LAS VEGAS, May 7 (Reuters) - The inspirational life of Seve Ballesteros may have been cut short on Saturday at the age of 54 but the Spaniard's never-say-die attitude on and off the golf course will serve as his greatest legacy.
Just as Ballesteros refused to give up the fight during a long and painful battle with brain cancer, he also never accepted he was beaten out on the course even when his ball ended up in the most unpromising positions.
One of the most creative shot-makers of all time, the Spaniard's swashbuckling approach to the game and his Houdini-like escapes dazzled players around the world.
"His skills were maybe unmatched by anybody," triple U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin said in a statement. "His short game skills around the green were unbelievable -- I marvelled at that.
"I saw him hit a bunker shot one time from a buried lie and it sounded like he hit it thin and it comes out with spin on it and it stopped on a dime. I asked him how he did it and he wouldn't tell me."
The American had a front-row seat when he played alongside Ballesteros in the final round of the 1979 British Open at Royal Lytham where the Spaniard famously made a birdie from a car park en route to the first of his five major victories.
"I'm leading and I watched the guy hit three fairways all day and win the British Open," Irwin recalled. "It wasn't because he was lucky, it was because he created some shots that were unbelievable.
"As sad as I was, I look back and scratch my head and say 'how does he do it?'. It wasn't an accident or luck, it was a skill factor he had."
Eighteen-times major champion Jack Nicklaus, regarded by many as the greatest player of all, marvelled at the Spaniard's ability to manufacture breathtaking recoveries from penalising rough or from behind trees.
"Seve was able to create shots, invent shots and play shots from anywhere," Nicklaus said in a statement. "I have watched him play one-irons out of greenside bunkers when just fooling around.
"He could get up-and-down out of a 'garbage can'. He could do anything with a golf club and a golf ball.
"Seve learned how to take the shots and mentality he developed in a caddie yard as a young boy to a sophisticated golf course. He never changed ... he only learned how to adapt his game to the golf course."
Ballesteros learned the game at the age of seven by using a cut-down three-iron given to him by one of his three brothers, all golf professionals, on the beach near his home in Santander.
Despite his humble background he was able to forge an astonishing ability to imagine and shape shots that other players could never envisage.
DREAM SHOTS
American Ben Crenshaw, a double U.S. Masters winner, said: "Seve plays shots I don't even see in my dreams".
Ballesteros's former caddie Billy Foster recalled one of the most extraordinary strokes of the Spaniard's career, a 150-yard wedge from behind an eight-foot wall during the Swiss Open.
"I was saying, 'I know you're Seve Ballesteros but you're not a magician, just chip it out sideways', and he said, 'Don't worry Billy -- this shot is no problem'," Foster told Reuters.
"He waved me away and proceeded to hit a wedge with half a backswing over the wall, through some trees where there was a tiny gap the size of a dinner plate, over a swimming pool, over 60-foot trees, and got it five yards short of the green and then chipped in.
"Seve just laughed and I got down on my hands and knees and bowed to him," Foster added.
Ballesteros later said with his trademark flashing smile: "I like to keep going forward".
Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty, a 16-times winner on the European Tour, has never forgotten that miraculous escape.
"That was one of the greatest shots I ever saw," McNulty said. "He was the original get-out-of-jail artist."
American John Cook, who like McNulty now competes on the U.S. Champions Tour for players over 50, agreed.
"He played the game like nobody else and sometimes from places nobody else did but he didn't care," Cook said.
"He was one of the first players to show that you didn't have to hit it on the button every time to score. If you had imagination, touch, an eye and a feel for the game, you could score. You can't teach that.
"There won't be another Seve Ballesteros. He was a great innovator and changed the thinking of the game."
Just as Ballesteros refused to give up the fight during a long and painful battle with brain cancer, he also never accepted he was beaten out on the course even when his ball ended up in the most unpromising positions.
One of the most creative shot-makers of all time, the Spaniard's swashbuckling approach to the game and his Houdini-like escapes dazzled players around the world.
"His skills were maybe unmatched by anybody," triple U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin said in a statement. "His short game skills around the green were unbelievable -- I marvelled at that.
"I saw him hit a bunker shot one time from a buried lie and it sounded like he hit it thin and it comes out with spin on it and it stopped on a dime. I asked him how he did it and he wouldn't tell me."
The American had a front-row seat when he played alongside Ballesteros in the final round of the 1979 British Open at Royal Lytham where the Spaniard famously made a birdie from a car park en route to the first of his five major victories.
"I'm leading and I watched the guy hit three fairways all day and win the British Open," Irwin recalled. "It wasn't because he was lucky, it was because he created some shots that were unbelievable.
"As sad as I was, I look back and scratch my head and say 'how does he do it?'. It wasn't an accident or luck, it was a skill factor he had."
Eighteen-times major champion Jack Nicklaus, regarded by many as the greatest player of all, marvelled at the Spaniard's ability to manufacture breathtaking recoveries from penalising rough or from behind trees.
"Seve was able to create shots, invent shots and play shots from anywhere," Nicklaus said in a statement. "I have watched him play one-irons out of greenside bunkers when just fooling around.
"He could get up-and-down out of a 'garbage can'. He could do anything with a golf club and a golf ball.
"Seve learned how to take the shots and mentality he developed in a caddie yard as a young boy to a sophisticated golf course. He never changed ... he only learned how to adapt his game to the golf course."
Ballesteros learned the game at the age of seven by using a cut-down three-iron given to him by one of his three brothers, all golf professionals, on the beach near his home in Santander.
Despite his humble background he was able to forge an astonishing ability to imagine and shape shots that other players could never envisage.
DREAM SHOTS
American Ben Crenshaw, a double U.S. Masters winner, said: "Seve plays shots I don't even see in my dreams".
Ballesteros's former caddie Billy Foster recalled one of the most extraordinary strokes of the Spaniard's career, a 150-yard wedge from behind an eight-foot wall during the Swiss Open.
"I was saying, 'I know you're Seve Ballesteros but you're not a magician, just chip it out sideways', and he said, 'Don't worry Billy -- this shot is no problem'," Foster told Reuters.
"He waved me away and proceeded to hit a wedge with half a backswing over the wall, through some trees where there was a tiny gap the size of a dinner plate, over a swimming pool, over 60-foot trees, and got it five yards short of the green and then chipped in.
"Seve just laughed and I got down on my hands and knees and bowed to him," Foster added.
Ballesteros later said with his trademark flashing smile: "I like to keep going forward".
Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty, a 16-times winner on the European Tour, has never forgotten that miraculous escape.
"That was one of the greatest shots I ever saw," McNulty said. "He was the original get-out-of-jail artist."
American John Cook, who like McNulty now competes on the U.S. Champions Tour for players over 50, agreed.
"He played the game like nobody else and sometimes from places nobody else did but he didn't care," Cook said.
"He was one of the first players to show that you didn't have to hit it on the button every time to score. If you had imagination, touch, an eye and a feel for the game, you could score. You can't teach that.
"There won't be another Seve Ballesteros. He was a great innovator and changed the thinking of the game."
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