Severiano Ballesteros

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Severiano Ballesteros
Seve Ballesteros 2006-07-19.jpg
Personnel
Nation: SpainSpain Spain
Nickname: Seve
Career data
Professional since: 1974
Tournament wins: 91
Major wins : 5
Awards: World Golf Hall of Fame (1999),
Winner of the European Tour Order of Merit (1976–78, 1986, 1988, 1991),
European Tour Player of the Year (1986, 1988, 1991)

Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros (born April 9, 1957 in Pedreña , Cantabria ; † May 7, 2011 ibid) was a Spanish professional golfer . He is one of the "Big Five", a group of world-class golfers who were all born within twelve months, won at least one major and made Europe competitive in the Ryder Cup . The others are Nick Faldo , Bernhard Langer , Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam .

Life

origin

Ballesteros grew up in simple circumstances in the rural north of Spain. His father was a farm laborer who worked in the fields near the golf club. Ballesteros began playing golf at the age of seven, following the example of his older brother Manuel. At first he only had one club, a shortened iron 3, with which he practiced all possible strokes, even from difficult positions. It was only when his talent was recognized that he was given the opportunity to play at the private club near his hometown.

Success as a professional

Ballesteros turned professional at the age of 17 and quickly caused a sensation: in 1976 he and Jack Nicklaus finished second behind Johnny Miller at the British Open . Among his more than 70 professional tournament victories are three Open Championship (1979, 1984 and 1988) and two Masters victories (1980 and 1983). In the Ryder Cup he played eight times and in 1997 (in Valderrama ) he was the non-playing captain of the victorious European team.

He has received numerous awards for his career (Golfer of the Year) , in 1999 he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and in 2000 he was elected European Player of the Century and Deportista Español del Siglo . He has an honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews and a city key from Augusta .

Ballesteros created the Seve Trophy , a match between Great Britain and continental Europe based on the Ryder Cup. He has also designed or redesigned some golf courses , such as the old Plan Bramois course at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club , which was subsequently named after him.

With 50 tournament victories, he holds the record on the PGA European Tour .

resignation

In 2007 he announced his official resignation from the professional tournament scene after years of constant back pain had prevented him from participating regularly.

In October 2008 Ballesteros was diagnosed with a brain tumor during an examination at the La Paz Clinic in Madrid . On June 25, 2009 Ballesteros announced that he had beaten cancer and that everything seemed like a miracle to him. However, in the early morning of May 7, 2011, Ballesteros died of illness in his hometown. He left three children.

Characteristic style of play

Throughout his entire career, long tees with the driver were never his strength. The British Open of 1979 is exemplary. On the narrow course in Royal Lytham, known for its narrow fairways and high rough, he hit the fairway only eight times in the entire four rounds. With his outstanding short game, his creativity and his courage, he made up for this weakness again and again. The aforementioned British Open in 1979 made him famous as the “parking lot champion” at the age of 22. On the third from last hole of the tournament, he moved the tee about 25 meters to the right into the parking lot for the television teams. The stroke from there on the green and the subsequent putt for the birdie enabled his first major victory. Florian Haupt creates a connection between the beginnings of his game in the world :

“Ballesteros, who grew up in the poor circumstances of the Franco dictatorship, learned to play golf on the beach in Cantabria, not on the tended lawn of a noble club - and that's how he played: unconventional, imaginative, as thrilling as no one before him and no one since . "

- Florian Haupt : The world

Honors

The Seve Ballesteros - Santander Airport was named on 16 April 2015 in accordance with it.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ La estrella más brilliant se apaga
  2. ↑ The golf world is in mourning: Ballesteros is dead
  3. ↑ A. Barkow, D. Barret, P. Blais, B. Harig: Best of Golf. Best golf courses - breathtaking moments. Albrecht Verlag, page 8.
  4. ↑ Applause for a hero of the past welt.de
  5. ↑ http://www.eldiariomontanes.es/cantabria/201504/16/parayas-llama-oficialmente-aeropuerto-20150416104406.html
  6. ↑ http://www.eldiariomontanes.es/20140423/local/cantabria-general/psoe-proponen-aeropuerto-parayas-201404231641.html
personal data
SURNAME Ballesteros, Severiano
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ballesteros, Seve (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION spanish golfer
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Pedreña , Spain
DATE OF DEATH May 7, 2011
Place of death Pedreña , Spain