Profile / Bill Elliott / 27 September 2007 / Leave a Comment

Acclaimed golf journalist Bill Elliott tells us why we all owe a debt of gratitude to Seve

There are various ways to know, really know, that you are a sporting great but the most significant accolade is to have an event named after you. Not only that, if you are a true great then they just use your first name.

Welcome therefore to this week's trumpet call in Ireland for the most exciting European golfer ever to pull on a pair of spikes, Seve Ballesteros, and The Seve Trophy. He is not playing, of course, but he is there, captaining the Continental side against Nick Faldo's British squad.

It should have been British and Irish but when Padraig Harrington pulled out (the poor, wee thing, apparently, is tired after winning The Open three months ago, bless him) the Irish fans were left without any home hero to root for. Incidentally, could anyone imagine The Nick Trophy? Thought not.

Anyway, because of the lack of Irish heroes I would not be at all surprised to see these punters switch their affections to the Continental boys simply because they love the man who is leading them. Such has been the love affair between Ireland and the happily crazed Spaniard over the years that he is affectionately known as Seve O'Ballesteros.

No wonder. The Irish know a genius when they see one and while they have loved him he has loved them right back. They do say that the Irish and Spanish are a very similar people except perhaps that nowhere in the Irish language is there a word that quite captures the urgency of the Spanish 'manana'.

It was during this year's Open that Seve announced he had decided to retire from the game he graced so wonderfully for so long. He thanked everyone on that day...the public for their support, the journalists who had been with him on one of the truly great sporting journeys and anyone else who has ever been in his corner since those early days 30 years ago.

This, of course, is just about everyone, Seve embraces a world much wider than golf. It was touching to hear him talk about the good times again and how appreciative he is of what golf has done for him. This is as it should be but it is also relevant to add that golf should be grateful also for what he did for the crusty, old game of manners and self-discipline and what he did was to bring sexiness to a sometimes dull, old scene.

I've been lucky enough to have been with him every step of the way on this rollercoaster ride. It has been a privilege and, often, a genuine thrill. It is not just that the golf was brilliant but that Seve embraced us on his way to the stars. Unlike any other sportsman of my acquaintance he was inclusive.

He often referred to us as 'his family' and we loved him for it. It is a bit sad that he is now officially retired but it is, of course, sensible that he should, however reluctantly, have stepped away from the sharp stuff. His game has been a tattered thing for a long time now, his attempt to resurrect the old glory rather pathetic to witness.

We'll miss him but the other fact is that he has been missing for some time already. When he finished speaking back in July we shook hands and embraced. I thanked him for all the fun and he grinned back and tipped my hat. His eyes were too full of tears to speak. Outside the sun had burst through a dark sky that was suddenly turning rather brilliantly blue.

When Seve walked away from us that afternoon and into retirement he was bathed in a golden light. But then he always was...

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