Rarely in professional sports do we see a person that impacts a sports culture as much as Seve Ballesteros did with Golf form when he arrived in 1976. I have never seen as many stoic men cry in interviews as I did today with his death.
This was a man that made an incredible impact during his 54 years on earth.
At 19, Seve won the Order of Merit on the European Tour and finished 2nd at the British Open that year.
He had a different swing each week or hole, he was long and wild. But the great Spaniard always seemed to make birdies and pars from anywhere, especially when it mattered
He could literally hit any shot and get up and down from anywhere, it was crazy.
For the record, I could not stand him when he was great!
Seve was ranked no 1 in the world winning majors instead of Jack and the other Americans. He would just tease people everyone by hitting it in 30 yards off line, then saving his rounds with his miracle shots. But what really bothered me was that with his sturdy 6 foot 2 frame and charisma, he would intimidate fellow golfers with his emotional outburst.
On the positive side of his greatness and unlike Tigger Woods, Seve did not grow up with all of the best equipment and opportunities to fulfill his talent. Thegolf legend says that Seve learned to play on a Spanish Beach by hitting one club, an old 3 iron that his brother had given him. He wasn't allowed to play the course so he learned on the beach.
Seve ended his career with 101 worldwide wins. 87 on the main tours.
A summary of Seve's thought on golf. Last year after watching Phil win last years Masters by hitting that 6 iron from the straw between trees, Seve named his new puppy Phil.
It is a shame that the young people did not see the crazy stuff Seve did.
J
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1 comment:
This was a fine tribute to the great Seve; well done. Typical of me I pulled for him simply because of the talent. That story about him having the greens mowed at the Ryder Cup is classic.
S
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