Of all the newspaper stories, books and magazine articles written over the past four decades about the most influential player in European Tour history, this might be the least-surprising inside revelation. Which does not lessen its importance one iota.
The landscape of sport is filled with far too many tales of alpha-male fathers who never made time for their families, could not turn off the testosterone spigot or were ill-equipped for the roller-coaster ride of parenthood.
Anybody who watched the late Seve Ballesteros play golf knows that he wandered the fairways with heart, verve and passion that few others could muster, much less match.
It was the same with the hallways of home.
Ballesteros famously possessed the lightest of touches, a sense of finesse and grace that were as evident at home as they were at the office, as it were.
“He was all day giving us kisses and hugs,” said Ballesteros’s eldest son, Javier. “He was definitely the best.”
He was the greatest in tour history, winning a record 50 titles, whereupon the public embraced him like few others. Among the scintillating Spaniard's career titles was the 1992 Dubai Desert Classic, an event that this week is staging its silver-anniversary tournament.
All 21 of the past Desert Classic champions will be on hand, save one – Ballesteros, who passed away in mid-2011 after a defiant fight with cancer. In a move that was universally well-received, tournament officials extended an invitation over the winter to Javier, Seve’s eldest child, who was blown away when the phone call came.
Sure, the allure of past champions such as Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els will have fans pulling dirhams from their wallets, but Javier’s presence will tug at some heartstrings. Including his own.
“I couldn’t really believe it,” said Javier, 23. “I really got excited and it’s really an honour to represent my dad.”
He is embodying an era as well. By dint of his charisma and talent, Ballesteros was instrumental in the establishment of the European Tour as a viable circuit, helped make the Ryder Cup one of the world’s most-watched sports events, and won five major championships.
Iconic is a worn-out term as devalued as the Spanish peseta, but it certainly applies in Ballesteros’s case.
Javier will serve as a living legacy. Now studying law in Madrid and hoping to turn pro after he finishes school, Javier has a plus-2 handicap and won the Madrid Open Amateur in 2013.
Carmen, Javier’s mother, will also be at the tournament this week.
Considering that there are 13 Spanish players in the field, there will be warm remembrance, for sure. As it is, hardly a day goes by that Javier is not reminded of his famous father by a friend or fan, and some of their physical similarities are striking.
“Maybe not every day, but it happens to me really often and it’s very nice when people tell you some stories and good things about your dad,” Javier said.
“People say to me many times that I really look like him, even that I speak like him. It’s nice when they say that.”
Given that there are a quarter century of Ballesteros fingerprints on the event, the misty memories could reach tsunami levels. The Desert Classic had been played twice, then took a one-year hiatus because of the Gulf War in 1991. When Ballesteros won a play-off over Ronan Rafferty in 1992, it put the Emirates Golf Club – the first grassed course in the Middle East – on the map in a multitude of ways.
Javier was still in nappies.
“I don’t remember about talking with him about that win in particular, but he really liked Dubai, and we used to travel there with him,” Javier said. “I’ve been in Dubai three or four times and have some good memories from there.”
Away from the course, the family often spent time in the UAE with two-time Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal, who will be one of Javier’s playing partners in the Desert Classic’s Champions Challenge, a one-day shoot-out set for Tuesday.
Javier also will play in the 72-hole event that begins on Thursday.
“For the moment, I’m not nervous, but I might get a bit,” Javier said. “Playing in the same tournament as Tiger, Rory or Ernie, it’s pretty impressive.”
Because Seve’s competitive career ended sooner than expected, Javier only appeared alongside his famous father in public here and there, including the 2003 Father/Son Challenge in Orlando, when Javier was 13, the youngest player in an event that annually features the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino.
Years later, when the intimidation factor of being around such luminaries was broached by a Spanish news outlet, Javier practically shrugged. “I am around it at home,” he said.
Like the aforementioned Americans, Ballesteros had a palpable aura that attracted fans in legions. It did not hurt that Ballesteros often played the sort of rollicking golf that made Phil Mickleson look like a metronome of consistency.
Javier’s favourite shared moments on the course came in 2006 at Royal Liverpool, when Ballesteros played in the British Open and Javier, 16, caddied. Though Seve had not played the Open for four years, he was treated like royalty.
“It was amazing how people showed how much they loved him,” Javier said. “I also learnt a lot from caddying for him.”
At one point, Seve hit a wild shot and had virtually zero chance of finding the putting surface. As Javier began to point out the other playing options, his dad said, “Quiet”.
You can guess the rest – Seve knocked the ball onto the green. Of all his attributes as a player, this was like handing over the keys to the familial castle. Few others had Seve’s eye for spontaneity.
“I can remember practicing with him sometimes, and when he or I got in trouble, he sometimes could see shots I couldn’t,” Javier said. “So I learnt from it.”
After he finishes school, Javier hopes to turn pro and follow in the family spike marks. When he swings the club, he exhibits some of his dad’s trademark flourishes, but the execution hereafter will be left up to Javier.
While the family name will open doors, Javier is determined not to allow the double-edged sword of being a famous son cut him down.
“I think there can be some pros and some cons, but at the end, if you don’t play some good golf, you won’t get anywhere,” he said. “People put those expectations on you, and as long as you know where you are, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
If he has his dad’s tenacity, anything seems possible. During his father’s two-year fight with cancer, Seve’s optimism and spirit were an inspiration to those watching from afar. The parallels of his professional and personal lives were lost on precisely nobody – the magician was seeking one more miracle escape.
“It was tough, bad moments,” Javier said. “But sometimes those things happen and you have to learn to live with them.”
This portion of the Ballesteros lore will surprise few, either.
“I have to say,” Javier said, looking back, “that it was impressive how much he fought.”
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