It has been a tough week in the world of sports, with greater emphasis being placed upon point shaving and dog fighting than the opening of NFL training camps, the resurgence of the Yankees and the Cubs, and Padraig Harrington”s overtime victory in the British Open. Lost in the shuffle was the unexpected retirement from competitive golf of five-time major champion Seve Ballesteros of Spain.
Ballesteros burst onto the golfing scene during the 1975 British Open at Carnoustie. He was 18 years old at the time and had turned professional when he was but 16 years of age. He picked up a 3-iron as a 3-year-old and began bashing balls on the beach. A member of a golfing family – Seve”s older brothers all played the game at a high level, and his uncle, Ramon Sota, finished sixth in the 1965 Masters – Ballesteros was a gifted child prodigy.
In 1976, he tied for second at the British Open alongside Jack Nicklaus, losing out to Johnny Miller. He won the Dutch Open later that year, the first of his 49 victories on the European Tour. He also won nine times on the American PGA Tour and accumulated 72 victories worldwide.
In 1979, Ballesteros won the first of his five major titles, the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. His victory over Nicklaus and Ben Crenshaw featured dramatic moments such as his final-round tee shot on the 16th hole that strayed some 60 yards offline into a parking lot. Luckily, the car park was in bounds and he went on to win by three shots.
One year later, Ballesteros showed a brilliant putting touch and a creative short game as he won the ”80 Masters by four shots. He repeated the feat by the same margin in 1983 at the Masters. In 1984, Ballesteros gunned down the top golfer of the era, Tom Watson, to win a second British Open title, this time as the birthplace of golf, St. Andrews. In 1988, the British Open returned to Lytham and Seve outlasted Nick Price in an epic battle to win his fifth and final major.
The best call I can make on Seve Ballesteros is from the perspective of European golf. He was their version of Arnold Palmer. He had star power and magnetism. Sometimes he hit the ball sideways and was able to extract himself from the most difficult of situations, and he was committed to the growth of the European PGA Tour. In fact, his decision to try to build his home tour to a level comparable to the one in America ran him afoul of then PGA commissioner Deane Beman, who restricted Seve”s access to U.S. tour events in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Ballesteros also played a major role in the resurgence of the biennial Ryder Cup matches. He first played in the Ryder Cup in 1979 and led the Euros to victory in 1985, the first time they had done so since 1957. He captained the team to its 1997 victory at Valderamma and posted an impressive career mark of 11-2-2 when paired up with his fellow countryman, Jose Maria Olazabal. Simply put, he was the face of European golf.
Never a classic ballstriker, Ballesteros lost his swing in the early 1990s. Always a natural player who relied upon his short game, Seve sought advice from numerous swing gurus, including close friend and fellow tour player, Mac O”Grady. The result was that he seemed more and more lost on the golf course. He had problems with his back, went through a tough divorce, suffered from depression, and when all was said and done, he plummeted decidedly from the game”s greatest heights. His last win was in 1995 at the Peugot Spanish Open when he was 39 years old.
Ballesteros turned 50 this past April and he made a shortlived attempt to play on the U.S. Senior PGA Tour. He entered one event, came in last place, and put the clubs away for a few months before deciding to walk away from the game last week. Maybe it”ll be a Sugar Ray Leonard type retirement, but something tells me that this is a serious gesture.
Seve is the forerunner of a generation of European golfers who turned professional in their mid-teens. His peer group included Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal, all major championship titlists. These six golfers made the European Tour a valid sports entity. Because of their early start in professional golf, all of them may fall victim to burnout and lack of interest in the negative aspects of the game, namely the pitfalls of travel and the loss of quality time with one”s family.
Nonetheless, Seve Balles-teros was a true golfing pioneer and is 100-percent responsible for the growth of worldwide golf as well as the rebirth of the importance of the Ryder Cup. In a world of cookie-cutter professionals who swing the same, dress the same, talk to the same sports psychologists and make a career out of second -place finishes, Ballesteros and his spirit will be sorely missed.
Local action heats up
Speaking of local tours, Lake County will be a very active place for golf during the next few weeks. The fourth annual Hidden Valley Lake Amateur, an NCGA points tournament, will be held the weekend of Aug. 4-5. A 36-hole stroke play tourney, the HVL Amateur has flights for scratch, senior and net golfers. Call the Hidden Valley Lake pro shop at 987-3035 for more information.
The county”s two junior golf tournaments are scheduled for the following week. The Buckingham Summer Junior will be contested on Aug. 7. The following day, Aug. 8, the Lake County Junior takes place at Adams Springs. Both junior tournaments are open to boys and girls who range in age from 10-17. Call 279-4863 for information regarding the Buckingham Junior. Call 928-9992 regarding the Lake County Junior.
