Nick Dye
Mallorca, Spain
11 May 2011
The funeral for Spanish golfing great Severiano Ballesteros was held Wednesday at his native fishing village in northern Spain, with a number of the top European golfers in attendance. The record holder of 50 European Tour victories died from a cancerous brain tumor at his home in Pedrena on Saturday at age 54.
There have been calls to change the European Tour's Harry Vardon logo to one showing Seve Ballesteros. There have been and will be further calls to name various holes after the five times major winner.
The Vivendi Trophy goes on with his name attached, and undoubtedly there'll be trophies and tournaments in his honor.
But essentially, his memory will live on regardless. It's not the 87 tournament wins or his success in Ryder Cups, but the way he played the game, the joy he brought and the inspiration he gave others.
Everyone seems to have a Seve story. Thomas Levet is no exception. He plays on, celebrating the life of a legendary figure.
"The magic of that guy was unbelievable," recalled Levet. "You know he was like a magician. He could teach magicians. He would teach how to escape from things, because he was [that way]. The touch he had with the golf ball around difficulties was just unreal."
Colin Montgomerie attended the funeral in Pedrena together with Seve's great friends Jose Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
"Very few people are called legends in this world and Seve was one of them," said Montgomerie. "Never before in our lifetime have we seen such a talent swing a golf club."
Monty and Olazabal have late tee times in Mallorca Thursday where Alejandro Canizares aims to go one better than last year and secure a Spanish victory.
"We all want to be like Seve," Canizares noted. "We try hard to be but it's very, very difficult to have something anything close to what he was. So hopefully a Spanish player wins and they dedicate the tournament in his memory."
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