Welcome Back Seve
- Friday, 21 July 2006
- 0 Comments
Fears that Severiano Ballesteros was making a grave mistake by making a competitive return to the Open Championship proved unfounded today, as the three-time former champion carded a highly respectable first round of 74, two over par. It was a big improvement on the brace of 81s he turned in at this year’s French Open – his only other outing of the season.
In his first Open appearance since 2001, the 49-year-old looked nervous despite the rapturous reception as he stepped onto the first tee. A short, high block for his opening shot left him no option but to chop out onto the fairway, and minutes later he was tapping in for a demoralising bogey. Many privately worried that it would be the first of many.
But with his 15-year-old son Baldomero on the bag (he plays off a one handicap and hopes one day to turn professional), the mercurial Spaniard soon settled down, stringing together five pars in a row and even managing to hit a few fairways along the way. His only real clanger was a duffed drive on the 7th that travelled less than 180 yards and left him in a horrible spot.
Huge crowds followed the Ballesteros, Ian Poulter, Shaun Micheel three-ball and despite Poulter’s sequin-embroidered ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ ensemble of red trousers, union jack shirt and red, white and blue golf shoes, it was clear only one man could be the centre of attention. Seve was cheered onto every tee, along every fairway and as he approached every green .
Swinging at a fraction of the speed that brought him five major championships and over 70 professional victories worldwide, Ballesteros looks older and decidedly heavier than in his heyday. He also appeared to be steering the ball rather than attacking it – almost certainly a legacy of the back problems that have plagued him in recent years.
More surprising than the lack of trouble Ballesteros was finding off the tee was the fact he kept on leaving putts short. When he finally coaxed one in from five feet for birdie on the par-3 9th, the roar from the crowd was as loud as it would have been had he taken the lead.
Having turned in one-over par, Ballesteros then proceeded to birdie the par 5 10th hole to get back to level for the day. As he approached the raised putting surface it was clear Seve feared his ball had found the cavernous bunker guarding the front right of the green, So relieved was he to discover it had come to rest just 15 feet from the hole that he jokingly berated the galleries for not clapping more.
On the 11th Ballesteros managed to knock his drive past Poulter’s – a welcome change from being anything up to 70 yards behind – and made a safe par. Unfortunately, a wild carve off the 12th, followed by a vicious pull into the rough on the left, led to a bogey and fears that the wheels might soon come off. A careless three-putt after an excellent tee shot to the par-3 13th did nothing to allay those fears.
Seve was saving his best ‘til last and the climax to the round was nothing less than vintage Ballesteros. On the short 15th he had more drops than the England cricket team but escaped with a par. Then, after a wild drive and a poor approach on the par-5 16th, he played a sublime bunker shot with one leg in the sand and one out, to once again save par.
He took refreshment on the 17th tee by sipping on a curious, home-mixed cocktail of Coke and water. It did not seem to have the required effect as a high slice from the fairway left him in knee-high rough near a scoreboard. Typically, a deft chip from 60 yards was good enough for par and the honour going onto the 18th tee.
Ballesteros responded by finding the fairway, only to pull hook his approach into Row J of the grandstand. After his ball was returned by a delighted spectator, Seve took the obligatory drop and floated a sublime wedge shot over the bunker to within 15 feet of the flag. His putt just stayed out but the applause was sincere and enthusiastic for one of the Open’s favourite sons.
“It’s great to be back and it was nice to walk the fairways of an Open Championship with my son,” said the great man, after finishing a shot ahead of Poulter and only a couple adrift of Micheel.
“I played a bit better than I expected, especially because my confidence was not high after the practice rounds. I tried as hard as I could but it’s tough to play competitive golf after so long out. The crowd was fantastic, as they always have been to me at the Open. Tomorrow, it would be nice to play like I did today on the front nine.”
