Seve Ballesteros's condition has deteriorated severely, say his family.

[Dinny Breen]

'I look into their eyes, shake their hand, pat their back, and wish them luck, but I'm thinking, 'I'm going to bury you'.' Seve Ballesteros

[Groucho]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5iXjc322Zk


R.I.P. always remember his Carroll's Irish Open wins with great fondness.


An amazing record of wins.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seve_Ballesteros

[Minder]

Was a big hero of mine growing up. The only major I can remember him
winnibg was the Open at Lytham in 1988. Read years ago that when he started all he had was a three iron as a youngster and bunker play became very easy for him with a sand wedge after practicing for years with a three iron.

RIP

[stephenite]

The term legend is used too often etc. etc.

RIP

[BennyHarp]

Thats awful sad news - growing up he was probably the first professional golfer that i remember hearing about. A legend of the game. RIP Seve.

[Shamrock Shore]

One of the greatest....RIP

[orangeman]

Legend

[stew]

The man who forever changed the ryder Cup is gone, RIP Seve, you, along with Arnie, jack and El Tigre have changed the golfing landscape and there was never a shotmaker like you and never will be.

[Blowitupref]

I suppose the pain is now over, gone but never forgotten RIP Seve.

[sammymaguire]

Sporting genius, entertainer and gent. Olazabal will be in bits with your departure.

[Minder]

The Times


Jose Maria Olazabal leads tributes to Severiano Ballesteros





Jose Maria Olazabal played through tears on Saturday, overcome by grief after the death of his close friend and former Ryder Cup partner Severiano Ballesteros.
Olazabal, who formed with Ballesteros the most successful pairing in Ryder Cup history, broke down as players honored his compatriot with a minute's silence at the Spanish Open, hours after the 54-year-old golf great died in the wake his two year-plus battle with brain cancer.
Olazabal and fellow Spanish player Miguel Angel Jimenez both wept during the sombre silence, the pair comforting each other with a long embrace after the homage. They then went out and played the third round as best they could.
"I just played the most difficult round of my life," said Olazabal, who shot a 3-over 75. "It was very tough to make it to the first tee and hit the first drive."
"I didn't doubt about playing today. The last thing he would have wanted would have been for me not to play. I don't think there will ever be another player like him. There can be others that are very good, but none will have his charisma."
Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion, choked up while answering reporters' questions about Ballesteros. "Obviously, he has been present all the time," he said. "Our relationship was so close. I always felt privileged for all the moments that we shared together, and there have been many. Even though I knew what the situation was, when the moment arrives you are never sufficiently prepared."
Playing partner Colin Montgomerie said Olazabal was "in floods of tears most of the day. He has lost an older brother almost."
"It was very difficult to get too much out of Jose Maria — he was very tearful and filling up. You could see in his eyes the great loss he feels and they've been a great support for each other. He did well to play at all today," said Montgomerie, who partnered Ballesteros in a number of Ryder Cups. "It was his brother really. It was a very, very sad day for him."
Olazabal and Ballesteros' friendship was born out of so many Ryder Cup successes against the United States with the two players representing the most successful pair in the competition's history. Olazabal lauded the strength and "fighting spirit" of the five-time major champion, who he knew was ailing after their last meeting on April 16.
"He wasn't well but he was lucid. We spoke about a lot of things and memories of the Ryder Cup," he said.
Olazabal sported a small black wreath on his baseball cap that many other players and club staff wore on their lapels to honor a player who won a record 50 times on the European Tour.
Flag pins were kept at half staff on a day with an overcast sky and chill in the air. One fan embraced Olazabal as he made his way to the clubhouse.
Olazabal, who will captain the European Ryder Cup team across the Atlantic in Medinah next year to become the second Spanish captain after Ballesteros, recalled his first meeting with an idol turned friend nearly 30 years ago.
"I was an amateur and he called me to play a charity match. He surprised me very much and I was very excited about it," Olazabal said. "I have lived so many moments with him so it's hard to pick just one but, without a doubt, the moments of the Ryder Cup, especially '97."
That was the year Ballesteros captained Europe to victory on Spanish soil at Valderrama, a special moment for Jimenez.
"I was his assistant, it was a very special week. Seve's passion for the Ryder Cup was one-of-a-kind," said Jimenez, who raced from the 18th hole to reach the minute's silence in time. "The thing that really stands about him is his determination, his tenacity and his passion for everything that he did."
Tributes for Ballesteros poured in from around the world of golf. Record 18-times major winner Jack Nicklaus said: "Today golf lost a great champion and a great friend. We also lost a great entertainer and ambassador for our sport.
"I have always had wonderful respect for Seve's ability, how he played the game, and the flair he brought to the sport. It was his creativity, his imagination and his desire to compete that made him so popular not only in Europe but throughout American galleries too.
"He was a great entertainer. No matter the golf that particular day, you always knew you were going to be entertained. Seve's enthusiasm was just unmatched by anybody I think that ever played the game...
"Seve was, without argument, a terrific player - his record speaks for itself - but more important was his influence on the game especially throughout Europe.
"Through the years his involvement with the Ryder Cup, as both a player and captain, served to further elevate the stature of the matches. He was probably the most passionate Ryder Cup player we've ever had. I think his team mates always rallied around him and that passion of his.
"He was Europe's emotional and spiritual leader, the heart and soul of their team. The Ryder Cup was something that was very, very special to Seve and Seve was very special to us."
Tiger Woods issued a short statement via his Twitter account. "I was deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Seve Ballesteros," he said. "I always enjoyed spending time with him at the Champions dinner each year at the U.S. Masters. Seve was one of the most talented and exciting golfers to ever play the game.
"His creativity and inventiveness on the golf course may never be surpassed. His death came much too soon."
Nick Faldo, a team-mate in the Ryder Cup, said: "He was a leader; bringing the spotlight to the European Tour, paving the way to European success at the Masters and bringing his relentless passion to the Ryder Cup.
"Today I would call him Cirque du Soleil. For golf he was the greatest show on earth. I was a fan and so fortunate I had a front row seat."

[boojangles]

RIP Seve. 1st name I would have associated with golf growing up.

[Tyrones own]

RIP Seve.

[seafoid]

This is from the guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/may/09/seve-ballesteros?commentpage=1#comment-10669400
halfwelshhalfwit
9 May 2011 8:09AM
When we were boys hacking round, Seve was already more than a man, even though he was just three years older. He carried the embodiment of a spirit, of adventure undaunted in the face of adversity.
He lifted golf into another experience, a challenge to be faced with a smile, and when deep in the shit, as we frequently were, as we looked at the lie, and the bushes and the trees, the spirit would visit us with the thought, " What would Seve do here?"
Most times we just got deeper in the shit, but for those few glorious times where we pulled off the unplayable shot, we flew with Seve. Going out sideways was for people who didn't get it, who cared more for the score than the spirit.
My teenage son died last year of a brain tumour. He was learning to play. His last experience was to get down in two to make a four at a tough par three to finish.
Tears are coming now. It's time to go.
Remember the Seve spirit. "I just have to keep going forwards"

[Bensars]

Read somewhere years ago that he found what i think was a 7 iron and learned to use it for all shots. Was great to see his enthusiam especially in the Ryder Cup. RIP