• Rewind to 1984

The brilliance of Ballesteros

The moment after Severiano Ballesteros holed his putt on 18 has become one of the most iconic images in golf © Getty Images

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The Open begins on Thursday without a famous name in its history, as Severiano Ballesteros continues his battle with a brain tumour.

The way in which players past and present have spoken with such warmth about Ballesteros shows the esteem he is held in. Respect has to be earned and as well as his impeccable demeanour and infectious smile, Ballesteros earned respect for the way he played the game. He won the Open on three occasions and we Rewind to 1984 when he lit up the Old Course at St Andrews with his brilliant play.

It was not quite the Duel in the Sun, when Tom Watson fended off Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977, but it was pretty similar as Watson and Ballesteros had the tournament between them on the final day.

Ballesteros was playing one group ahead of Watson, having started the day two shots adrift, but they were pretty much deadlocked throughout. The Old Course was flooded with people, with many more without tickets watching from behind the fences, as the two greatest players of the early 1980s served up some masterful play.

Watson was chasing a sixth Open, which would have moved him level with Harry Vardon, Ballesteros a second, and the American appeared to make a decisive move when rolling in a fine birdie putt on 13. The roar had hardly died down when a bigger cheer came from the 14th as Ballesteros drained a 25-footer to move level once again.

The crowd was mulling over the prospect of an 18-hole play-off on the Monday when Watson blinked. The 17th is arguably the most famous hole in golf. It was not the 495-yard beast it is now, but it still struck fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned pro. The cavernous bunker that guards the front of the green has been gobbling balls for the best part of 500 years and Watson knew to steer clear. After a booming drive, near perfect many felt, he toyed between a two and a three-iron. Lack of certainty is never good, but he hit a semi-shank and found himself, via a bounce off the road, with virtually no shot against a wall. He did what he could with the chip, but could get no closer than 30 feet and left the putt up. It cost him a bogey.

Tom Watson's challenge slipped away on the 17th © Getty Images

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"The minute it left the clubhead, I knew it was a bad shot," Watson said of his wayward approach. "Indecision doesn't help, but I had a good lie and no excuses. What hurt me more than anything was a balky putter."

Just moments earlier, Ballesteros had been standing over a 15-foot birdie putt on 18 - having made his par at 17 thanks to a glorious six-iron approach from the thick rough. You had the impression that Ballesteros knew the tournament was there for the taking and he never flinched. The stroke was true, the ball tracked from right to left and at the perfect pace, fell in the right side. Cue one of the most famous celebrations in golf as the Spaniard whipped up the crowd with a jig of delight and a punch of the air. A two-shot swing and Watson's chance had gone, the famous Claret Jug dropping into the hands of the man dubbed the people's champion.

"I told my caddie coming to 17 that we had to finish four, four to have chance," Ballesteros said. "After making a four at 17 I saw Watson on the fairway, I said 'Watson is Watson and he will make a par so we have to go for a birdie'. I hit a good driver and good second shot. The putt was so-so, not so bad! It was a good putt."

Ballesteros transformed golf in Europe, as he proved that Americans could be beaten on their home turf by winning the Masters in 1980 and 1983, and it was fitting that one of the game's greatest talents and greatest personalities was able to taste victory at the home of golf.

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