Seve set for Madrid return
The day Seve Ballesteros feared might never come – the day he returns to the European Tour – arrives tomorrow at the Madrid Open.
Kept out of action for 23 months by an arthritic back, the appearance of the 48-year-old former world number one will be keenly followed by the entire golfing world.
But Ballesteros knows from the moment he tees off at Club de Campo – scene of his 50th and last tour victory 10 years ago – more attention will be paid to the state of his game than the state of his health.
The facts and figures on the sad decline of one of sport’s most charismatic figures make gruesome reading and the three-time Open champion has fallen so far it will be truly amazing if he can even challenge for a title again.
Ballesteros may have been uncomplimentary last month about the current generation of players – he said Tiger Woods was the last one to impress “a couple of years ago” – but the truth is that there has never been the same strength in depth that he faces on his return.
His last appearance was in November 2003 in the Seve Trophy, the event introduced in 2000 to mark his contribution to the circuit.
Even with the help of Jose Maria Olazabal and then Sergio Garcia he lost all his four games, the last of them a five and four thumping by Colin Montgomerie.
Prior to that event Ballesteros played a mere eight tour events all year, making the cut in only one and finishing 279th on the Order of Merit.
That continued a steady drop for the six-time leading money-winner. He slipped outside the top 100 in 1997 and outside the top 200 in 2000, while in the majors he has not made a single halfway cut since the 1996 Masters.
Better to remember the good times.
Second in the 1976 Open at the age of 19, Ballesteros topped the Order of Merit that season, the following two seasons as well and then at Lytham became the youngest winner of the Open for 86 years.
Two Masters and two more Opens followed and it was the manner of it all that made him such an attraction.
Youngest of four brothers who were all professionals, Ballesteros always wore his heart on his sleeve and the passion he displayed in the Ryder Cup helped to transform that event.
That passion has spilled over at times. He and Paul Azinger were fierce rivals for a while and then came the run-ins with European Tour officials over the running of the circuit, or what he saw as victimisation of him over slow play.
Calling the hierarchy the “PGA Mafia” landed him in trouble and then late last year, just as his marriage break-up became public knowledge, there were also reports of an ugly-sounding assault on a tour referee at his home club.
The matter was investigated, but no ban followed, just a statement in which Ballesteros said he regretted what happened.
“My apologies to the European Tour and those affected by my wrong manners. I am a passionate character and the high tension of the moment was detrimental to the situation,” he said.
Now, almost a year later, the next chapter begins. He said three weeks ago he thought it was “very possible” he could win, but it sounded like positive thinking taken to the extreme.
To survive the cut should be regarded as a triumph. Even a narrow miss. His will be the first score many people look for.
