Seve Ballesteros was golf's 'greatest show on earth' - Kansas City Star

The professional golf world reacted swiftly, and emotionally, to Saturday's news that Seve Ballesteros, 54, had lost his battle with brain cancer.

Ballesteros, a five-time major champion and captain of Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team in 1997, died at his home in Pedrena, Spain.

Ballesteros was best known for his creative shot-making and his emotional nature, a combination that led six-time major champion Nick Faldo to characterize Ballesteros as "Cirque du Soleil" in a statement released Saturday morning.

"For golf, he was the greatest show on earth," Faldo said. "I was a fan and so fortunate I had a front-row seat."

Jack Nicklaus, pro golf's record-holder for major championships (18), said Ballesteros' passing means the golf world "lost a great entertainer and ambassador for our sport.

"I have always had wonderful respect for Seve's ability, how he played the game, and the flair he brought to the sport while achieving the success he did," Nicklaus said in a statement. "It was his creativity, his imagination, and his desire to compete that made him so popular not only in Europe but throughout American galleries, too."

Tiger Woods, winner of 14 major titles, posted a tweet about Ballesteros on his Twitter account. Woods described Ballesteros as "one of the most talented and exciting golfers to ever play the game. His creativity and inventiveness on the golf course may never be surpassed. His death came much too soon."

Ballesteros won the 1980 Masters title at 23, one of his five major titles in a career in which he reached No. 1 in the world golf rankings for a 61-week stretch during his prime. Ballesteros won the Masters again in 1983 and added three British Open titles (1979, 1984, 1988) that cemented his status as the dominant player on the European Tour for the 1980s and a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Outside of major championships, Ballesteros did not compete extensively on the PGA Tour. In his lone appearance in Fort Worth, at the 1984 Colonial National Invitation Tournament, he tied for 18th and posted a 1-over par 281. But with his charisma and shot-making skills, he elevated interest in the European Tour in much the same way that a predecessor piqued curiosity in the PGA Tour in the 1960s.

"It is not far-fetched at all to say that he was the Arnold Palmer of his day on the European Tour," said ESPN golf analyst Curtis Strange, a two-time U.S. Open champion.

Ballesteros will be remembered as a mentor to other Spanish golfers who followed in his footsteps, including 2001 Colonial champ Sergio Garcia. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said Ballesteros' abilities as a player, and later as a captain, had a "transformational" impact on the Ryder Cup.

"Some of the greatest moments in Ryder Cup history featured Seve, either as a player on one of the eight teams he played for or as captain of the victorious 1997 team in his home country of Spain," Finchem said. "For more than 30 years, Seve had a large impact on the game and?... was truly an international icon."

Nicklaus reflected on Ballesteros, the creative golfer, and his ability to entertain galleries in any situation.

"Seve's enthusiasm was just unmatched by anybody I think that ever played the game," Nicklaus said. "Seve was able to create shots, invent shots, and play shots from anywhere. When he won (the British Open) at Royal Lytham in 1979, he played the 16th hole from a parking lot. I have watched him play 1-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 himself; he only learned how to adapt his game to the golf course."

Despite some uncomfortable exchanges in Ryder Cup settings, ESPN golf analyst Paul Azinger said he and Ballesteros "respected each other and our differences were resolved after the '91 Ryder Cup."

Azinger, the 1993 PGA champion who became captain of the U.S.' victorious Ryder Cup team in 2008, said Ballesteros was "the most passionate player I have ever faced and the most patriotic."