RIP Seve

The golf world is in mourning today over the passing of Seve Ballesteros, one of the greatest and most loved players in the modern game. Seve won five majors; the Open Championship (the British Open for those in the US) in 1979, 1984, 1988 (he was the first continental European golfer to win the Open since 1907) and the Masters in 1980, 1983 (the first European to win that tournament).

But, it wasn’t just his major championships, ninety-one professional wins or his six European Tour
Order of Merit victories that made him so special. It was the way Seve played and won that made him a hero to so many golfers, including yours truly.

He was a swashbuckling, risk-taking golfer who turned every round into an adventure. Seve was a ruthless competetior and also someone who was in love, not just with the game, but also with all the possibilities the game allowed. He taught us that golf was as much a game of creativity, imagination and courage, as it was a game of skill, technique and precision.

Take a look at the photo at the top of this blogpost, of Seve in full flight. Whatever, preconceptions you might have about golf being a boring, conservative sport come undone when you look at that image of a young man in full flight. This is high-watermark of sporting creativity and panache.

Thank you Seve, you were the champion of champions and you’ll never be forgotten.