel held off the strong challenge of Ricardo Gonzalez to post a five-under-par 66 and take a one-shot lead into the final day at the Madrid Masters. The South African streaked ahead early on but five groups ahead, Gonzalez fired six birdies and an eagle for a nine-under-par 62 which took him to 13 under for the tournament.
Schwartzel fended him off by holing a tricky putt for par on the 17th before sinking a 10-footer for a birdie at the last to snatch a one-shot advantage on 14 under. Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal equalled Gonzalez's score to move to third place on 11 under. Englishman Paul Waring, Andrew Tampion and Carlos Del Moral are 10 under.
Schwartzel said: "I didn't feel strong this morning but I felt I ground it out nicely."
The full article contains 1063 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
