His Story

By the time Seve set out that day, he had won three major championships; The Open in 1979 and the US Masters in 1980 and 1983. However, St Andrews is the accepted birthplace of golf and the most prestigious place to win a major, this was a challenge he was not going to take lightly. Practising in his home town of Pedrena in Northern Spain, with only the occasional interruption of wandering sheep, he concentrated on the intricacies of golf’s most challenging course, and in particular the Road Hole 17th, the location of his previous downfall in 1978, where he lost out to the great Jack Nicklaus.

When it came to the day in question, Ballesteros was only two strokes behind his main rival Tom Watson from the USA who was all set to win the Championship for the 6th time. In fact, the game looked set to go to a tie-breaker 18-hole play-off, but the action really began when Ballesteros arrived at the 17th. Putting to one side his memories of hitting his tee shot out of bounds six years previously, he drove the ball into the left rough. Then with his six iron, in what many see as the key shot of his entire tournament, he effortlessly placed the ball in the heart of the green, only thirty feet from the hole.

His next putt took him to within 18 inches
and he holed that for a par four. Amid the rapturous applause, Ballesteros turned to
his caddie Nick de Paul and said, "I think we need a birdie at the last". De Paul sealed the deal with the momentous reply,
"Let's do it then."

As Ballesteros made his way to the 18th, Watson made a great start on the Road Hole. He drove the ball over the Old Course Golf and Country Hotel and straight onto the fairway, 200 yards from the green. Then following a rare moment of indecision, Watson took out a three iron, quickly
replaced it with a two iron and proceeded to play his second shot onto the road, to the right of the green.

At the 18th, Seve's tee shot had driven the ball far up the fairway, prompting an ovation from his adoring crowd. He then punched a wedge over the notorious Valley of Sin to land the ball only 15 feet short of the pin. It all ended with a triumphant putt for a birdie, allowing Ballesteros to reach a record breaking 12 under par. "I was 100% sure I was the champion when I holed that putt…my energy and power made the ball drop. It was the most exciting moment of my career," he stated.

The crowd clearly felt the same as Watson heard the roar from the eighteenth and knew the pressure was on to “pull off a couple of miracles”. However, miracles are rare at the best of times, never mind during a major and he missed the opportunity to hole his putt for a par, leaving Seve Ballesteros to make one of the most memorable wins not only of his own glittering career, but of the entire
history of golf.