Golf thread: How great was Seve Ballesteros in his prime?

Definitely one of the greatest players in Masters history. Keep in mind that he was a European Player who had to earn exemption from being on the top European Players. HE actually only first became eligible to play at the Masters in 1977 because of his 2nd place finish at THE OPEN the year before

Check out this run that Seve did for 10 years or so

<TABLE style="BORDER-RIGHT: #aaa 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #aaa 1px solid; FONT-SIZE: 95%; BORDER-LEFT: #aaa 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaa 1px solid; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 border=1><TBODY><TR bgColor=#eeeeee><TH align=left>Tournament</TH><TH>1975</TH><TH>1976</TH><TH>1977</TH><TH>1978</TH><TH>1979</TH></TR><TR><TD>The Masters[/URL]</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>T33</TD><TD align=middle>T18</TD><TD align=middle>T12</TD></TR><TR><TD>U.S. Open[/URL]</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>T16</TD><TD align=middle>CUT</TD></TR><TR><TD>The Open Championship[/URL]</TD><TD align=middle>CUT</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>T2</TD><TD align=middle>T15</TD><TD align=middle>T17</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: #00ff00" align=middle>1</TD></TR><TR><TD>PGA Championship[/URL]</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE style="BORDER-RIGHT: #aaa 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #aaa 1px solid; FONT-SIZE: 95%; BORDER-LEFT: #aaa 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaa 1px solid; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 border=1><TBODY><TR bgColor=#eeeeee><TH align=left>Tournament</TH><TH>1980</TH><TH>1981</TH><TH>1982</TH><TH>1983</TH><TH>1984</TH><TH>1985</TH><TH>1986</TH><TH>1987</TH><TH>1988</TH><TH>1989</TH></TR><TR><TD>The Masters[/URL]</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: #00ff00" align=middle>1</TD><TD align=middle>CUT</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>T3</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: #00ff00" align=middle>1</TD><TD align=middle>CUT</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>T2</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>4</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>T2</TD><TD align=middle>T11</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>5</TD></TR><TR><TD>U.S. Open[/URL]</TD><TD align=middle>DQ</TD><TD align=middle>T41</TD><TD align=middle>CUT</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>T4</TD><TD align=middle>T30</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>T5</TD><TD align=middle>T24</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>3</TD><TD align=middle>T32</TD><TD align=middle>T43</TD></TR><TR><TD>The Open Championship[/URL]</TD><TD align=middle>T19</TD><TD align=middle>T39</TD><TD align=middle>T13</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>T6</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: #00ff00" align=middle>1</TD><TD align=middle>T39</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>T6</TD><TD align=middle>T50</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: #00ff00" align=middle>1</TD><TD align=middle>T77</TD></TR><TR><TD>PGA Championship[/URL]</TD><TD align=middle>DNP</TD><TD align=middle>T33</TD><TD align=middle>13</TD><TD align=middle>T27</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>5</TD><TD align=middle>T32</TD><TD align=middle>CUT</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND: yellow" align=middle>T10</TD><TD align=middle>CUT</TD><TD align=middle>T12</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Great player, fun to watch. I hope the creator takes him soon or he miracously gets better. Do not want to see him suffer.

The way Augusta National is setup for the Masters in 2009, he would have zero chance to win.

simply put , a phenom....

my first favorite golfer.

World Number One said:

simply put , a phenom....

my first favorite golfer.

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Did he ever throw up behind #1 tee at Pine Valley?

bellyputter said:

Did he ever throw up behind #1 tee at Pine Valley?

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i wish i never told you that...

Seve made par from places that you couldn't imagine...

Nothing but prayers for him...hope he gets well

While I hope he gets better also keep in mind that he was known by far as the biggest a-hole on tour. If you hear any reports of what a great man he was, don't believe it. Extremely arrogant and incredibly rude to common folk.

squeeze3 said:

While I hope he gets better also keep in mind that he was known by far as the biggest a-hole on tour. If you hear any reports of what a great man he was, don't believe it. Extremely arrogant and incredibly rude to common folk.

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Seve could be a prick in competetive situations like the Ryder Cup, where he often used gamesmanship as a player and captain. However, I witnessed a different side of him at the 1988 PGA at my home club. The Sunday before the tournament started, he walked into the men's grill, and ask a few of us if we wanted to watch him play a practice round. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity. I have never been more entertained on a golf course in my life. Commenting on every shot he was going to hit for the entire round, made this a very special day. On #17(205 yd par 3 over water), he played his tee shot on his knees and amazingly hit it on the green with a fairway wood. After the round he insisted on buying us lunch. Quite a day!

Seve was the best player in the world for a few years in the late 70's and early 80s. His 49 wins on The Euro Tour is still a record plus he won 9 times on the PGA tour.

He was also a great at match play - he won the World Match Play Championship five times, and was a mainstay of the European Ryder Cup team for much of the 1980s and 1990s. He scored 20 points out of 37 matches against the United States; his partnership with fellow Spaniard José María Olazábal was the most successful in the history of the competition, with 11 wins and two halved matches out of 15 pairs matches. Seve was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999.

Today Seve is in a fight for his very life. After several surgeries on his brain Seve has returned home to northern Spain and is now undergoing chemotherapy treatment as an outpatient.

In January 2009 a message on his website said he had responded well to one course of chemotherapy.

"I am very motivated and working hard although I am aware that my recovery will be slow and therefore I need to be patient and have a lot of determination. For these reasons I am following strictly all the instructions that the doctors are giving me. Besides, the physiotherapists are doing a great job on me and I feel better every day."

Seve completed a second course of chemotherapy at Madrid's Le Paz Hospital in February 2009. Speaking through his website he said, "The results of the check-up were really positive, better even than the first ones." He finished a third round of treatment in March 2009.

Blood analysis has confirmed that he is able to have a fourth round of chemotherapy that is now underway.


Best of luck Seve, I know the entire world of golf is praying for him to beat this most deadliest of foes.


wil.

when asked about a 4 putt green at augusta , his response was :

i miss , i miss , i miss , i make....