Seve Ballesteros dies at 54

Thursday, May 12, 2011

LAST Saturday was a sad day in golf. Many people who know the goings-on in the golf world are mourning the death of golf legend, Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros. He was undoubtedly the most renowned European golfer and one of the most celebrated international golf athletes. He has been compared to the likes of the great Arnold Palmer and Gary Player for his passion and charisma for the sport. He lost to what he called "the fight of his life"--he died of brain cancer at past two in the morning, Saturday, at the age of 54.

"54" is quite young if you take a look at how far along other golfers can go. He officially retired from golf in 2004 due to back problems, which was causing problems in his swing.

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Seve grew up with golf. His father was a greenskeeper. What is a greenskeeper? Wikipedia says, a greenskeeper is "a professional who maintains a golf course or country club's grounds. This includes all cultural practices along with setting of pins and marking of hazards for regular club play along with tournament play..."

Seve fell in love with the sport at the age of seven, playing with his number 3 club at the beach, which he borrowed from his brother. He turned pro at the age of 16, he was runner-up to Johnny Miller at the British Open. This immediately drew attention to him, the young, likable and charismatic Spaniard was more endearing to fans than the less sociable Miller. Plus, he was much cuter.

He came from humble beginnings but married Carmen, the daughter of the Botin family who owns the Bank of Santander in Spain. There was "talk" at first, of course. The parents were against it then. In fact, their first date was afternoon tea at a prim Surrey hotel. She had a chaperone. Years after, they divorced.

One of the most memorable moments would be his win in Augusta National at the age of 23. His victory in the 1980 Masters was historic. He was the first European to ever wear the green jacket and the youngest to ever win, a record which he held until 1997 when he was surpassed by Tiger Woods.

He inspired so many golfers, to mention a few, Jose Maria Olazabal, whom he played alongside with at the Ryder Cup. With him as a team captain, they dominated the Ryder Cup for years since 1985. Speaking of the Ryder cup, one of its best players in the past decade is undoubtedly Sergio Garcia who considers Seve his idol. In 2008, he dedicated his Masters victory to Ballesteros who was then in the hospital going through brain surgery. This is just a glimpse of how far his influence extends. If you watched the semi match of Rafael Nadal against Roger Federer, Nadal wore a black ribbon to pay tribute to his friend, Seve. Nadal won, by the way, yes!

Seve was not known for his straight and accurate shots. He was poor at that. He was known for making remarkable saves--getting the ball out of the rough or weird corners--even a parking lot! He was known for inventing impossible shots like kneeling down in front of the ball. No one had seen the likes of that. Not until Seve Ballesteros.

As his career came to a close and his health had begun to decline, he dedicated his energy in building a foundation in his name to raise funds for cancer research and help out underprivileged golfers. He also built a company that designs golf courses. More than thirty courses all over the world bear the touch of Ballesteros, including one here in the Philippines--the Hacienda Golf & Country Club Resort at Clark.

I don't feel like sharing a joke today. I am also sad about his death. Instead, I will share with you a "did you know that." Did you know that the only food that does not spoil is honey. In the past, honey was used as a center for golf balls. As a matter of fact, as early as 1935, they sold honey-cored golf balls. But most golf balls today have solid, high-energy cores of rubber, resin, or acrylate polymer (plastic).

Seve Ballesteros' legacy is staggering. We will surely miss one of golf's greatest men.