Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a
World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 international tournaments in his career, including five
major championships between 1979 and 1988:
the Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
three times and the
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
twice. He gained attention in the golfing world in 1976, when at the age of 19, he finished second at The Open. He played a leading role in the re-emergence of European golf, helping the European
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
team to five wins both as a player and captain.
Ballesteros won a record 50
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
titles. He won at least one European Tour title for 17 consecutive years between 1976 and 1992. His final victory was at the 1995
Peugeot Spanish Open
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...
. Largely because of back-related injuries, Ballesteros struggled with his form during the late 1990s. Despite this, he continued to be involved in golf, creating the
Seve Trophy
The Seve Trophy was a biennial golf tournament between teams of professional male golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representing Continental Europe. The tournament was played in years when there is no Ryder ...
and running a golf course design business. In 2000, ''
Golf Digest
''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competiti ...
'' magazine ranked Ballesteros as the greatest
Continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
an golfer of all time.
In the 2000s, Ballesteros played sparingly due to continuing back problems and in 2007 he eventually retired from competitive professional golf. In 2008 he was diagnosed with
a malignant brain tumour. Ballesteros was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for the second time at the
BBC Sports Personality Awards in 2009. He was presented with the award at his home in Spain by his compatriot and former Ryder Cup teammate
José María Olazábal
José María Olazábal Manterola (, ; born 5 February 1966) is a Spanish professional golfer from the Basque region who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships, both at The Masters.
...
.
Ballesteros died of brain cancer on 7 May 2011, aged 54.
Career outline
Early life and career
Severiano Ballesteros Sota was born in the village of
Pedreña
Pedreña is a village in the municipality of Marina de Cudeyo, Cantabria, northern Spain. As of 2010, its population was 1,454.
Although located from Santander by road, it lies on a peninsula only about across the bay from Santander, separated ...
,
Cantabria
Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
, Spain, on 9 April 1957, the youngest of five sons
of Baldomero Ballesteros Presmanes (1919–1987), who was a farm labourer, and Carmen Sota Ocejo (1919–2002). One died in childhood, all the others became professional golfers.
He learned the game while playing on the beaches near his home, at the time while he was supposed to be in school, mainly using a
3-iron given to him by his older brother
Manuel when he was eight years old. His maternal uncle
Ramón Sota
Ramón Sota Ocejo (23 April 1938 – 28 August 2012) was a Spanish professional golfer.
Sota was born in Pedreña, Cantabria. He won many professional tournaments around the world including some of the major national opens around Europe that for ...
was Spanish professional champion four times and finished sixth in the
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
in 1965. Ballesteros' older brother Manuel finished in the top 100 on the
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...
every year from 1972 to 1983, and later became Ballesteros' manager. His brothers Vicente and Baldomero, and nephew Raúl are also professional golfers.
Ballesteros turned professional in March 1974 at the age of 16. He burst onto the international scene with a second-place finish in
1976 Open Championship
The 1976 Open Championship was the 105th Open Championship, played 7–10 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Johnny Miller won his only Open championship, six strokes ahead of runners-up Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus ...
at
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the United Kingdom in North West England, located in Southport, Merseyside. It is one of the clubs in the rotation for both the Open Championship and Women's British Open and has hosted the Open Champio ...
. He led by two shots after the third round, but a final round 74 saw him tie with
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...
, six shots behind the winner
Johnny Miller
John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ra ...
. He went on to win the European Tour Order of Merit (money title) that year, a title that he would win the next two years, and six times total, a record at the time (since surpassed by
Colin Montgomerie
Colin Stuart Montgomerie, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scotland, Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour PGA European Tour#Order of Merit winners, Order of Merit titles, including a stre ...
).
Ballesteros won his first Open Championship in 1979 with a closing 70, a round in which he famously hit his tee shot into a car park on the 16th hole yet still made a
birdie
Birdy or Birdie may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Birdie, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Birdie, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
People with the name
* Birdie Blye (1871–1935), American pianist
* Birdy (singer) ...
.
Ballesteros went on to win five
major championships: the
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
in 1980 and 1983, and
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
in 1979, 1984 and 1988.
His 1980 Masters win was the first by a European player, and at the time he was the youngest winner of the tournament, at age 23 (though this record was broken by
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
in 1997, when he was 21 years old). His 1979 win at The Open Championship similarly made him the youngest winner of the tournament in the 20th century, and the first golfer from continental Europe to win a major since
Frenchman
The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France.
The French people, especially th ...
Arnaud Massy
Arnaud George Watson Massy (; 6 July 1877 – 16 April 1950) was one of France's most successful professional golfers, most notable for winning the 1907 Open Championship.
Early life
Massy was born in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. Th ...
won The Open in 1907. Ballesteros won the rain delayed Masters in 1983 by 5 shots. Ballesteros described the putt he holed on the 18th green at
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
to win the 1984 Open Championship as "the happiest moment of my whole sporting life."
On 30 September 1983, Ballesteros joined the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
. In 1984 he played in 15 tournaments, the minimal amount allowed for a golfer with membership. The following season he played in only 9 tournaments. He was subsequently suspended by the PGA Tour for failing to meet his commitment.
In 1988, Ballesteros won his fifth and last major title, The Open Championship at
Royal Lytham & St Annes
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, is one of the courses in the The Open Championship, Open Championship rotation. The Women's British Open has also been played on the course five times: once prior to being ...
. The final round was played on Monday after torrential rain had flooded the course and forced Saturday's play to be abandoned. He described his final round of 65 which beat
Nick Price
Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean retired professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-19 ...
by two shots as "perhaps the best round of my entire career."
For much of the 1980s and 1990s, Ballesteros was a mainstay of the European
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
team. He scored 22½ points in 37 matches against the United States; his partnership with fellow Spaniard
José María Olazábal
José María Olazábal Manterola (, ; born 5 February 1966) is a Spanish professional golfer from the Basque region who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships, both at The Masters.
...
was the most successful in the history of the competition, with 11 wins and two halved matches out of 15 pairs matches.
While Ballesteros was a member of European sides that won the Ryder Cup in 1985, retained the Cup in 1987 and 1989, and regained the Cup in 1995, the pinnacle of his career in the competition came in 1997, when he captained the winning European side at
Valderrama Golf Club
The Real Club Valderrama (; "Royal Valderrama Club") is one of the best known golf clubs in the world. It is located in the resort of Sotogrande, San Roque in the Andalusia region of southern Spain, a few miles from Gibraltar, and has a single 18 ...
in
Sotogrande
Sotogrande is the largest privately owned residential development in Andalusia, Spain. Originally a gated community, it is located in the municipality of San Roque and is composed of a 25-square-kilometre stretch from the Mediterranean Sea 25&nb ...
, Spain. This was the first Ryder Cup ever held in continental Europe.
Ballesteros led the
Official World Golf Ranking
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986.
The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...
for a total of 61 weeks in the period from their inauguration (in April 1986) to September 1989, including being world number one at the end of the 1988 season. He also led
McCormack's World Golf Rankings
The McCormack rankings were unofficial world golf rankings published in Mark McCormack's ''World of Professional Golf Annual'' from 1968 to 1985, and were a forerunner of the current Official World Golf Ranking. Unlike their replacement they were ...
, published in McCormack's "World Of Professional Golf" annuals (from which the official rankings were developed) in 1983, 1984 and 1985. He was ever-present in the end of season world's top ten according to those rankings for fifteen years, from 1977 to 1991 inclusive.
Late career and retirement
In 1999, Ballesteros was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...
. He was instrumental in introducing the
Seve Trophy
The Seve Trophy was a biennial golf tournament between teams of professional male golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representing Continental Europe. The tournament was played in years when there is no Ryder ...
in 2000, a team competition similar to the Ryder Cup pitting a team from Great Britain and Ireland against one from continental Europe. In 2000, Ballesteros was ranked as the 16th greatest golfer of all time by ''
Golf Digest
''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competiti ...
'' magazine; he was the top golfer from the continent of Europe.
Ballesteros had played sparingly since the late 1990s because of back problems, and made his first start in years at the 2005
Madrid Open There are three sporting events known as the Madrid Open:
* Madrid Open (golf)
The Madrid Open was an annual men's golf tournament which was held in and around the Spanish capital Madrid from 1968 to 2007, apart from a seven-year gap from 1994 to ...
. He stated a desire to play more tournaments in the 2006 season. He entered the 2006 Open Championship, having played just one other event on the European Tour, The Open de France Alstom, where he missed the cut. He ran a thriving golf course design business and had been eligible for the
Champions Tour
PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour.
History and format
The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...
and
European Seniors Tour
The Legends Tour is the current branding of the European Senior Tour, a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was branded as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based insur ...
upon turning 50 in 2007. Ballesteros had been the captain of the European team in the
Royal Trophy
The Royal Trophy was a men's professional team golf tournament which was played between 2006 and 2013. The competing teams represented Europe and Asia. Eight man teams played a series of 16 matches involving foursomes, four-ball and singles for the ...
since its inception in 2006. He was announced again as non-playing captain of the 2008 European team to defend the Royal Trophy against the Asian team at the
Amata Spring Country Club The Amata Spring Country Club is a private golf and country club near to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. It hosts two high-profile golf tournaments which were introduced in 2006. The Royal Trophy is a team competition between Europe and Asia, and ...
in Bangkok.
After further recurrences of his back problems, which contributed to his finishing tied for last in his only
Champions Tour
PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour.
History and format
The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...
start, Ballesteros announced his retirement from golf on 16 July 2007, bringing down the curtain on an illustrious career. During the news conference, he also addressed reports in European media that he had attempted suicide, saying that those reports "were not even close to reality". He had been briefly hospitalized when he became concerned about the condition of his heart, but was released the same day after being given a clean bill of health.
Ballesteros was a member of the
Laureus
The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. It was established in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation foundin ...
World Sports Academy. He had become involved in European golf course design in his later years, most famously altering the 17th hole at Valderrama before the 1997 Ryder Cup.
Personal life
Ballesteros was married to Carmen Botín O'Shea, daughter of
Emilio Botín
Emilio Botín-Sanz de Sautuola García de los Ríos, ''iure uxoris'' Marquess of O'Shea (1 October 1934 – 10 September 2014) was a Spanish banker.[Marina de Cudeyo
Marina de Cudeyo is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. According to the 2007 census, the city has a population of 5,000 inhabitants. Its capital is Rubayo.
Towns
* Rubayo (capital)
*Pedreña
* Pontejos
*Gajan ...]
in Cantabria. The couple had three children, Javier, Miguel and Carmen. The marriage was said to have run into trouble when Ballesteros could not accept the fact his career was on the wane.
Brain tumour and death
At
Madrid-Barajas Airport on 6 October 2008, Ballesteros lost consciousness and was admitted to hospital. Six days later, he confirmed that he had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. On 15 October, Spanish news agency
EFE
Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major multimedia news agency in Spanish language and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was created in 1939 ...
reported that he had undergone a 12-hour operation to
resect the tumour, the first of four operations he would have. A hospital spokeswoman stated that surgeons had removed a sizable part of the tumour. On 23 October, it was confirmed publicly that the tumour was classified as a cancerous
oligoastrocytoma
Oligoastrocytomas are a subset of brain tumors that present with an appearance of mixed glial cell origin, astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma. However, the term "Oligoastrocytoma" is now considered obsolete by the National Comprehensive Cancer Ne ...
, and after a rapid deterioration of his health, further surgery took place on 24 October to stabilize him and try to remove the remainder of the tumour. On 24 October, it was confirmed that the tumour had been removed after a 6½-hour operation. On 3 November, it was confirmed by the hospital that he was starting his rehabilitation in the intensive care unit, and was breathing steadily. On 18 November, he was moved out of the intensive care unit and changed wards at Madrid's La Paz Hospital to continue his rehabilitation.
Ballesteros was discharged from hospital on 9 December 2008. He then returned home to northern Spain and underwent
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
treatment as an outpatient. In January 2009, a message on his website said he had responded well to one course of chemotherapy.
I am very motivated and working hard although I am aware that my recovery will be slow and therefore I need to be patient and have a lot of determination.
For these reasons I am following strictly all the instructions that the doctors are giving me.
Besides, the physiotherapists are doing a great job on me and I feel better every day.
Ballesteros completed a second course of chemotherapy at Madrid's La Paz Hospital in February 2009. Speaking through his website he said, "The results of the check-up were really positive, better even than the first ones." He finished a third round of treatment in March 2009, and completed his fourth and final course of chemotherapy a month later.
In June 2009, Ballesteros made his first public appearance after treatment for the brain tumour. He said it was a "miracle" to be alive and he thanked everyone who had been involved in his care and welfare.
At his first public appearance, Ballesteros announced the launch of the "Seve Ballesteros Foundation". This foundation was set up to help those with cancer fight it. The foundation aims to research cancer, especially brain tumours, but it will also help financially challenged young golfers, so they might be as successful as he.
On 6 May 2011, Ballesteros' family released a statement announcing that his neurological condition had "suffered a severe deterioration". He died within hours of the announcement in the early hours of 7 May 2011 at the age of 54; his older brother Baldomero confirmed the precise time of death at 2:10 am
CEST CEST or cest may refer to:
* Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone
* Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory
* Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...
.
Tributes
The
Open de España
The Acciona Open de España (formerly the Spanish Open) is the national open golf championship of Spain. It was founded in 1912 and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the inception of the Tour in 1972. Except for a five-year peri ...
was underway when Ballesteros died. The
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
marked his death with a moment of silence during the third round at the
Real Club de Golf El Prat
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...
in Barcelona.
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
described Ballesteros as "one of the most talented and exciting golfers to ever play the game".
Lee Westwood
Lee John Westwood (born 24 April 1973) is an English professional golfer. Noted for his consistency, Westwood is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on five continents – Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania – including ...
said of Ballesteros, "Seve made European golf what it is today".
Phil Mickelson
Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters To ...
, who won the
2010 Masters Tournament
The 2010 Masters Tournament was the 74th Masters Tournament, played April 8–11 at Augusta National Golf Club.
Phil Mickelson won his third Masters and fourth major title, three shots ahead of runner-up Lee Westwood.
Field
The Masters has th ...
, selected a Spanish-themed menu for the 2011 Masters Champions Dinner in honour of Ballesteros, who was too ill to attend. Entrees included seafood paella and manchego-topped filet mignon, with a salad course, asparagus, and tortillas as sides, plus ice cream-topped apple empanada for dessert.
At the
Madrid Open There are three sporting events known as the Madrid Open:
* Madrid Open (golf)
The Madrid Open was an annual men's golf tournament which was held in and around the Spanish capital Madrid from 1968 to 2007, apart from a seven-year gap from 1994 to ...
tennis tournament, a moment of silence was held prior to the semi-final match between
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis ...
and
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...
. Nadal, a close friend of Ballesteros, was seen wiping away tears as he watched the video screen.
On 8 May, at 15:08 EST, the three major U.S. men's tours stopped play and held a moment of silence.
On 10 May, the ''
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' said of him: "He spoke many other languages too: the dialects of honour, of dignity, of sportsmanship, of decency, of fair play, of loyalty, of integrity, and in the end, of dauntless, unforgettable, astonishing courage. Quite simply, there has never been a finer ambassador for either his sport or his country."
A funeral service was held for Ballesteros, previously cremated, at the parish church of San Pedro, in his home village of
Pedreña
Pedreña is a village in the municipality of Marina de Cudeyo, Cantabria, northern Spain. As of 2010, its population was 1,454.
Although located from Santander by road, it lies on a peninsula only about across the bay from Santander, separated ...
. Due to the number of those in attendance, several big screens were installed outside the 400-capacity church. His ashes were then to be scattered at his home estate.
The day of Ballesteros' death, the Spanish flag was raised at the
World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...
in Florida, the United States flag was lowered to half-staff, a photo of Ballesteros was hung in the box office, and a black ribbon was hung on the outside of his locker.
The next weekend, at nearby
TPC Sawgrass
The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass (TPC at Sawgrass) is a golf course in the southeastern United States, located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville. Opened in the autumn of 1980, it was the first of several Tournament ...
, the Spanish flag was flown at half-staff during the
2011 Players Championship at the request of defending champion
Tim Clark, in place of his native
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n flag.
Clark went on to state, "Seve was a hero of mine growing up...In losing
imlast week, I think the whole golfing world is saddened by that. To have his flag up here is just a small little tribute to him. Obviously he deserves a whole lot more."
Legacy
The
2012 Ryder Cup
The 39th Ryder Cup was held September 28–30, 2012, in the United States at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. This was the first time that the Ryder Cup was held in Illinois. Europe went into the comp ...
, the first to be played after Ballesteros' death, saw the European team wearing navy blue and white garments on the final day in memory of Seve, who traditionally wore navy blue on the last day of a tournament. Additionally, the team's kit also bore the silhouette of Ballesteros after his win at the
1984 Open Championship
The 1984 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 113th Open Championship, held from 19 to 22 July at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. Seve Ballesteros won his second Open Championship and fourth major title, two ...
. The Irish golfer
Pádraig Harrington
Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three major championships: The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008 and the PGA Champ ...
,
Nick Faldo
Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. A top player of his era, renowned for his dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for ...
, and other European players proposed that the PGA replace the image of
Harry Vardon
Henry William Vardon (9 May 1870 – 20 March 1937) was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the ...
on the
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
's official logo with one of Ballesteros (a silhouette of the iconic image of Ballesteros' "salute", following his win at the 1984 Open Championship).
The airport of Ballesteros' homeland,
Cantabria
Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
, has been named after him since the Spanish Government approved the change on 16 April 2015. The name was changed from
Santander Airport
Santander Airport , officially Seve Ballesteros–Santander Airport, is an international airport near Santander, Spain and the only airport in Cantabria. In 2018 the airport handled 1,103,353 passengers and 11,258 flights, far more than in 1995 ...
to Seve Ballesteros – Santander Airport. This change was made after the regional parliament unanimously approved a petition in May 2014. The motivation behind this popular initiative was to honor Ballesteros for being one of the most universal of Cantabrians and an example in sports and life.
In 2017, the European Tour Players' Player of the Year award was renamed in his honour. The first recipient of
The Seve Ballesteros Award was
Henrik Stenson
Henrik Olof Stenson (; born 5 April 1976) is a Swedish professional golfer.
He is the first male Swedish and first male Nordic major champion, having won the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon with a major championship record score of 264. ...
.
Professional wins (90)
PGA Tour wins (9)
*''Note: The 1985 USF&G Classic was reduced to 54 holes due to inclement weather.''
PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)
European Tour wins (50)
*Ballesteros and Langer agreed to share the 1986 Trophée Lancôme after failing light caused play to halt after four holes of a playoff.
European Tour playoff record (8–4–1)
Japan Golf Tour wins (6)
Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–1)
PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)
Safari Circuit wins (1)
Other wins (27)
*1974 Spanish National Championship for under 25s, Open de Vizcaya
*1975 Spanish National Championship for under 25s
*1976 Memorial Donald Swaelens, Cataluña Championship, Tenerife Championship,
Lancome Trophy,
World Cup of Golf
The World Cup of Golf is a men's golf tournament contested by teams of two representing their country. Only one team is allowed from each country. The players are selected on the basis of the Official World Golf Ranking, although not all of the fir ...
(with
Manuel Piñero
Manuel Piñero Sánchez (born 1 September 1952) is a Spanish professional golfer.
Piñero was born in Badajoz. He turned professional in 1968 and established himself on the European Tour in the early 1970s. He won nine titles on the Tour, the mo ...
)
*1977
Braun International Golf
Braun is a common surname, originating from the German word for the color brown. The name is the 22nd most common family name in Germany. Many German emigrants to the United States also changed their name to ''Brown'' (''see Brown (surname)'').
...
(Germany),
World Cup of Golf
The World Cup of Golf is a men's golf tournament contested by teams of two representing their country. Only one team is allowed from each country. The players are selected on the basis of the Official World Golf Ranking, although not all of the fir ...
(with
Antonio Garrido)
*1978 Spanish National Championship for under 25s
*1979 Open el Prat
*1981
Suntory World Match Play Championship
*1982 Masters de San Remo (Italy),
Suntory World Match Play Championship
*1983
Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa)
*1984
Suntory World Match Play Championship,
Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa)
*1985 Spanish Professional Closed Championship,
Suntory World Match Play Championship, Campeonato de España-Codorniu
*1987 Spanish Professional Closed Championship
*1988 APG Larios
*1991
Toyota World Match Play Championship
*1992 Copa Quinto Centenario por Equipos
*1995
Tournoi Perrier de Paris (with
José María Olazábal
José María Olazábal Manterola (, ; born 5 February 1966) is a Spanish professional golfer from the Basque region who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships, both at The Masters.
...
)
Major championships
Wins (5)
Results timeline
CUT = missed the half-way cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" = tied
Summary
*Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1984 U.S. Open – 1986 Open Championship)
*Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1984 Open Championship – 1985 U.S. Open)
Results in The Players Championship
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances
*
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
(representing Europe):
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
,
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
,
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
(winners),
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
(winners),
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
(tied, cup retained),
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
,
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
,
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
(winners),
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
(winners – non-playing captain)
*
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
(representing Spain):
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
,
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
(winners),
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
(winners),
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
*
Double Diamond International
The Double Diamond International was a team golf tournament that was played from 1971 to 1977. It was hosted in England for the first three years, and then in Scotland.
From 1974 and 1977 the event was preceded by an individual 36-hole stroke pla ...
: 1975 (Rest of the World), 1976 (Continental Europe), 1977 (Continental Europe)
*
Hennessy Cognac Cup
The Hennessy Cognac Cup was a biennial team golf tournament contested from 1976 to 1984. The contests in 1976, 1978 and 1980 were between teams of professional male golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representi ...
(representing the Continent of Europe): 1976, 1978, 1980
*
Dunhill Cup
The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championshi ...
(representing Spain):
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
,
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
,
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
*
Seve Trophy
The Seve Trophy was a biennial golf tournament between teams of professional male golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representing Continental Europe. The tournament was played in years when there is no Ryder ...
(representing continental Europe):
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
(winners - playing captain),
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
(playing captain),
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
(playing captain),
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
(non-playing captain),
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
(non-playing captain)
*
Royal Trophy
The Royal Trophy was a men's professional team golf tournament which was played between 2006 and 2013. The competing teams represented Europe and Asia. Eight man teams played a series of 16 matches involving foursomes, four-ball and singles for the ...
(representing Europe): 2006 (winners – non-playing captain),
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
(winners – non-playing captain)
Equipment
Ballesteros used
Ping
Ping may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Ping, a domesticated Chinese duck in the illustrated book '' The Story about Ping'', first published in 1933
* Ping, a minor character in ''Seinfeld'', an NBC sitcom
* Ping, a c ...
putters consistently throughout his career and has more golden clubs for wins in the Ping Gold Putter Vault than any other player.
See also
*
List of golfers with most European Tour wins
*
List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
This is a list of the fifty golfers who have won the most official (or later deemed historically significant) money events on the PGA Tour. It is led by Sam Snead and Tiger Woods with 82 each.
Many players won important events early in the 20th ce ...
*
List of men's major championships winning golfers
The men's major golf championships, also known simply as the majors, are the four most prestigious events in professional golf. The competitions are the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship, contested a ...
*
List of golf course architects
This is a list of golf course architects and golf course design firms. Golf course architecture is a specific discipline of landscape design, with many architects represented in the United States by the American Society of Golf Course Architects. S ...
Notes and references
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
Seve Ballesterosprofile at Golf Legends
Official Seve Ballesteros Foundation homepageOfficial home page for the Seve Ballesteros Golf Academy''The Economist'' Obituary''The Guardian'' Obituary*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballesteros, Seve
Spanish male golfers
Golfers from Cantabria
European Tour golfers
Ryder Cup competitors for Europe
Winners of men's major golf championships
World Golf Hall of Fame inductees
Golf course architects
BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners
BBC Sports Personality Lifetime Achievement Award recipients
People from Trasmiera
Deaths from brain cancer in Spain
1957 births
2011 deaths