From the Golf Digest Archives

The King Restored

Dan Jenkins' story of Seve Ballesteros' 1988 British Open win at Royal Lytham and St. Annes.

By Dan Jenkins

Illustration By Hodges Soileau

September 1988

It seemed more than appropriate that on a golf course that has become a graveyard for American pros, the greatest golfer in the world today, Severiano Ballesteros, played the greatest round of his life -- and career -- to win the British Open, his fifth major, and strongly insinuate that he is the player of the 80s. Years ago, like 62 years ago to be exact, when Bobby Jones became the only American ever to win at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, they put a plaque next to a bunker at the 17th hole to commemorate the. shot Jones hit on his way to that victory. But it might not be possible to commemorate Seve's final-round 65 with plaques, for it would render the course unplayable.

When Ballesteros won his first of what is now a total of three British Opens at Lytham back in 1979 he was labeled the "car-park" champion" because in those days his strength lay in his ability to find his wild tee shots and slash his way back to the greens and hole improbable putts for pars and birdies .

This time it was altogether different. In the rain-delayed final 18 of Monday, July 18, and although his round was stained by two bogeys, Seve's six-under-par 65 was distinguished by near-flawless shotmaking throughout. He missed only three fairways off the tee, and not too badly at that, and he missed only three greens. All in all, he was never in any of that deep gorse or caged among those bushes with which he has been so familiar.

And when it came right down to it, in the immense pressure that final rounds of majors always entail, Ballesteros was coolly, calmly and amazingly up to the task of hitting three brilliant shots that actually clinched him the title over Zimbabwe's Nick Price. Price, in the final threesome with Seve and Nick Faldo, spent the afternoon dogging the Spaniard like a gumshoe, refusing to disappear, and ever threatening to capture the 117th British Open himself.

Let's talk about those three key shots of Seve. His first test came at Lytham's par-5 seventh hole, where he trailed Price by one stroke, and yet watched Nick send a beautiful 2-iron second onto the green and within five feet of the cup for what would surely be an eagle 3. All Seve did was cover this shot with a gorgeous 5-iron of his own and sink the six-foot putt for his own eagle to stay within one of the leader.

They stayed as close as coins in a pocket through the next eight holes and then came the telling 16th, a 357-yard par 4 with a blind tee shot, the very hole, in fact, where Seve had hit his famous "car-park" shot in '79, which catapulted him to the trophy. " I didn't find any cars this time," he said. Seve hit a 1-iron shot In the fairway and his 9-iron to the green all but went into the cup. We're talking three inches here. It was his sixth birdie of the day, and don't forget he had an eagle, too.

What a shot and what a time to pull it off!

Ballesteros' last bit of artistry came on the 18th, the 412-yard "home hole" that plays directly back to the old red-brick clubhouse and between the enormous grandstands that have become such a familiar part of the Open scenery in England and Scotland.

His drive was in the light rough and he needed a 4 to win, in all probability, but he didn't look or act the least bit worried about it. In fact, those near him even heard him make a joke.

"Let's hit this one before dinner," he said.

Earlier in the day, before he teed off, Seve stood in the locker room and looked out the window to the 18th green. "If I need a 4 on the last hole to win, I will play to the left," he told himself. As he stood over his approach to the last hole on Monday afternoon, he repeated the advice to himself.

Seve then hit it too far, about five yards over the green, but it was on the proper side. The ball was sitting "down" a bit. Not to worry. These are the shots Seve knows best, and with a sand wedge he damn near holed it from 60 feet.

Seve took us through the bag in that final round, is what he did, and consider for a moment those three crucial shots he hit on Monday -- a long iron at seven, a short iron at 16, a chip at 18.

"I think I played about as well as this game can be played," Seve said after his 65.

"I felt confident," said Seve. "I felt relaxed. But I also felt pressure. Even Jack Nicklaus feels pressure."

Others who felt pressure included defending champion Nick Faldo, who came close in another major and again failed to make his share of putts. Described by Paul Azinger as "the slowest man on earth," Faldo took 279 painstaking strokes and finished third. Another former British British Open champion, Sandy Lyle, got into contention on Sunday, but faltered in the end to tie for seventh place.

The week was also noteworthy because it marked the return of the putting yips to Bernhard Langer, who was never a factor and proved it in the fourth round by five-putting from three feet on the 71st hole. "It's the worst case I've ever seen," said his caddie, Pete Coleman. "Anything from two to eight feet is a disaster area." It all brought to mind Henry Longhurst's fatalistic line about the yips; "Once you've had 'em, you've got 'em."

Speaking of fatalism and caddies, some people credited Seve's victory to the absence of his brother Vicente carrying his bag. It had become a traditional scene in the majors to have Vicente and Seve arguing animatedly down the stretch of the final round, but this time Seve employed Ian Wright, a European tour caddie known for his placidity. "Having family caddie for you must be like trying to teach the wife to drive," said Englishman Wright. "I know when to keep quiet."