Severiano Ballesteros

 

Severiano Ballesteros

Personal Information
Birth	April 9 1957 (1957--) (age 50) Pedreña, Spain
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Nationality	Spain
Spouse	Carmen (1988-2004)
Children	Javier (1990), Miguel (1992), Carmen (1994)
Residence	Monaco, Spain
College	None
Career
Turned Pro	1974
Retired	2007
Former Tours	European Tour Champions Tour European Seniors Tour
Professional wins	94 (European Tour: 49, PGA Tour: 9 Other: 36)
Best Results in Major Championships Wins: 5
Masters	Won 1980, 1983
U.S. Open	3rd: 1987
The Open Championship	Won 1979, 1984, 1988
PGA Championship	5th: 1984
Awards
European Tour Order of Merit Winner	1976, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1991
World Golf Hall of Fame	1997

Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros (born 9 April 1957) is a Spanish former professional golfer and former World No. 1, who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s.

Career outline

Ballesteros was born in Pedreña, Cantabria, Spain. He learned the game while playing on the beaches near his home, mainly using a 3-iron given to him by one of his older brothers. His uncle Ramón Sota was Spanish professional champion four times and finished 6th in The Masters in 1965. Severiano's older brother Manuel finished in the top 100 on the European Tour order of merit every year from 1972 to 1983, and later became Severiano's manager. Brothers Vicente and Baldomero are also professional golfers, but made little impact in tournament golf. Severiano's nephew Raúl has played the European Tour since the turn of the millennium, but has had little success.

Ballesteros turned professional in March 1974 at the age of 16. In 1976, he burst onto the international scene with a second-place finish in The Open Championship; he went on to win the European Tour Order of Merit (money title) that year, and repeated his Order of Merit win the following two years. He would go on to win the Order of Merit six times, a record at that time (since surpassed by Colin Montgomerie). In 1988, he led the Official World Golf Rankings at the end of the year; these rankings were not inaugurated until April 1986, but Ballesteros also led McCormack's World Golf Rankings, published in McCormack's "World Of Professional Golf" annuals (from which the official rankings were developed) from 1983 to 1985.

Ballesteros went on to win five major championships:

• The Masters: 1980, 1983
  • His 1980 win was the first at Augusta by a European player.
  • With his 1980 win at age 23, he was its youngest ever winner, though this record was broken by Tiger Woods in 1997.
• The Open Championship: 1979, 1984, 1988
  • His 1979 win made him the first golfer from continental Europe to win a major since Frenchman Arnaud Massy won The Open in 1907.
  • With his 1979 win at age 22, he was the youngest winner of the Open Championship in the 20th century

He was also a great at match play; he won the World Match Play Championship five times, and was a mainstay of the European Ryder Cup team for much of the 1980s and 1990s. He scored 20 points out of 37 matches against the United States; his partnership with fellow Spaniard José María Olazábal 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 in Sotogrande, Spain. This was the first Ryder Cup ever held in continental Europe.

In 2000, he created The Seve Trophy, a team competition similar to the Ryder Cup pitting a team from Great Britain and Ireland against one from continental Europe.

Ballesteros had played sparingly since the late 1990s due to back problems, and made his first start in years at the 2005 Madrid Open. 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 runs a thriving golf course design business, is divorced with three children and has been eligible for the Champions Tour and European Seniors Tour upon turning 50 in 2007.

Ballesteros was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1997.

He was announced again as non-playing captain of the 2007 European team to defend the Royal Trophy against the Asian team at the Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok.

After further recurrence of his back problems, which contributed to his finishing tied for last in his only Champions Tour start, Ballesteros announced his retirement from golf on 16 July 2007, ringing 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.^[1]

Quotations

"I really believe that when things are going your way, it is your destiny to win. So many great things happen."

"I feel calm in calm colors. I don't want people to watch the way I dress. I want people to watch the way I play."

"Seve can have an off week and still win. But if Seve plays well and the rest of us play well, Seve wins." --Ben Crenshaw on Seve Ballesteros^[2]

European Tour wins (49)

• 1976 (2) Dutch Open, Lancome Trophy
• 1977 (3) Open de France, Uniroyal International Championship, Swiss Open
• 1978 (4) Martini International, Braun German Open, Scandinavian Enterprise Open, Swiss Open
• 1979 (2) Lada English Golf Classic, The Open Championship
• 1980 (3) Madrid Open, Martini International, Dutch Open
• 1981 (2) Scandinavian Enterprise Open, Benson and Hedges Spanish Open
• 1982 (2) Cepsa Madrid Open, Paco Rabanne Open de France
• 1983 (3) Sun Alliance PGA Championship, Carroll's Irish Open, Lancome Trophy
• 1984 (1) The Open Championship
• 1985 (4) Carroll's Irish Open, Peugeot Open de France, Sanyo Open, Benson and Hedges Spanish Open
• 1986 (6) Dunhill British Masters, Carroll's Irish Open, Johnnie Walker Monte Carlo Open, Peugeot Open de France, KLM Dutch Open, Lancome Trophy
• 1987 (1) Suze Open
• 1988 (5) Mallorca Open de Baleares, The Open Championship, Scandinavian Enterprise Open, German Open, Lancome Trophy
• 1989 (3) Cepsa Madrid Open, Epson Grand Prix of Europe Matchplay Championship, Ebel European Masters Swiss Open
• 1990 (1) Open Renault de Baleares
• 1991 (2) Volvo PGA Championship, Dunhill British Masters
• 1992 (2) Dubai Desert Classic, Turespana Open de Baleares
• 1994 (2) Benson & Hedges International Open, Mercedes German Masters
• 1995 (1) Peugeot Spanish Open

Major championships are shown in bold.

Ballesteros's win in the 1976 Lancome Trophy is omitted from his win list on his profile on the European Tour's official site, so only 48 wins are listed. This appears to be an error (1976 was the first year that the Trophy was an official money event, and it is included in the 1976 schedule on the official site, whereas the 1975 event was not). Some sources state that Ballesteros has 50 European Tour wins, but the basis for that figure is unclear.

PGA Tour wins (9)

• 1978 (1) Greater Greensboro Open
• 1979 (1) The Open Championship
• 1980 (1) The Masters
• 1983 (2) The Masters, Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic
• 1984 (1) The Open Championship
• 1985 (1) USF&G Classic
• 1988 (2) Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic, The Open Championship

Major championships are shown in bold. (Seve's Open Championship wins also count as PGA Tour wins. The two majors played in the United States did not count as European Tour events before 1987.)

Other wins (36)

• 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, World Cup of Golf (with Manuel Piñero)
• 1977 Japan Open, Dunlop Phoenix (Japan), Otago Classic (New Zealand), Braun International Golf (Germany - not a European Tour event), World Cup of Golf (with Antonio Garrido)
• 1978 Japan Open, Kenya Open, Spanish National Championship for under 25s
• 1979 Open el Prat
• 1981 Australian PGA Championship, Suntory World Match Play Championship (England - not then a European Tour event), Dunlop Phoenix (Japan)
• 1982 Masters de San Remo (Italy), Suntory World Match Play Championship (England - not then a European Tour event)
• 1983 Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa)
• 1984 Suntory World Match Play Championship (England - not then a European Tour event), Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa)
• 1985 Spanish Championship for Professionals, Suntory World Match Play Championship (England - not then a European Tour event), Campeonato de España-Codorniu
• 1987 APG Larios, Campeonato de España Para Professionales
• 1988 Visa Taiheiyo Masters (Japan), APG Larios
• 1991 The Crowns (Japan), Toyota World Match Play Championship (England - not then a European Tour event)
• 1992 Copa Quinto Centenario per Equipos, Fifth Centenary Cup (team)
• 1995 Tournoi Perrier (team)

Major Championships

Wins (5)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runners Up
1979	The Open Championship	2 shot deficit	-1 (73-65-75-70=283)	3 strokes	Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw
1980	The Masters	7 shot lead	-13 (66-69-68-72=275)	4 strokes	Gibby Gilbert, Jack Newton
1983	The Masters (2)	1 shot deficit	-8 (68-70-73-69=280)	4 strokes	Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite
1984	The Open Championship (2)	2 shot deficit	-12 (69-68-70-69=276)	2 strokes	Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer
1988	The Open Championship (3)	2 shot deficit	-12 (67-71-70-65=273)	2 strokes	Nick Price

Results timeline

Tournament	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
The Masters	DNP	DNP	T33	T18	T12
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	T16	CUT
The Open Championship	CUT	T2	T15	T17	1
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Masters	1	CUT	T3	1	CUT	T2	4	T2	T11	5
U.S. Open	DQ	T41	CUT	T4	T30	T5	T24	3	T32	T43
The Open Championship	T19	T39	T13	T6	1	T39	T6	T50	1	T77
PGA Championship	DNP	T33	13	T27	5	T32	CUT	T10	CUT	T12

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
The Masters	T7	T22	T59	T11	T18	T45	43	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	T33	CUT	T23	CUT	T18	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	T9	CUT	T27	T38	T40	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
PGA Championship	CUT	T23	DNP	DNP	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The Masters	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary of major championship performances

• Starts – 87
• Wins – 5
• 2nd place finishes – 3
• Top 3 finishes – 10
• Top 5 finishes – 15
• Top 10 finishes – 20
• Longest streak of top-10s in majors – 4

Team appearances

• Ryder Cup: 1979, 1983, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners), 1989 (tied, cup retained), 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners), 1997 (winners - non-playing captain)
• Alfred Dunhill Cup: 1985, 1986, 1988
• World Cup of Golf: 1975, 1976 (winner with Manuel Piñero), 1977 (winner with Antonio Garrido), 1991
• Hennessy Cognac Cup: 1976, 1978, 1980
• Double Diamond: 1975, 1976, 1977
• The Seve Trophy: 2000 (winners), 2002, 2003 (non-playing captain), 2005 (non-playing captain)
• The Royal Trophy - Asia v Europe: 2006 (non-playing captain - winners)

See also

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• Golfers with most major championship wins
• Golfers with most European Tour wins

Notes and references

External links

• Official home page
• Profile on the European Tour's official site
• Profile on the PGA Tour's official site
• Seve Ballesteros at About.com
• Seve Ballesteros profile at Golf Legends

World Number ones since 1986
Seve Ballesteros | Fred Couples | David Duval | Ernie Els | Nick Faldo | Bernhard Langer | Tom Lehman | Greg Norman | Nick Price | Vijay Singh | Tiger Woods †| Ian Woosnam  † Tiger Woods (USA) is the current World No. 1, and has spent the most weeks in that position, currently over 450.

The Masters champions

1934 Horton Smith • 1935 Gene Sarazen • 1936 Horton Smith • 1937 Byron Nelson • 1938 Henry Picard • 1939 Ralph Guldahl • 1940 Jimmy Demaret • 1941 Craig Wood • 1942 Byron Nelson • 1943-45 Cancelled due to World War II • 1946 Herman Keiser • 1947 Jimmy Demaret • 1948 Claude Harmon • 1949 Sam Snead • 1950 Jimmy Demaret • 1951 Ben Hogan • 1952 Sam Snead • 1953 Ben Hogan • 1954 Sam Snead • 1955 Cary Middlecoff • 1956 Jack Burke, Jr • 1957 Doug Ford • 1958 Arnold Palmer • 1959 Art Wall, Jr. • 1960 Arnold Palmer • 1961 Gary Player • 1962 Arnold Palmer • 1963 Jack Nicklaus • 1964 Arnold Palmer • 1965 Jack Nicklaus • 1966 Jack Nicklaus • 1967 Gay Brewer • 1968 Bob Goalby • 1969 George Archer • 1970 Billy Casper • 1971 Charles Coody • 1972 Jack Nicklaus • 1973 Tommy Aaron • 1974 Gary Player • 1975 Jack Nicklaus • 1976 Raymond Floyd • 1977 Tom Watson • 1978 Gary Player • 1979 Fuzzy Zoeller • 1980 Severiano Ballesteros • 1981 Tom Watson • 1982 Craig Stadler • 1983 Severiano Ballesteros • 1984 Ben Crenshaw • 1985 Bernhard Langer • 1986 Jack Nicklaus • 1987 Larry Mize • 1988 Sandy Lyle • 1989 Nick Faldo • 1990 Nick Faldo • 1991 Ian Woosnam • 1992 Fred Couples • 1993 Bernhard Langer • 1994 José María Olazábal • 1995 Ben Crenshaw • 1996 Nick Faldo • 1997 Tiger Woods • 1998 Mark O'Meara • 1999 José María Olazábal • 2000 Vijay Singh • 2001 Tiger Woods • 2002 Tiger Woods • 2003 Mike Weir • 2004 Phil Mickelson • 2005 Tiger Woods • 2006 Phil Mickelson • 2007 Zach Johnson

The Open champions

1860 Willie Park, Snr. · 1861 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1862 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1863 Willie Park, Snr. · 1864 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1865 Andrew Strath · 1866 Willie Park, Snr. · 1867 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1868 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1869 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1870 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1871 No championship · 1872 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1873 Tom Kidd · 1874 Mungo Park · 1875 Willie Park, Snr. · 1876 Bob Martin · 1877 Jamie Anderson · 1878 Jamie Anderson · 1879 Jamie Anderson · 1880 Bob Ferguson · 1881 Bob Ferguson · 1882 Bob Ferguson · 1883 Willie Fernie · 1884 Jack Simpson · 1885 Bob Martin · 1886 David Brown · 1887 Willie Park, Jnr. · 1888 Jack Burns · 1889 Willie Park, Jnr. · 1890 John Ball · 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy · 1892 Harold Hilton · 1893 William Auchterlonie · 1894 John Henry Taylor · 1895 John Henry Taylor · 1896 Harry Vardon · 1897 Harold Hilton · 1898 Harry Vardon · 1899 Harry Vardon · 1900 John Henry Taylor · 1901 James Braid · 1902 Sandy Herd · 1903 Harry Vardon · 1904 Jack White · 1905 James Braid · 1906 James Braid · 1907 Arnaud Massy · 1908 James Braid · 1909 John Henry Taylor · 1910 James Braid · 1911 Harry Vardon · 1912 Edward Ray · 1913 John Henry Taylor · 1914 Harry Vardon · 1915-19 No Championships due to World War I · 1920 George Duncan · 1921 Jock Hutchison · 1922 Walter Hagen · 1923 Arthur Havers · 1924 Walter Hagen · 1925 Jim Barnes · 1926 Bobby Jones · 1927 Bobby Jones · 1928 Walter Hagen · 1929 Walter Hagen · 1930 Bobby Jones· 1931 Tommy Armour · 1932 Gene Sarazen · 1933 Denny Shute · 1934 Henry Cotton · 1935 Alf Perry · 1936 Alf Padgham · 1937 Henry Cotton · 1939 Richard Burton · 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II · 1946 Sam Snead · 1947 Fred Daly · 1948 Henry Cotton · 1949 Bobby Locke · 1950 Bobby Locke · 1951 Max Faulkner · 1952 Bobby Locke · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954 Peter Thomson · 1955 Peter Thomson · 1956 Peter Thomson · 1957 Bobby Locke · 1958 Peter Thomson · 1959 Gary Player · 1960 Kel Nagle · 1961 Arnold Palmer · 1962 Arnold Palmer · 1963 Bob Charles · 1964 Tony Lema · 1965 Peter Thomson · 1966 Jack Nicklaus · 1967 Roberto DeVicenzo · 1968 Gary Player · 1969 Tony Jacklin · 1970 Jack Nicklaus · 1971 Lee Trevino · 1972 Lee Trevino · 1973 Tom Weiskopf · 1974 Gary Player · 1975 Tom Watson · 1976 Johnny Miller · 1977 Tom Watson · 1978 Jack Nicklaus · 1979 Severiano Ballesteros · 1980 Tom Watson · 1981 Bill Rogers · 1982 Tom Watson · 1983 Tom Watson · 1984 Severiano Ballesteros · 1985 Sandy Lyle · 1986 Greg Norman · 1987 Nick Faldo · 1988 Severiano Ballesteros · 1989 Mark Calcavecchia · 1990 Nick Faldo · 1991 Ian Baker-Finch · 1992 Nick Faldo · 1993 Greg Norman · 1994 Nick Price · 1995 John Daly · 1996 Tom Lehman · 1997 Justin Leonard · 1998 Mark O'Meara · 1999 Paul Lawrie · 2000 Tiger Woods · 2001 David Duval · 2002 Ernie Els · 2003 Ben Curtis · 2004 Todd Hamilton · 2005 Tiger Woods · 2006 Tiger Woods · 2007 Pádraig Harrington

European Ryder Cup Captains

Great Britain 1927 Ted Ray · 1929 George Duncan · 1931 Charles Whitcombe · 1933 John Henry Taylor · 1935 Charles Whitcombe · 1937 Charles Whitcombe · 1947 Henry Cotton · 1949 Charles Whitcombe · 1951 Arthur Lacey · 1953 Henry Cotton · 1955 Dai Rees · 1957 Dai Rees · 1959 Dai Rees · 1961 Dai Rees · 1963 John Fallon · 1965 Harry Weetman · 1967 Dai Rees · 1969 Eric Brown · 1971 Eric Brown Great Britain & Ireland 1973 Bernard Hunt · 1975 Bernard Hunt · 1977 Brian Huggett Europe 1979 John Jacobs · 1981 John Jacobs · 1983 Tony Jacklin · 1985 Tony Jacklin · 1987 Tony Jacklin · 1989 Tony Jacklin · 1991 Bernard Gallacher · 1993 Bernard Gallacher · 1995 Bernard Gallacher · 1997 Seve Ballesteros · 1999 Mark James · 2002 Sam Torrance · 2004 Bernhard Langer · 2006 Ian Woosnam · 2008 Nick Faldo

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