JON RAHM AT THE 2019 ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO COPYRIGHT MATT HOOPER
5 APRIL, 2022 - SHANK MEDIA, BY MATT HOOPER: JON RAHM HAS ALREAD EMULATED THE LEGENDARY SEVE BALLESTEROS BY ASCENDING TO THE WORLD NUMBER ONE SPOT, A TITLE RAHM HELD FOR 43 WEEKS BEFORE BEING USURPED BY AMERICAN SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER A FORTNIGHT AGO. THE 2021 US OPEN CHAMPION STILL HAS A FURTHER 19 WEEKS AT NUMBER ONE TO HOLD ON IF HE IS GOING TO REPLACE HIS HERO AS THE ALL-TIME GREATEST SPANIARD IN THE OFFICIAL WORLD GOLF RANKINGS. WHILST RAHM HAS ALREADY ACHIEVED SOMETHING WHICH SEVE DID NOT, IN WINNING THE US OPEN, THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT THE FIERY BASQUE WILL WANT, ABOVE ALL OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS, TO FOLLOW SEVE AND SERGIO AS SPANIARDS TO HAVE WORN THE GREEN JACKET.
RAHM COMES INTO THIS WEEK'S TOURNAMENT HAVING FINISHED IN THE TOP 10 FOR THE LAST FOUR CONSECUTIVE MASTERS TOURNAMENT'S, AND DESPITE A QUIET SPELL RECENTLY, THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT HE HAS A LIKING FOR AUGUSTA, MUCH IN THE WAY HIS HERO DID.
If Severiano Ballesteros was an artist then Augusta National Golf Club was the perfect canvas for him to paint the most beautiful pictures. With wins in 1980 and 1983, heartbreaking defeats in 1986 and 1987 and close calls in 1985, 1989 and 1990 Augusta proved to be the setting in which the flair and creativity of the dashing Spaniard could come to the fore more often than on any other course in the United States. Not only was Seve an artist he was in fact a leader, the pied piper of European Golf, ushering in an era of European success not enjoyed in any Major since before the second World War – 11 wins in 20 Masters Tournaments between 1980 and 1999 by Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Jose Maria Olazabal and of course sensational Seve.
RAHM COMES INTO THIS WEEK'S TOURNAMENT HAVING FINISHED IN THE TOP 10 FOR THE LAST FOUR CONSECUTIVE MASTERS TOURNAMENT'S, AND DESPITE A QUIET SPELL RECENTLY, THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT HE HAS A LIKING FOR AUGUSTA, MUCH IN THE WAY HIS HERO DID.
If Severiano Ballesteros was an artist then Augusta National Golf Club was the perfect canvas for him to paint the most beautiful pictures. With wins in 1980 and 1983, heartbreaking defeats in 1986 and 1987 and close calls in 1985, 1989 and 1990 Augusta proved to be the setting in which the flair and creativity of the dashing Spaniard could come to the fore more often than on any other course in the United States. Not only was Seve an artist he was in fact a leader, the pied piper of European Golf, ushering in an era of European success not enjoyed in any Major since before the second World War – 11 wins in 20 Masters Tournaments between 1980 and 1999 by Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Jose Maria Olazabal and of course sensational Seve.
Each generation in golf has a player which changes the way the game is played and perceived, a player which increases the popularity of the game in different parts of the world and society and a player which challenges the norm and breaks records. Seve did all of this and more. 50 European Tour wins, 5 Major Championships, 2 Masters Tournaments and an influential role in reviving the Ryder Cup and taking the European Tour to the next level, Ballesteros was the most important golfer in modern European golf and was considered to be the Arnold Palmer of Europe. Seve was an intoxicating mix of charm, charisma and good looks allied to athletic ability, the girls wanted to be with him and the guys wanted to be him and he was unique in golf and usually those with a unique quality shine at Augusta National – Seve was no different.
Following his sensational breakthrough performance in the 1976 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale where he held the 54-hole lead before finishing in a tie for second place with Jack Nicklaus behind Johnny Miller at the age of 19 Ballesteros went on to win 9 tournaments on the European Tour and 1 on the PGA Tour before claiming a first Major title. In the 1979 Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Anne's Seve came from 2 shots behind Hale Irwin in the final round to win his first major, finishing as the only player under par and winning by three strokes from Ben Crenshaw and Jack Nicklaus. The 22-year-old was greeted in emotional scenes by his brother and father behind the 18th green and a new star in the game of golf had been born, the world was at the feet of this incredibly talented Spaniard. Ballesteros would not win again in 1979 and his next win anywhere was at Augusta National.
Seve had made three previous appearances at Augusta, improving each time finishing 38th, 18th and 12th prior to his fourth Masters invitation. The youngest Masters champion ever was Jack Nicklaus when he won in 1963 at the age of 23, that was until Seve slipped into the green jacket in 1980, the Open champion celebrated his 23rd birthday on the day prior to the start of the 1980 Masters Tournament and produced a dominant performance to compare with Ben Hogan in 1953 and Jack Nicklaus in 1965.
The 1980 Masters Tournament was in many ways the equivalent of Rory McIlroy in 2011, the only difference being that Seve did just manage to hold on and get over the line to claim his second Major title at the age of 23 – coincidentally the same age at which Rory McIlroy is coming into the 2013 Masters, looking for his third Major and first Masters. Ballesteros began his fourth Masters appearance with a stunning six-under-par round of 66 which was enough to give the prodigy a share of the lead with David Graham and Jeff Mitchell, he would not look back and shot a 69 on Friday to open up a four stroke lead with a two-round total of 135, nine-under-par and keep himself on course for a maiden Masters victory.
On Saturday Seve went one better and posted a four-under-par 68 to take his three-round total to 203, 13-under and an incredible 7 strokes clear and all of The Masters records were under threat. The lowest four-round total of 17-under by Nicklaus and Floyd was within reach and the biggest winning margin of 9 by Jack Nicklaus was also seemingly about to be eclipsed by the flamboyant European super-hero, but winning at Augusta National has never been easy, in any era.
On Saturday Seve went one better and posted a four-under-par 68 to take his three-round total to 203, 13-under and an incredible 7 strokes clear and all of The Masters records were under threat. The lowest four-round total of 17-under by Nicklaus and Floyd was within reach and the biggest winning margin of 9 by Jack Nicklaus was also seemingly about to be eclipsed by the flamboyant European super-hero, but winning at Augusta National has never been easy, in any era.
Very much like '65 when Nicklaus separated himself from the field on Saturday the chasing pack had to be aggressive on Sunday in order to close the gap on Ballesteros, and Hubert Green, Jack Newton and Gibby Gilbert all produced great final rounds to move from 10, 9 and 8 shots behind Seve respectively into a position whereby the Spaniard had a nervous final few holes as he looked to close out the win. Despite a decidedly shaky Amen Corner which saw his lead shrink from 7 to 3 Ballesteros clinched victory with the help of a 2-putt birdie on the dramatic par five 15th hole and hung on for a four-shot win, posting a round of level par 72 for a 72-hole total of 275 and 13-under-par. He made the most birdies ever by a winner, 23 of them, helping him to become the youngest ever Masters champion and seemingly crowned him as the new king of golf, just as the 1963 Masters had done for Jack Nicklaus.
Sports Illustrated certainly thought so in their Masters edition “Ballesteros seems destined to take many more majors. Consider what his game combines: the length of a younger Jack Nicklaus, the boldness of a 1960s Arnold Palmer and the putting touch of a Ben Crenshaw. There can be no question that Ballesteros has profited from playing golf in places besides Florida and California. In winning such titles as the Dutch, French, Swiss, Japanese, German, Kenya and Scandinavian opens, and proving he can take the big ones against the best the U.S. has to offer, he is a strong argument for the case that international travel not only broadens the mind but improves the grip and the swing.”
Seve received the jacket from the first golfer since the first Masters to win the title on his debut appearance, Fuzzy Zoeller was 27 and had won just once prior to his Masters win, it was very much an upset at that time even though he would go on to win a US Open 5 years later, Seve winning however was no surprise but what was surprising was that he would only win once more at Augusta. It was not for the lack of trying though. Somewhat shockingly Seve would miss the cut in 1981 as defending champion but in the very next year following 5 wins on the European Tour and 1 in Japan Ballesteros would bounce back into contention at Golf's First Major.
Seve received the jacket from the first golfer since the first Masters to win the title on his debut appearance, Fuzzy Zoeller was 27 and had won just once prior to his Masters win, it was very much an upset at that time even though he would go on to win a US Open 5 years later, Seve winning however was no surprise but what was surprising was that he would only win once more at Augusta. It was not for the lack of trying though. Somewhat shockingly Seve would miss the cut in 1981 as defending champion but in the very next year following 5 wins on the European Tour and 1 in Japan Ballesteros would bounce back into contention at Golf's First Major.
Tough conditions over the first couple of days in 1982 led to high scoring at Augusta National but Seve kept himself within touching distance of the lead with two rounds of 73 to sit two-over-par going into the weekend, and with more spring like conditions on Saturday the scoring came down and with it the chances of the 1980 champion improved with a four-under-par 68 to move to two-under-par for the tournament and place him three shots behind Craig Stadler in a tie for second place.
But despite Stadler playing the final six holes in four-over-par Seve could not find that vital birdie to tie and force himself into the play-off, Stadler would defeat Dan Pohl on the first extra hole to claim his first and only Major title. 3 more worldwide wins in the next 12 months and Seve came into the 1983 Masters as one of the leading protagonists once again, and this time he would make no mistake in claiming a third Major title and second green jacket.
But despite Stadler playing the final six holes in four-over-par Seve could not find that vital birdie to tie and force himself into the play-off, Stadler would defeat Dan Pohl on the first extra hole to claim his first and only Major title. 3 more worldwide wins in the next 12 months and Seve came into the 1983 Masters as one of the leading protagonists once again, and this time he would make no mistake in claiming a third Major title and second green jacket.
The first round of the 1983 Masters was highlighted by the play of Arnold Palmer, the four-time Masters champion was 53 years of age but produced a round of 68 to sit one off the lead held by Jack Renner, Raymond Floyd and Gil Morgan who each posted rounds of 67 on a beautiful day for scoring in Georgia. Seve matched Palmer with a 68 and was well placed on a leaderboard which the leading 8 players were separated by just one stroke, Seve would however be the only man who moved forward at the 1983 Masters.
A second round 70 would put him into second place but on the third day the conditions would be tough and the master at minimising the damage did so again with a third round of 73 in contrast to the round of 76 shot by Gil Morgan and 78 by Jack Renner, Seve remained in second place to Raymond Floyd by one stroke but this time in the final round he would take advantage of mistakes by the contenders on the second nine.
A second round 70 would put him into second place but on the third day the conditions would be tough and the master at minimising the damage did so again with a third round of 73 in contrast to the round of 76 shot by Gil Morgan and 78 by Jack Renner, Seve remained in second place to Raymond Floyd by one stroke but this time in the final round he would take advantage of mistakes by the contenders on the second nine.
Ballesteros bounced out of the traps with a birdie three at the first hole to tie Floyd for the lead and then shook the field with an eagle three at the second hole to hit the front, he never looked back. He extended his lead to six shots before bogeys at the 10th and 12th reduced his advantage to four with six to play. Two Masters wins by four strokes making the Spaniard one of the most dominant golfers in Masters history in terms of margins of victory, his place among the legends of the game was now secure with a third major title and second emphatic win at Augusta National.
Sensationally again Seve would miss the cut when defending his title in 1984 but another major victory would be just around the corner. Despite The Masters being the tournament in which Seve showed the most consistency, 8 top 10 finishes in 11 starts between 1980 and 1990, it was at The Open Championship where the Matador was most loved, he was cherished by and supported by the British golf fan and in 1984 on the course Augusta was modelled after Ballesteros provided the iconic moment which has come to symbolize Seve.
Sensationally again Seve would miss the cut when defending his title in 1984 but another major victory would be just around the corner. Despite The Masters being the tournament in which Seve showed the most consistency, 8 top 10 finishes in 11 starts between 1980 and 1990, it was at The Open Championship where the Matador was most loved, he was cherished by and supported by the British golf fan and in 1984 on the course Augusta was modelled after Ballesteros provided the iconic moment which has come to symbolize Seve.
After a thrilling battle with Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson on the final day at the Old Course in St Andrews Seve came to the famous 18th knowing a birdie would be critical to giving him any chance of success at the Home of Golf. Having played his approach to around 15 feet to the right of the hole he faced a devilish breaking putt with the eyes of the golfing world on him and a record crowd on hand he rolled the putt to the edge of the hole and the ball hung there for a brief moment, before dropping and Ballesteros energetically and enthusiastically punched the air in delight.
He hugged his caddie Dave Musgrove and left the green punching the air with a beaming smile on his face, he had won a second Open Championship and a fourth major title, he was without question the greatest golfer in the world. The 1985 Masters would be another close call for Seve, finishing in second place two strokes behind his fellow European Bernhard Langer, who would make it three European winners of The Masters in the 1980's proving that Seve wasn't the lone ranger when it comes to European golfers at Augusta, the era of the Europeans was in full swing and Ballesteros should have added two more wins in 1986 and 1987.
He hugged his caddie Dave Musgrove and left the green punching the air with a beaming smile on his face, he had won a second Open Championship and a fourth major title, he was without question the greatest golfer in the world. The 1985 Masters would be another close call for Seve, finishing in second place two strokes behind his fellow European Bernhard Langer, who would make it three European winners of The Masters in the 1980's proving that Seve wasn't the lone ranger when it comes to European golfers at Augusta, the era of the Europeans was in full swing and Ballesteros should have added two more wins in 1986 and 1987.
The 1986 Masters has universally become known as the greatest Masters ever, but for Seve Ballesteros it is most certainly the major he would have felt the worst about losing, because he had it in the palm of his hands on the second nine on Sunday following a dramatic eagle at the 13th giving himself a two stroke lead over Tom Kite and four stroke advantage over Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus. However with a charging Jack Nicklaus making birdie at 13, eagle at 15 and birdies at 16 and 17 the bogeys Seve made at 15 and 17 meant the 1980 and 1983 champion suffered an agonising defeat when he had one arm in the sleeve of a third green jacket.
12 months later he got even closer to a third Masters title and enjoyed another battle with one of his great rivals in the 1980's – Greg Norman. If the 1986 Masters was the most exciting and greatest in some people's opinions then the 1987 had without question one of the most dramatic finishes in golf history, and it was another bitterly disappointing defeat for both Seve and Norman, following the incredible 140-feet chip in from Georgia native Larry Mize on the second play-off hole. Seve, Mize and Norman tied after 72-holes at 3-under-par and went into extra holes, Seve made a bogey on the tenth hole and Norman and Mize made par fours to progress to the 11th hole where Mize's Miracle ended the tournament in extraordinary fashion.
12 months later he got even closer to a third Masters title and enjoyed another battle with one of his great rivals in the 1980's – Greg Norman. If the 1986 Masters was the most exciting and greatest in some people's opinions then the 1987 had without question one of the most dramatic finishes in golf history, and it was another bitterly disappointing defeat for both Seve and Norman, following the incredible 140-feet chip in from Georgia native Larry Mize on the second play-off hole. Seve, Mize and Norman tied after 72-holes at 3-under-par and went into extra holes, Seve made a bogey on the tenth hole and Norman and Mize made par fours to progress to the 11th hole where Mize's Miracle ended the tournament in extraordinary fashion.
Seve would win one more major at the place he won his first 9 years earlier with a round which Nick Faldo calls the greatest round he has ever seen, a 65 on Monday in the final round after rain washed Sunday out. Ballesteros defeated Nick Price and Faldo in one of his most legendary individual performances, but the way in which he swung the club was beginning to take its toll and major success would elude him for the rest of his career. The five-time Major champion would win a further 20 tournaments around the world following his success at Royal Lytham and St Anne's and there would still be flashes of brilliance but the dominant and daunting Seve of the mid-80's was less prevalent. His final win came in the 1995 Spanish Open.
One of the defining elements of Seve's career was match play and his role in reviving the Ryder Cup cannot be underestimated, and because of the respect the European Tour had for this role played by Ballesteros they selected Spain as the host country for the 1997 Ryder Cup, and the magnificent Valderrama, known as the Augusta of Europe, would stage the tournament. Seve was selected as the overwhelming choice to be Europe's captain and he performed the job in his own unique style, leading Europe to an emotional victory in the rain in Spain. It was to be the crowning glory of Severiano Sota Ballesteros' career.
The death of Ballesteros left his family and close friends bereft and had a profound impact upon all of the golfers who had competed with, against and played alongside Seve during 15 years at the very top of golf. It is somewhat apt that the winner of the first Masters Tournament following his death was Bubba Watson. The flair with which Watson plays the game and the outrageous skill shown by his title clinching shot in the play-off against Louis Oosthuizen more than had the hallmark of Seve on it, it was as if he had played it from heaven himself.
Then in 2012 his spirit seemed to will Europe to an incredible comeback at Medinah, there are golfers, there are great golfers, there are legendary golfers and then there are iconic golfers. Golfers who transcend their sport and leave a legacy that will be felt in the sport for decades later, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Tiger and Seve are these men who have each contributed to the game at a level far greater than any other golfers. All of them loved and love Augusta and all of them played at their peak at Augusta, all of them are artists, Augusta is the canvas and Seve is Monet, Picasso and Da Vinci.
RAHM MAY WELL BE MORE PRAGMATIC IN HIS STYLE THAN SEVE, BUT HE CERTAINLY RESERVES MOMENTS OF INSPIRATION FOR THE BIGGEST EVENTS, YOU ONLY NEED TO LOOK AT HIS RESUME OF WORLDWIDE VICTORIES TO SEE THAT. IF IT ISN'T THIS WEEK THEN SURELY ONE DAY JON WILL JOIN SEVERIANO AND SERGIO AS A MASTERS CHAMPION.
Then in 2012 his spirit seemed to will Europe to an incredible comeback at Medinah, there are golfers, there are great golfers, there are legendary golfers and then there are iconic golfers. Golfers who transcend their sport and leave a legacy that will be felt in the sport for decades later, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Tiger and Seve are these men who have each contributed to the game at a level far greater than any other golfers. All of them loved and love Augusta and all of them played at their peak at Augusta, all of them are artists, Augusta is the canvas and Seve is Monet, Picasso and Da Vinci.
RAHM MAY WELL BE MORE PRAGMATIC IN HIS STYLE THAN SEVE, BUT HE CERTAINLY RESERVES MOMENTS OF INSPIRATION FOR THE BIGGEST EVENTS, YOU ONLY NEED TO LOOK AT HIS RESUME OF WORLDWIDE VICTORIES TO SEE THAT. IF IT ISN'T THIS WEEK THEN SURELY ONE DAY JON WILL JOIN SEVERIANO AND SERGIO AS A MASTERS CHAMPION.
