Post by mexicanjunior on May 12, 2011 11:00:06 GMT -6
www.vancouversun.com/sports/Seve+Ballesteros+dead/4750153/story.html
Not a big golf guy but I knew the name...tentative IN!
The professional golf world reacted swiftly, and emotionally, to Saturday's news that Seve Ballesteros, 54, had lost his battle with brain cancer.
Ballesteros, a five-time major champion and captain of Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team in 1997, died at his home in Pedrena, Spain.
Ballesteros was best known for his creative shot-making and his emotional nature, a combination that led six-time major champion Nick Faldo to characterize Ballesteros as "Cirque du Soleil" in a statement released Saturday morning.
"For golf, he was the greatest show on earth," Faldo said. "I was a fan and so fortunate I had a frontrow seat."
Jack Nicklaus, pro golf's recordholder for major championships (18), said Ballesteros' passing means the golf world "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 while achieving the success he did," Nicklaus said in a statement. "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."
Tiger Woods, winner of 14 major titles, posted a tweet about Ballesteros on his Twitter account. Woods described Ballesteros as "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."
Ballesteros won the 1980 Masters title at 23, one of his five major titles in a career in which he reached No. 1 in the world golf rankings for a 61week stretch during his prime.
Ballesteros won the Masters again in 1983 and added three British Open titles (1979, 1984, 1988).
Not a big golf guy but I knew the name...tentative IN!
