Sombre mood in Spain as golf loses a true legend in Ballesteros

You just have to look at the 2010 Ryder Cup to see how much of an effect Seve Ballesteros had on golf, and today the game will mourn the loss of a true great.

Ballesteros was one of golf’s greats winning five Major championships, 87 tournaments and 20 Ryder Cup points throughout the course of his glowing career, but it’s his attitude that will forever be remembered as he was the man that brought golf to the masses.

These days the Ryder Cup attracts a worldwide audience made up of golfers, golf fanatics, and people that have never picked up a golf club in their life, and much of this is all down to Seve.

The Ryder Cup has become so popular 35,000 people skipped work and extended holidays to take in the final day’s play of the 2010 Ryder Cup, and Seve’s influence was felt all around the Celtic Manor as the European team dedicated their victory to the Maestro.

Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido became the first players from continental Europe to take part in a Ryder Cup in 1979 in a tournament that would change the course of golf, and Ballesteros embodied the spirit of golf’s most popular competition over his 18-year Ryder Cup history.

His love for the game coupled with a never say die attitude was infectious, something that shone through in the 1997 Ryder Cup when Ballesteros captained Europe to victory.

The Spaniard was loved by every friend, fan and foe and his impact on the world of golf is one not to be played down.

We must never forget that while it was his personality that was so endearing, it was his ability on the golf course that ultimately led to to Ballesteros’ huge impact on golf and we should remember the Spaniard as a champion, and a true star of the great game.