“I just like to keep going forward.”

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Doug Ferguson talks to some of Seve's greatest American rivals and ends the piece with this anecdote:

Mark Garrod, the golf correspondent for PA Sports the last three decades, remembers Ballesteros hitting one shot so far right during the '93 European Masters that he was 3 feet away from a wall with a swimming pool on the other side. The situation looked hopeless until Ballesteros saw enough of a gap in the trees that he hit pitching wedge to the fringe, then chipped in for birdie.

Garrod later asked Ballesteros about the shot, and the response is worth remembering now.

“I just like to keep going forward.”

Seve On Their Mind

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Plenty of nice memories of Seve Ballesteros filed by writers contemplating his health predicament.

James Lawton writes the most evocative piece:

Yet in the crisis that has come to him these last few days, there has been at least a hint of a more philosophical and composed Ballesteros. The flood of affection that has poured into the hospital from all over the world has plainly been of comfort, reminded him, if he had forgotten somewhat in the darkest days of his divorce and the death of a girlfriend and the accumulated angst that life can bring in less dramatic circumstances, that he had indeed touched so many hearts with his extraordinary talent and, not least, his competitive cojones.

"I have always sympathised with those people who face illnesses. Therefore, I want to remind them that with bravery, faith, serenity, confidence and a lot of mental strength, we have to face any situation, no matter how difficult it is," he said.

Maybe it remains only to pray that this proves more than a noble epitaph to one of the most engaging, and thrilling, sportsmen who ever lived. Seve Ballesteros, at the worst of times, has always been full of life. Serenity? Perhaps not so much, but for this he has, no doubt, reached into the bag at precisely the right time.
Ron Sirak shares his thoughts and memories:
If Arnold Palmer gets credit for bringing the Open Championship back to major championship status by traveling to Britain in 1960 to play in it, Ballesteros gets at least equal credit for making the Ryder Cup relevant again and for expanding the borders of golf beyond the United States and Britain to Europe and eventually Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
John Hopkins considers the magnitude of Seve's plight has hit Europe and in particular, golf fans in the U.K., as does Lewine Mair in the Telegraph.

Pete Jenson reports on the mood in Spain and quotes Seve's countrymen Garcia and Jimenez wishing him well.

Neil Squires delivers a few great Seve stories, including one from David Feherty.

Mike Aitken puts Seve's struggles into perspective.

Jeff Rude (here) and Steve Elling (here) offer American perspectives.

"Los mejores deseos para el futuro, amigo."

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Doctors have said Seve had a "partial epileptic fit" and are awaiting more test results. Meanwhile, John Huggan reflects on the great champion's career and like so many others, hopes for the best.

Hopefully that legendary desire to succeed, along with the good wishes of millions of golf fans around the globe, will be enough to sustain Ballesteros as he awaits the results of tests that may or may not confirm the presence of a brain tumour. Los mejores deseos para el futuro, amigo.

Latest On Seve

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Graham Keeley in The Times reports that Seve has a brain tumor, but the hospital won't confirm. Say it ain't so.

Monty:

“What we are hearing puts everything into perspective in a heartbeat,” said Montgomerie, who played under Ballesteros at Valderrama.

“Seve has this fighting spirit, this never-say-die approach. He has come back from four down with nine to play to defeat both Paul Azinger and Raymond Floyd and he has done much the same against me a couple of times. His great attitude and his passion should serve him well now.”



Casey To Vijay: You Can't Keep Up WIth Me In The Gym Old Geezer

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Paul_Casey_355514a.jpgWho said it would get dull with Tiger out of the picture fo ra while? Thanks to reader Chris for Craig Tregurtha's report on the lastest chapter in the Vijay v. Britain's-soft-golfers-spat, with Paul Casey tells us far more than we ever wanted to know about his home routine:

“I am angry, he has no clue what I do, so how can he comment?” Casey, who had a second-round 68 to move into contention at the BMW International Open in Munich yesterday, said. “I can only speak for the guys I know well, like Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter, but we are all working incredibly hard and I think it is an unfair shot from Vijay. I would like to see him try to live with me in the gym for a couple of hours.

“He does not know us and he has no evidence to back up what he says. We are all very frustrated that we have not won majors and that our results have not been as good as we would have liked. But it is not down to lack of effort and perhaps when we do make a breakthrough then it will open the door to a lot more wins.

 

"Get that golfer off my football field."

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goydoshallaran.jpgThanks to reader Warren for noticing this Q&A with Paul Goydos conducted by Laury Livsey that includes a fun story about his Long Beach State days and the school's ever-so-brief football coaching stint by George Allen.
Long Beach State had a driving range that the football team wanted to use to practice on when George Allen got there for his one year as coach. I'm on the golf team, so one day I was out there hitting and shagging balls, and he yells, 'Get that golfer off my football field.' I never met the man, but let's just say he definitely knew who I was.


Ogilvie Really Wants To Meet Bill Gates And Find Out Where Vista Went Wrong

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Colin Fly profiles Joe Ogilvie on his aspirations outside of golf, including possibly becoming a PGA Tour vice president in hopes of someday warranting consideration for the Commissioner's job. After all, where else in golf can you make that kind of money?

In the meantime, Ogilvie, who has eaten with Buffett about 10 times, is keeping busy with investments and thinking about how he would pick Gates' brain if the two met.

He said he's much more interested in the philanthropic work of the billionaires like Gates as opposed to how they amassed their fortunes.

"I can understand philanthropic work more than I can understand the Vista operating system," said Ogilvie, who admitted he owned a Mac. "Obviously he's one of the smartest tech guys that ever lived, so it would be fun just to think about, 'Where we would go from here?' — that type of thing."

Or, I would submit, "is Vista the biggest disaster in the history of operating systems?"

"President of what?"

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Jeff Rude files this frightening item for the Golfweek tour blog:

Dean Wilson, Zurich Classic first-round leader, grew up in Hawaii. Wilson now knows Barack Obama, presidential candidate, also grew up in Hawaii.  More to the point, Wilson now knows who Obama is.

That wasn't the case in December 2006 when the PGA Tour player was taping a television segment at a daily-fee course on Oahu. Obama also happened to be there that day, playing golf with childhood friends while on vacation.

Someone mentioned to Wilson that that guy over there might be the next president.

"President of what?" the golfer said. "President of the golf club?"

Admitted Wilson later, "I had never heard of him."

And who says professional golfers aren't focused?
Focused?

Nobody will ever accuse Jeff of being rude ever again.