Ballesteros is the successor to Gary Player's position as the game's foremost international competitor, having been victorious in a dozen different national Opens as well as winning nearly 70 times in 17 different countries. In 1979, he was the youngest winner of the Open this century, and in 1980 he became the youngest ever winner of the Masters. Through 1992, he had won at least one tournament every year for 17 seasons, a record only Player could better. But 1992 was also Ballesteros's poorest in Europe since he turned professional, prompting speculation that, at 35, he would not add to the five majors he had already collected.

Seve, the youngest of four golfing brothers raised by a farmer in Pedrena in northern Spain, has 'invented' more shots than any other contemporary golfer. His unique ability to imagine and execute improbable strokes is an invaluable legacy of learning to play the game with just one club. The chip shot he played to the final green of the 1976 Open indicated his genius; the 3-wood he played from a bunker to the final green of his singles match in the 1983 Ryder Cup confirmed it. However his career fares from hereon, the man is rightfully assured of being regarded by posterity as truly the Arnold Palmer of European golf.

Ballesteros was unquestionably Europe's leading golfer for 10 years or more, until Faldo assumed the mantle on the cusp of the 1980s and 1990s. It was Ballesteros who proved to other European golfers that the Americans are not invincible, even on their own soil and in their most cherished championships. He was the inspiration behind the European victories in the Ryder Cups matches of 1985 and 1987. It has been said that Ballesteros was born to golf because his right arm is an inch longer than his left, making it easier for him to adopt the ideal stance. If so, it was a gift from God that he hasn't wasted.

Seve Ballesteros - A genius born to the game.