Celebrating Seve Ballesteros: 10 Shots That Cemented His Legacy in Golf
Severiano Ballesteros, the pride of Pedrena, Spain, passed away early Saturday morning at the age of 54, after losing his long battle with brain cancer. The world lost a great golfing legend and one of the most charismatic personalities in all of professional sports.
Watching Ballesteros as a youngster breaking into the world golf scene, fans were awed by the seemingly impossible shots that Ballesteros continually pulled off after getting himself in trouble. His ability to make greatness out of garbage was one of the hallmarks of his game.
When Ballesteros won his first major at the 1979 British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, he deliberately hit a ball into a parking lot on the 16th hole on the final round to take advantage of the prevailing winds that day, then hit a sand wedge to within 20 feet of the hole.
Seve went on to birdie the hole and won the Open by three shots, beating the best golfer in the world, Jack Nicklaus.
But that shot was just the beginning of what would become known as legend. Back in 1985, Ben Crenshaw told Sports Illustrated, “I think he comes as close to a complete player as anybody I’ve ever seen. He can hit every shot in the bag and do it with the style and look of a champion.”
Ballesteros would go on to win the British Open two more times, in 1984 and 1988, and captured the Masters twice, in 1980 and 1983. His Masters title in 1980 marked the first time that event had been won by a European, and he was the youngest at the time ever to win the event at 23 (Tiger Woods later won the Masters in 1997 at the age of 21).
Ballesteros also sparkled in match play events, winning the World Match Play Championship five times and competed in eight Ryder Cup matches, winning 21.5 points in his 37 matches overall.
His style of play, along with his charismatic personality, made Ballesteros a made-for-TV athlete, capturing the imagination of fans worldwide.
In no particular order, here is a list of 10 specific golf shots that defined the game of Seve Ballesteros and cemented his legacy in the world of golf.
Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.
10. 1976 British Open
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In mid-July, 1976, 19-year-old Seve Ballesteros burst onto the world golf scene with his incredible play at the British Open at Royal Birkdale.
In the final round, on the final hole, Ballesteros pulled off a brilliant chip shot between two bunkers that landed four feet from the cup. He then sank his putt to tie Jack Nicklaus for second place behind Johnny Miller after having led for three rounds.
It was that shot, and many others that Ballesteros had pulled off throughout the weekend at the Open, that helped to define his game and made him one of the most popular figures in the world of golf.
9. 1980 Masters
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In 1980, Ballesteros led or was tied for the lead during every round of the Masters. In the final round, Ballesteros battled trouble throughout.
He three-putted the 10th hole, hit into Rae’s Creek twice, and on the 17th hole, he drove his ball onto the seventh green.
However, Ballesteros masterfully pulled off great saving chip shots and par putts, winning the Masters by four shots and becoming the first European ever to win the event.
8. 1988 British Open
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In 1988, Ballesteros returned to Royal Lytham and St. Annes, the sight of the first Major he had captured nine years earlier.
Ballesteros again played out of trouble on several occasions. During one particular stretch, Seve carded two bogeys in an 11-hole span. However, he also captured six birdies and an eagle as well.
On the 16th hole, Ballesteros, on his approach, hit a nine iron from 135 yards, the ball landing on the green and coming to rest just three inches from the cup.
Ballesteros’ final round of 65 allowed him to capture his third British Open, beating Nick Price by two shots.
7. The 1978 Hennessy Cup
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The Hennessy Cup is an event played between golfers from England against the rest of the European continent. In 1978, the event was played at The Belfry. During his match against Nick Faldo, Ballesteros pulled out his famed Persimmon-headed driver at the short par-four 10th hole.
Up until that point, no one had ever attempted to drive the hole, as the green was protected by water in front. However, that didn’t seem to faze Ballesteros. He proceeded to launch his tee shot over the trees to the right of the hole, drawing the ball back into the green and landing just 10 feet from the cup, which he then holed for an eagle.
Ballesteros was the first to pull off that incredible shot.
6. 1984 British Open
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In the final round of the 1984 British Open, Ballesteros arrived at the 17th hole at St. Andrews, known as the Road Hole, a very tricky par-four. Ballesteros had trouble with the hole all weekend, bogeying the hole in all three tries.
On this afternoon, it once again looked like Ballesteros would bogey the hole, as his drive off the tee landed in long, patchy rough. With a pot bunker protecting the front of the hole, it looked like Seve would be forced to lay up and attempt a chip shot from in front.
However, Ballesteros took a six iron and launched a towering shot that traveled 193 yards, landing the ball over the pot bunker onto the front portion of the green, avoiding the road behind it.
Seve would go on to two-putt and make his first par there all weekend and ended his round with a birdie to defeat Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson by two strokes.
5. 1983 World Match Play Championship
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In the first round of the 1983 World Match Play Championship, Ballesteros was set to play against one of the world’s greatest golfers in history, 54-year-old Arnold Palmer. Palmer is two up in the match with two holes to play and appears to have victory in hand.
However, Ballesteros wins the 17th hole, leaving Palmer one-up with just one hole to play. One the par-five 18th, Palmer safely reaches the green in three. Ballesteros however, is in trouble once again, this time his ball resting just short of a greenside bunker and in a very tricky location.
Ballesteros plays a low burner, the ball barely clearing the bunker, landing on the right side of the hole, with the ball sloping back to the left and into the hole for an eagle-three, squaring up the match.
Ballesteros would go on to win the match on the third extra hole.
After the match, Palmer said, "I should be mad. But I have done that to so many other people in the past I suppose I can't complain."
4. 1993 European Masters
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There were many times during his career that Seve Ballesteros made shots that absolutely defied logic. During the 1993 European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland, Ballesteros attempted a shot that not only defied logic, he defied his own caddy as well.
With Englishman Barry Lane up by one shot, Ballesteros approached the 18th hole in the final round knowing that he needed to birdie to have any shot at winning the event. Ballesteros launched his tee shot way right, the ball landing just five feet away from an eight-foot high wall.
The green was 130 yards away, and there were tree branches above the wall, making any clear shot at the green seemingly impossible.
Caddie Billy Foster advised Ballesteros to chip the ball out sideways, away from the wall. Ballesteros ignored his caddie and took the sand wedge out of his bag. With the blade faced wide open, Ballesteros chipped the ball on almost a vertical plane up over the wall, just barely clearing the tree branches, and landed the ball just short of the green.
Ballesteros then chipped in for a birdie. However, Lane still ended up winning the tournament by one shot. But Ballesteros’ incredible shot actually overshadowed the victory by Lane.
3. 1983 Ryder Cup
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In the 1983 Ryder Cup pitting the United States against Europe, Ballesteros was matched up with American Fuzzy Zoeller during Sunday singles play. Ballesteros was three-up in the match with five holes to play, however, by the time the two golfers had reached the 18th tee, Ballesteros had given back his lead, and the match was all square.
Ballesteros hit a drive that ended up in the deep rough, 245 yards from the green, which is protected by water on the right and in back. Considering the lie and a difficult stance, most expected Seve to take out a wedge and pitch the ball sideways back into the fairway.
However, Ballesteros had other ideas. He took out his three-wood and hit the ball, the club head picking the ball cleanly off the surface. Ballesteros had played the ball from left to right, and the ball landed just off the putting surface.
According to the Guardian correspondent who was there at the time:
""He swung, he hit, he gave the ball that incredible Seve stare and it flew miles and miles, right to the fringe of the green," Dai Davies said. "It was an impossible shot and it was greeted first with a stunned silence, and then by incredulous laughter that greets something that is outwith the experience of the watcher. It was, in the literal sense of the word, fantastic."
"
Ballesteros would end up parring the hole and halving the match.
2. 1988 British Open
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In an earlier slide, we mentioned that Ballesteros had won his third Open by two shots over Nick Price. However, another shot in particular stood out on this day.
Price had started the day two shots out in front of both Ballesteros and Nick Faldo. However, Ballesteros had come roaring back, and with a tap-in birdie at the 16th, he was leading the tournament by two shots.
On the 18th and final hole, Ballesteros was once again in trouble, pulling his approach shot to the green to the left. The ball was hole-high but sitting in a depression. Price was safely on in two, 35 feet from the hole.
Ballesteros needed to get close with his chip. Standing awkwardly, he lofted his pitch shot in the direction of the cup, the ball slowly approaching, and then lipping, the hole, settling just inches away. Price would miss his birdie putt, and Ballesteros went on to win his third Open title.
1. Open De France, 1997
10 of 10In 1997, on the sixth hole, Ballesteros drove his ball far left, the ball landing in the rough of the hole to the left of the sixth fairway, underneath trees.
See the attached video for the result of Ballesteros’ attempted shot, and as the commentator mentioned, no one should be surprised that Seve was able to pull it off.
The world will never again see a player who so captivated the world with his golf game, his charisma, his charm and his smile.
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