Friday, May 7th, 2021
The gentleman’s brief “miracle”
“Seves” death shook the golf world
Severiano Ballesteros was not just a golf legend. Severiano Ballesteros was also a gentleman, popular everywhere. His sudden death ten years ago caused great sadness around the world. He became famous through a trick that earned him a humorous nickname.
The news hit like a bomb on May 7, 2011. Spanish television reported the death of Severiano Ballesteros early in the morning, and the family confirmed it a little later. Many people around the world, not just the passionate golfers, were shocked. Severiano Ballesteros, affectionately known as “Seve”, was not just an icon of his sport. Ballesteros was also a gentleman, always friendly, not aloof, one to touch. When Seve smiled, you smiled with him. He was like that. Ballesteros thought of others too, even as he became increasingly ill.
Ballesteros supported less well-heeled golf talents with his foundation. “I owe everything to golf and I am glad that I can support and encourage young people in need,” he said of his initiative. Seve was very special on the pitch. He triumphed five times in the majors (three times British Open, twice US Masters). He won almost 100 tournaments worldwide. The man from Pedrena on the Bay of Biscay set standards at a time when European golf was becoming increasingly important thanks to his German rival Bernhard Langer. Ballesteros played golf for the textbooks, his swing becoming the benchmark.
Artistic impact makes him the “parking lot champion”
His coup on the way to his first British Open triumph in 1979 at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club will not be forgotten, when he missed his tee shot on the third from last hole on the final day. The ball landed in a parking lot. From there, the then 22-year-old pushed the ball directly onto the green with an artificial stroke, followed by a birdie. From then on he was only called the “parking lot champion”.
At the end of 2008 the life of Ballesteros changed suddenly. A brain tumor was diagnosed after a breakdown at Madrid airport. He was operated on four times. Initially successful. He described his recovery in June 2009 as follows: “It was like a dream and very difficult at the beginning. After everything the doctors have told me, it is a miracle.” The miracle did not last long, it ended on May 7th, 2011.
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