Severiano ballesteros biography examples
Severiano Ballesteros Biography
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Severiano Ballesteros was born on 9 April 1957 in Pedreña (Cantabria), a small village on the southern shore of the Bay of Santander in the north of Spain. Baldomero, his father, had formed part of one of the best rowing crews in history in Spanish “traineras” (fixed bench fishermen’s boat). In Pedreña there is a great tradition for this type of tough sport, although golf also formed part of the atmosphere at that time-the 50’s and 60’s. If, in all the Pedreña homes one could always find a member of the family who had caddied at the Royal Pedreña Golf Club – a prestigious club inaugurated in 1928 by de King of Spain – in the Ballesteros family this was more than a customary as Seve’s older brothers Baldomero, Manuel and Vicente were all professional golfers, as was his uncle Ramon Sota, his mother’s brother, one of the best golfers in Europe in the sixties, winner of four Spanish Professionals Championships, sixth in the 1965 U.S. Masters and a member of runners-up teams at two World Cups, in 1963 and 1965 (behind the USA and South Africa, respectively), in addition to other important victories all over the world. With this background, plus of course, impressive natural talent and his tremendous love of the game and enthusiasm for work, Seve, with a 3-iron his brother Manuel had given him as a present, invented a huge variety of shots that bestowed his game with enormous versatility.
A tribute to Seve Ballesteros
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At the age of 10 he took part in his first caddies tournament. He recorded a score of 51 over the 9 holes, beginning with
Seve Ballesteros
Spanish professional golfer (1957–2011)
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ballesteros and the second or maternal family name is Sota.
| Seve Ballesteros | |
|---|---|
Ballesteros in 2006 | |
| Full name | Severiano Ballesteros Sota |
| Born | (1957-04-09)9 April 1957 Pedreña, Cantabria, Spain |
| Died | 7 May 2011(2011-05-07) (aged 54) Pedreña, Cantabria, Spain |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Sporting nationality | Spain |
| Spouse | Carmen Botín O'Shea (m. 1988; div. 2004) |
| Children | 3 |
| Turned professional | 1974 |
| Former tour(s) | |
| Professional wins | 90 |
| Highest ranking | 1 (27 April 1986) (61 weeks) |
| PGA Tour | 9 |
| European Tour | 50 (1st all time) |
| Japan Golf Tour | 6 |
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 2 |
| Other | 28 |
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1980, 1983 |
| PGA Championship | 5th: 1984 |
| U.S. Open | 3rd: 1987 |
| The Open Championship | Won: 1979, 1984, 1988 |
Severiano Ballesteros Sota (Spanish pronunciation:[seβeˈɾjanoβaʎesˈteɾos]; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 international tournaments in his career, including five major championships between 1979 and 1988; The Open Championship three times and the Masters Tournament twice. He gained attention in the golfing world in 1976, when at the age of 19, he finished second at The Open. He played a leading role in the re-emergence of European golf, helping the European Ryder Cup team to five wins both as a player and captain.
Ballesteros won a record 50 European Tour titles. He won at least one European Tour title for 17 consecutive years between 1976 and 1992. His final victory was at the 1995 Peugeot Spanish Open. Largely because of back-related injuries, Ballestero Although he was still only 22, Seve – a teenage runner-up at Royal Birkdale in 1976 - had already shown he boasted rare levels of creativity, skill and audacity. As a result, even if he did miss off the tee, he was arguably more capable than anyone of rescuing the situation, particularly if he was within 100 yards of the green. De Vicenzo’s theory therefore made perfect sense to the Spaniard, who would go on to say: “I kept to Roberto’s advice, so my apparently haphazard game at Lytham flowed from a perfectly planned strategy.” Ballesteros’ extraordinary birdie on the 16th – where he received a free drop from under a car and duly pitched to around 20 feet before holing out for birdie – represented the undoubted highlight of his thrilling charge to victory. Yet there were several other magnificent escapes over the closing holes, as he finished with a one-under aggregate to beat Ben Crenshaw and Jack Nicklaus by three. Ballesteros got up and down at the par-3 12th after fanning his tee shot right, then holed a putt from off the green at the next for an unlikely birdie that he celebrated by charging towards the hole with his fists raised. He was unable to avoid a bogey at the 14th, but another potential crisis was successfully averted on the 15th, where he drove way left, only to save par through a flamboyant stroke from the rough and a glorious chip that left a tap-in. After the drama at 16, Ballesteros almost holed out from a greenside bunker at the penultimate hole before showing immense nerve to confidently roll in the resulting 10-footer. And there was still time for more Ballesteros magic at the 18th. On this occasion his drive was pulled a considerable distance to the left, but he nevertheless made it to the fringe of the green with his second and then produced a wonderful putt from long range to secure yet another unconventional par.The Story of 1979
Severiano Ballesteros Prince of Asturias Award for Sports 1989
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Severiano Ballesteros Sota (Pedreña, Cantabria, Spain, 1957 - 2011) is one of the most successful golf players the world has seen. Among other achievements, he won three Match Play world championships, two Masters Tournaments in Augusta and three British Opens. He had connections with golf from his childhood.
His uncle, Ramón Sota, was the Spanish champion of this sport and his father was a gardener at the Pedreña golf course, where Severiano made his debut as a caddie when only nine years old.
In 1974 Ballesteros obtained his professional qualification and in the same year won the National Under-25s Championship and the Vizcaya Open; he also took part in various European tournaments. In 1975 he repeated his victory in the Spanish Under-25 Open and was seeded 26 in the world ranking. Coming third in the Lancôme tournament meant his name began to be known on the circuits. At the age of 19, Severiano Ballesteros won various important trophies, among them, the Lancôme; the Dutch Open; the championships of Catalonia, Tenerife and All- Spain; the Donald Swaalens Memorial; and the World Championship, along with Manuel Piñero. He came second in The Open and received the prize for best European golfer of the year. The following year he began to enjoy great fame in the United States and Great Britain, thanks to his victories in the World Cup, the Japanese Open, the Pheonix Dunlop, the Otago Classic and the French and Swiss Opens. His great talent was acknowledges with the British Order of Merit.
In 1978, after a break due to military service, he was the winner of the Kenyan, Greensboro, German, Scandinavian, Swiss and Japanese Opens, the Martini International and the Spanish Under-25 Championship. In 1979 he triumphed in the Catalan Open, the English Classic and he became the youngest-ever winner of The Open. A year later, he gained another prestigious trophy, the