Famous sportswriter Dan Jenkins once said that Seve (Ballesteros) was the best thing to come out of Spain since a painting of Picasso that made sense. And it’s safe to say that on the 7th of May 2011, the world lost one of the greatest exponents of the game of golf as he was finally vanquished after a long drawn battle with cancer. A born-winner, Ballesteros collected 5 Majors in his long and distinguished career that began way back in 1974 when he was only a 16 year old.

The Spaniard belonged to dynasty of professional golfers and was the blue eyed boy of European golf for almost two decades. With a god-gifted short game and a rather dubious drive, Ballesteros won many hearts and plaudits after finishing 2nd in the Open Championship at the tender age of 19. He has been an inspiration for athletes in and around Europe ever since and continued to give his all for the game through his many foundations and organisations.

Born in a Cantabria in Spain on the 9th of April in 1957, Seve’s destiny as a pro-golfer was more as less settled when his brother handed him a 3 iron to practice with at a beach near his home. After turning pro in 1974 the talented Spaniard earned his stripes by making it to the European Tour Order of Merit two years later thanks largely to his runners-up finish at the Open Championship tied with legend Jack Nicklaus. He went on from strength to strength after that astonishing display winning the tournament in 1979 and becoming the first European player to wear the ‘Green Jacket’ after winning the Masters a year later. By 1988, Ballestores had won 3 Open Championships and 2 Masters Titles. He was ranked no.1 for 61 weeks from 1986 to 1989, reaching the pinnacle of his game.

Ballesteros’ Ryder Cup record is one that generates envy to this day. The Spaniard won 5 tournaments as player and Captain and led the Europe Team to victory in 1998 as Captain in his home country. He had scored 22.5 points in 37 matches against the United States, thus displaying his dexterity in the match play format, and along with compatriot Jose Maria Olazabal, had the most successful partnership in the tournament's history with 11 wins of 15 paired matches.

He helped introduce the Seve Trophy in 2000 which is a team tournament reminiscent to the Ryder Cup which pits teams in continental Europe against a team from Great Britain and Ireland. Seve was a true legend of the game who was versatile and played to his strengths in any given format to surge towards victory. Four time Ryder Cup Champion Howard Clark said about Seve’s hunger for the game – “The only place Seve Ballesteros turns up for nothing is at his mum's for breakfast.”

He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999 and a year later was named the 16th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest. He began a successful golf design business at the twilight of his career and was responsible for altering the 17th hole at Valderrama prior to Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph in Spain in 1997. The legend’s battle with cancer began in 2008 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. With continuous chemotherapy he was able to live the last years of his life doing good for the world and the golf community. He setup the Seve Ballesteros Foundation which was responsible for Cancer research as well as helping financially challenged young golfers.

Ballesteros will be remembered as a legend on the greens, a reticent man with an enigmatic demeanour that inspired sportsmen across the globe. He was one of the biggest ambassadors of the sport in Europe, helping it reach the kind of pedestal and popularity the game enjoys in the continent today. His death is a loss to a generation of golfers who would have ogled at the sexiness of his short game. But being fully aware of the man’s passion towards the clubs, the tees and the greens, one can almost hear him say from the heavens “you miss, you miss, you make”.

Article from TheSportsCampus