Seve Ballesteros took golf to another level with an array of phenomenal shots and was the wildest, most exciting thing ever seen on the links.
He was the greatest player in the world between 1979 and 1988 and everyone loved and followed Seve, who was a frequent visitor to the links of the Old Course.
Who will forget Seve’s celebration after holing the winning putt there in 1984 to defeat Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer and win one of his three Opens?
Seve died aged 54 in 2011, which makes these forgotten images from the DC Thomson archive especially poignant ahead of the 150th Open Championship.
So let’s take a trip down memory lane to celebrate the charismatic Spaniard at the course which was the scene of the most memorable Open moment.
Early years
Turning pro at the age of 16, Seve competed in his first Open in 1975 at Carnoustie, and then catapulted on to the stage at Birkdale the following year.
Seve broke through properly at the 1978 Open at St Andrews where he was co-leader for 36 holes at -5 before struggling and falling away over the weekend.
Jack Nicklaus won the Claret Jug but the swashbuckling Seve captured the hearts of the crowds and they fell in love with the entertainer from Santander!
I wonder if any of these fans still have those signatures from Seve?
Iconic moments
Thankfully the entertainer won when he returned to St Andrews in 1984!
Seve won the 1984 Open, two strokes ahead of Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer with Fred Couples and Nick Faldo and Greg Norman just behind.
When he clinched Open victory at St Andrews with a birdie on the final hole, Seve pumped his fist in sheer delight as the putt edged into the cup.
His iconic celebration still ranks as one of sport’s greatest moments!
Those of us who witnessed it realised it does not get any better in terms of the quality of the field, the scene, and Seve’s fabulous winning putt on the last.
Our pictures show a delighted Seve posing with the Claret Jug on the 18th green following his success and taking the adoration of the crowd.
For many years to come golfers made the pilgrimage to St Andrews and imagined Seve pumping his fist in sheer delight as the putt edged into the cup!
Were you in the crowd when Seve won his second Open title?
The generation game
Our first image finds Seve back at St Andrews in October 1985.
The Open champion was competing in the Alfred Dunhill Cup on the links and was signing autographs after being unable to bring victory to Spain.
“Nice to see you, to see you nice”.
Seve is pictured alongside Bruce Forsyth during competition in the pro-am event at the Alfred Dunhill Cup on the Old Course in 1986.
Seve won two Masters and three Opens including his less-celebrated but probably more magnificent win at Lytham in 1988, shooting 65 to hold off Nick Price.
That was, unthinkable as it may have been at the time, the last of his Major wins.
But the people still believed.
The two images above find him back competing at the 1990 Open, although he was already being tormented by the physical problems which would ruin his later career.
He bloomed early and faded early but returned in 1995.
Our first image shows he was very much still able to pull in the crowds on the practice green as he was being put through his putting paces by his coach.
Seve was the original Wild Thing so it’s fitting how the three-ball draw unfolded.
The Spaniard made the cut but struggled during the tournament, which was won by John Daly, who won his second major championship in impressive style!
Seve remained in demand from autograph hunters back in 1995, which was also the year that we won his final European Tour event at the Spanish Open.
He would always have time for the fans, which is why he was so universally loved.
Epitaph for a golfing legend
Seve missed the cut in his final St Andrews Open, in 2000, but was still smiling!
Seve and fellow European Ryder Cup golfer Colin Montgomerie both received a Doctor of Laws degree at a ceremony in the university’s Younger Hall.
Seve wiped away a tear from his eye as he blew a kiss to the audience.
Seve was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2008, the year after he retired from the game, and finally succumbed to respiratory failure with his family around him.
He had been due to return to the Old Course to play in the Champion of Champions match at The Open in 2007, but fans were disappointed when he pulled out as a result of his doctor’s orders.
He was only 54 when he died.
Seve was an inspiration to millions and the game lost one of the greats whose love for the St Andrews links and that famous week in 1984 never left him.
He said in 2010: “I have had, perhaps, the outstanding moment of my career at St Andrews, and the town will always retain a very special place close to my heart.”
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