LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) - Tony Jacklin achieved unparalleled success as Europe's Ryder Cup captain in the 1980s and the double major winner said he owed it all to his "one-man army" Seve Ballesteros.
Jacklin led the team to two wins, one tie and one narrow defeat in four matches between 1983-89 and he said without Ballesteros, who died on Saturday at the age of 54
after a long battle with brain cancer, it would have been impossible.
The British 'general' said he and his Spanish 'chief lieutenant' were like brothers-in-arms during that decade, completely focused on the mission of defeating the Americans for the first time since 1957.
"Seve was like a one-man army," the 66-year-old Jacklin told Reuters in a telephone interview from his home in Florida on Tuesday before the Ballesteros funeral the following day. "I had total commitment from him.
"Whatever it took -- barring cheating because we obviously weren't going to go there -- but we needed to have this passionate resolve to get it done and Seve and I never left a stone unturned.
"Nothing else mattered other than knocking the Americans off their perch. We had been beaten often enough," added Jacklin.
"He was so committed -- he was awesome. He was as strong off the course for me as he was on it and at that time he was the best player in the world."
Jacklin said he and five-times major champion Ballesteros, two of European golf's great pioneers, were galvanised by the disappointment they shared over the 1981 Ryder Cup.
Ballesteros was banned from that match following a dispute with the tour while the Englishman, winner of the 1969 British Open and 1970 U.S. Open, was overlooked in favour of fellow countryman Mark James.
"When the committee asked me to captain the 1983 team you could have knocked me down with a feather," said Jacklin. "My first reaction was to tell them to clear off.
"But I didn't give my answer right away and I went back the next day and decided this was an opportunity to make a few changes. I didn't really care whether I did it or not, if they had said no to any of my requests I would have walked away.
"But they kept saying yes and then I asked (British PGA president) Lord Derby, 'What about Seve?' He replied, 'Seve is your problem now'. Well, my view was Seve was anything but a problem."
BREAKFAST MEETING
"I had a two-hour breakfast meeting with Seve one day at the Prince of Wales hotel at Birkdale where he was playing an event. He spent the first half hour venting his spleen about everybody.
"I agreed with everything he said before saying, 'I've been told I've got carte blanche to do what I want to do now and I want you to know I cannot do it without you'," added Jacklin.
"He said, 'Okay I'll help you' ... and my God once he committed he was unbelievable."
Captain Jacklin and his swashbuckling on-course leader Ballesteros gelled immediately as Europe went close to handing the Americans their first defeat on home soil, losing 14-1/2 - 13-1/2 in Florida in 1983.
"We were all very much down and demoralised at the prize-giving ceremony there because we'd gone so close but it was Seve who stood up and said we've got to stick together," Jacklin explained.
"He said, 'This is not a defeat, this is a victory. It is the first time we've come close to beating the Americans in America', and of course he was right.
"The 1983 match was the stepping stone for our home victory in 1985. We had the confidence by then, we had a whole stream of great players like Seve, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam and it led to a golden few years. "It was all down to Seve's passionate commitment to it. He had this thing, 'Just because they're American it doesn't make them better than we are' ... and it transferred into confidence for the rest of the guys."
Americans dominated the top of the golf rankings in the 80s but these days the best players are from all corners of the world and Jacklin said Ballesteros was chiefly responsible for the turnaround.
"Our Ryder Cup achievements spawned the Presidents Cup in 1994 and between these two events the international players outside of the U.S. suddenly realised there was no reason why they couldn't go to America and win," said Jacklin.
"We've seen in the last few years the enormous strides the international players have made and it all goes back to that breakfast meeting at the Prince of Wales hotel. Once we got the main man (Seve) on board it was the start of it."
Jacklin led the team to two wins, one tie and one narrow defeat in four matches between 1983-89 and he said without Ballesteros, who died on Saturday at the age of 54
after a long battle with brain cancer, it would have been impossible.
The British 'general' said he and his Spanish 'chief lieutenant' were like brothers-in-arms during that decade, completely focused on the mission of defeating the Americans for the first time since 1957.
"Seve was like a one-man army," the 66-year-old Jacklin told Reuters in a telephone interview from his home in Florida on Tuesday before the Ballesteros funeral the following day. "I had total commitment from him.
"Whatever it took -- barring cheating because we obviously weren't going to go there -- but we needed to have this passionate resolve to get it done and Seve and I never left a stone unturned.
"Nothing else mattered other than knocking the Americans off their perch. We had been beaten often enough," added Jacklin.
"He was so committed -- he was awesome. He was as strong off the course for me as he was on it and at that time he was the best player in the world."
Jacklin said he and five-times major champion Ballesteros, two of European golf's great pioneers, were galvanised by the disappointment they shared over the 1981 Ryder Cup.
Ballesteros was banned from that match following a dispute with the tour while the Englishman, winner of the 1969 British Open and 1970 U.S. Open, was overlooked in favour of fellow countryman Mark James.
"When the committee asked me to captain the 1983 team you could have knocked me down with a feather," said Jacklin. "My first reaction was to tell them to clear off.
"But I didn't give my answer right away and I went back the next day and decided this was an opportunity to make a few changes. I didn't really care whether I did it or not, if they had said no to any of my requests I would have walked away.
"But they kept saying yes and then I asked (British PGA president) Lord Derby, 'What about Seve?' He replied, 'Seve is your problem now'. Well, my view was Seve was anything but a problem."
BREAKFAST MEETING
"I had a two-hour breakfast meeting with Seve one day at the Prince of Wales hotel at Birkdale where he was playing an event. He spent the first half hour venting his spleen about everybody.
"I agreed with everything he said before saying, 'I've been told I've got carte blanche to do what I want to do now and I want you to know I cannot do it without you'," added Jacklin.
"He said, 'Okay I'll help you' ... and my God once he committed he was unbelievable."
Captain Jacklin and his swashbuckling on-course leader Ballesteros gelled immediately as Europe went close to handing the Americans their first defeat on home soil, losing 14-1/2 - 13-1/2 in Florida in 1983.
"We were all very much down and demoralised at the prize-giving ceremony there because we'd gone so close but it was Seve who stood up and said we've got to stick together," Jacklin explained.
"He said, 'This is not a defeat, this is a victory. It is the first time we've come close to beating the Americans in America', and of course he was right.
"The 1983 match was the stepping stone for our home victory in 1985. We had the confidence by then, we had a whole stream of great players like Seve, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam and it led to a golden few years. "It was all down to Seve's passionate commitment to it. He had this thing, 'Just because they're American it doesn't make them better than we are' ... and it transferred into confidence for the rest of the guys."
Americans dominated the top of the golf rankings in the 80s but these days the best players are from all corners of the world and Jacklin said Ballesteros was chiefly responsible for the turnaround.
"Our Ryder Cup achievements spawned the Presidents Cup in 1994 and between these two events the international players outside of the U.S. suddenly realised there was no reason why they couldn't go to America and win," said Jacklin.
"We've seen in the last few years the enormous strides the international players have made and it all goes back to that breakfast meeting at the Prince of Wales hotel. Once we got the main man (Seve) on board it was the start of it."
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