Sporting great Ballesteros dies aged 54

Seve Ballesteros

MADRID, (Reuters) – Seve Ballesteros, one of golf’s  greatest and most charismatic players, died today at the  age of 54 following a long battle with cancer, his family said.
The Spaniard, who won five major titles and inspired a  generation of players worldwide, died peacefully at 0210 local  time surrounded by his family at his home in Pedrena, northern  Spain, after four operations on a brain tumour diagnosed in late  2008.
World number one Lee Westwood described Ballesteros as an  “inspiration, genius, role model, hero and friend,” in one of  many warm tributes paid on Saturday.

Seve Ballesteros
Seve Ballesteros

“Seve made European golf what it is today,” Westwood added  on his Twitter feed. “RIP Seve.”
Many players competing in the Spanish Open in Terrassa today wore black ribbons in tribute to Ballesteros, while  organisers prepared to mark his death with a minute’s silence at  1445 local time (1245 GMT).
The flags at the course were flying at half-mast, while Jose  Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez embraced on the practice  range at the start of the day as they remembered their friend  and fellow Spaniard.
Four-times major champion Phil Mickelson highlighted the  flair and charisma of Ballesteros as his defining  characteristics.
“Because of the way he played the game of golf, you were  drawn to him,” Mickelson said at Quail Hollow Championship in  North Carolina.
“You wanted to go watch him play. He had charisma and he  kind of had so many shots that it was fun to watch him play.”
A winner of three British Opens and two Masters titles,  Ballesteros also helped revive Europe’s fortunes in the Ryder  Cup, breathing new life into the team competition against the  United States.
He won 87 titles worldwide, 50 of them on the European Tour,  and had the great satisfaction of captaining Europe to Ryder Cup  victory at Valderrama in Spain in 1997.
European Tour chief executive George O’Grady said  Ballesteros had been an inspiration as a player and a man.
“Seve’s unique legacy must be the inspiration he has given  to so many to watch, support, and play golf, and finally to  fight a cruel illness with equal flair, passion, and fierce  determination,” O’Grady said in a statement.
“We have all been so blessed to live in his era. He was the  inspiration behind the European Tour.”
The tumour was originally discovered after Ballesteros  collapsed at Madrid airport and was rushed to a nearby hospital.
“Today, at 2.10 a.m. Spanish time, Seve Ballesteros passed  away peacefully surrounded by his family at his home in  Pedrena,” the family said on Saturday in a statement on the  player’s personal website (www.seveballesteros.com).