More Memories Of Seve

In no particular order...

Life isn't a game, of course, but the tragedy behind the glory of Seve Ballesteros was that sometimes he plainly found it hard to distinguish between the two. He wept unashamedly in defeat and was distraught when he finished second as a 19-year-old at the Open at Royal Birkdale in 1976. Ballesteros always lived in the moment, and if such anguish was hard to understand after he had been beaten only by the superstar American Johnny Miller, and tied with Jack Nicklaus, it was soon enough widely understood that the thin, intense youth played only to win. It wasn't considered an ambition; it was a birthright.

He won three Opens along with his Masters titles, and each time he won a major he seemed to journey a little deeper into the improbable, even the surreal.

Peter Alliss's memories of Seve.

He could also be awkward. He could shut down a party with a look. That is the kind of power and charisma he had. But he loved the game, he loved to play, he just loved hitting balls. He was more than a golfer, he was a global star. It was such a shame that a life like his should end like it did. They were a very sad last two years, living in a bloody big house overlooking the Bay of Santander with a housekeeper and his brothers popping in. His family lived in Madrid and he was largely on his own. He knew he was dying. It was very sad.

I last saw him a couple of months ago. We went down to film a documentary. He lived in some style. You went into his garage and you discovered a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. He'd had them for years but they had fewer than 4,000 miles on the clock. A dealer friend of mine asked me to ask Seve if he wanted to sell them.

He offered Seve a decent price but he wanted a million pounds each for them because 'they belong to me'.

Thanks to reader Stuart for Ewen Murray's memories of Seve.

I first met Seve when he was a teenager at the under 25 championship in Evian.

It was a practice round and this engaging Spaniard arrived on the first tee with some dodgy-looking shoes and minus the full compliment of clubs.

My first question was: who are you caddying for? "I am playing," was the reply.

After a few holes, I realized I was in special company and it was the beginning of a friendship that would last until his untimely death of such a brutal illness.

Former caddy Billy Foster remembers the man and shares a few favorite stories courtesy of Kevin Garside.

Greg Turner is interviewed by Martin Davidson.

''He was bloody kind with his time. Any time I saw him going to the practice green I'd head over there as well. He was very free with his advice and he'd spend a lot of time with you, talking you through stuff. For a young guy that was purely inspirational.''

John Huggan on why we'll never see another like him.

It is no exaggeration to say that we will never see his like again. Quite apart from the fact that the explosion in club and ball technology over the last 20 years or so has left professional golf all but bereft of the subtle shot-making, touch and artistry Seve took to previously unexplored levels, the Spaniard played, to paraphrase the great Bobby Jones' famous description of Jack Nicklaus, "a game with which no-one else was familiar". Added to which he was the ultimate competitor, as his 50 European Tour victories - a record - and 87 worldwide wins so graphically indicate.

Mike Clayton remembers the man and some of his most important victories.

The Spaniard won his first major championship at Royal Lytham in 1979, beating a white handkerchief-waving Hale Irwin, a clinically accurate American who only a month earlier had won his national Open. Seve clattered the ball all over the links from the tee but in one of the most staggering performances on a brutally difficult course he holed the most improbable of putts, hit the most perfect bunker shots and then finished off Irwin, Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Australian Rodger Davis when he made a birdie at the 16th after driving into the carpark.

The orthodox and normally ruthless Irwin could not stomach a man burying him on the golf course whilst missing fairway after fairway with a swing that showed little regard for orthodoxy.

A very nice compilation of quotes from Seve's peers on the Champions Tour includes this from Nick Price:

"What he did for European golf was what Tiger Woods did for worldwide golf. The European Tour would not be where it is now if it were not for Seve. His allegiance to the European Tour was admirable. I mean the guy was an icon; just an incredible golfer. I've always said most of us could shoot 65 in about 30 or 40 ways. He could do it about 10,000 different ways. He could miss every fairway, chip in five times, hole two bunker shots...what a sad day today. He was so creative around the greens. It didn't matter if there was a tree or bunker, he'd figure out a way to get up and down. He and I had a great duel at Royal Lytham in 1988. It was a great day for each of us. I remember the seventh hole he made an eagle right on top of me. I remember after we played that hole that one of us was going to win because we were both playing so well that day and neither of us was going to back down. He was always very kind to me. Whatever you may have heard about him, his love for the game and his competitiveness was something I learned so much from.

Richard Goldstein files the New York Times obituary.

GolfDigest.com compiles the golf world's Tweets on Seve.

Garry Smits on a nice gesture from Tim Clark in advance of The Players.

Defending champion Tim Clark of South Africa, who won last year in stunning fashion with a weekend sprint to the top, has asked the PGA Tour to take his nation's flag down a week before usual.

On Clark's direction, his agent called Players Championship media official Laura Hill Saturday evening and asked that the Spanish fly be flown atop the Circle of Champions this week instead of the South African flag, a gesture he is making to Seve Ballesteros, the Hall of Fame player from Spain who died early Saturday of a brain tumor.

Hill got the word to the right people and the Spanish flag will be hoisted over the landmark at the bottom of the hill between the clubhouse and the practice area beginning Sunday morning. At the base of the flag are plaques commemorating each Players winner. Ballesteros never won the tournament but for a week his career will be honored as if he had.

Services are planned for Wednesday. The PGA Tour will suspend play Sunday on all tour events for one minute at 3:08 ET.

An ESPN phone interview with Jack Nicklaus.