• Seve Ballasteros 1957-2011

Golf says farewell to legend Seve Ballesteros

Seve Ballesteros' fist pump became his trademark © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: European Tour 'actively considering' Seve logo change
  
• News: Ballesteros family plea for Ryder Cup to return to Spain
  

The sporting world said goodbye on Wednesday to the legendary Seve Ballesteros, who recently died at the age of 54.

Ballesteros lost his battle with a brain tumour on Saturday, but he was given a fitting farewell in his home village of Pedrena, where he was cremated in front of friends, family, and some of golf's biggest names.

The Spaniard will forever be a cherished name in golf, following a career that came to light back at the 1976 Open Championship, where Ballesteros finished second as a 19-year-old. He later went on to win the famous Claret Jug three times and became the first European to win The Masters.

As charismatic on the golf course as he was off it, five-time major winner Ballesteros became a fans' favourite, particularly when translating his passion to the Ryder Cup, a competition widely believed to have been turned into the global spectacle it is today on the platform of Seve's charm.

"It's very sad. The whole town is here. He was a legend here, and it was a very sad and moving service," Colin Montgomerie told Sky Sports News. "We had to be here, we had to show our support as past Ryder Cup captains. We had to be here, and I'm glad we are here to see the local support for such a legend. It's quite phenomenal."

Ballesteros delivered a rousing speech to Montgomerie's team en route to their Ryder Cup success at Celtic Manor, and the Scot now believes he should be honoured by the European Tour: "Knowing that it can never happen again, it was a very moving 10 minutes he had with our team. It was an influential 10 minutes and, you never know, maybe it was that which changed the result in our favour.

"His passion will never be seen again. We have to start to celebrate Seve's life. The iconic salute when he won the Open in 1984, everyone will remember that. I would support [that image as the new symbol for the European Tour], it's only right that when you talk about the European Tour, you talk about Seve. It's only right that that should take place."

Nick Faldo, who enjoyed a sparkling rivalry with Ballesteros during his career, said: "What he has done for the European Tour... they used to ring the bell every time he won, and I used to think, 'Not again!'

"He was a big part of my career, we shared lots of battles, and as we went on in life he said to me, 'We can be mates now'. We've lost out on that. But it's great to hear the stories of how he inspired all the youngsters, he didn't disappoint.

"There will never be another Seve Ballesteros. He had everything. The good looks, the charisma, the smile, the walk, and the golf game. He could take the club out of the bag, hit the shot, twirl it and walk off all in the same move."

English golfer Tony Jacklin provided one of the many other tributes for Ballesteros, commenting: "He was Tiger Woods before Tiger Woods. He had it all.

"He was a one-man army and he was just as good off the course as he was on it. He was about the only one that I ran anything by in terms of pairings. I've only met two people in my life with such charisma. One was Arnold [Palmer], the other was Seve."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.