PABLO LARRAZABAL WINS PEUGEOT ALPS DE BARCELONA EVENT

Spain's Pablo Larrazabal won the Peugeot + Alps Tour de Barcelona with a 16 under par final total.
To read all about it

CLICK HERE

SEVE'S AMATEUR SON JAVIER HELD HIS OWN AMONG THE PROS

 FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE

By OLIVER BROWN

 

With impeccable poise and a heartfelt dedication to his late father, Javier Ballesteros on Sunday completed his remarkable debut in a professional event with a final-round 68 to finish tied for 12th at the Peugeot Alps de Barcelona.

 Sant Cugat, the same course where the great Seve had taken his bow in the paid ranks in 1974, heightened a symbolic occasion for his family.

The 21-year-old Javier, Ballesteros’s eldest son, was consistently impressive throughout rounds of 65, 73 and 68, which left him at four under par, 12 behind winner Pablo Larrazábal. His position, remarkably, was higher even than Seve had managed 38 years ago, when the five-time major winner came 20th at the

Spanish Professional Championship and later broke down in tears in the locker room, having failed to register the victory he had expected.

After his opening 65, Javier said on Twitter: “I dedicate it to my father. I think he would be happy.” While Javier holds a handicap of 0.4, his time for practice is limited by his

continued studies in law at Madrid’s Complutense University. He has yet to decide whether to pursue a career as a professional, maintaining that he will first finish his education on the advice of his parents.  

“My mother and father always supported me to play golf, but both always told me that studies come first,” he explained. “With every day that passes I enjoy golf more, but I do not plan challenges or set goals. For now I enjoy, have fun.”
His father, who died of a brain tumour last May, had described his ambition for Javier to The Daily Telegraph in his final newspaper interview in July 2010: “If he wants to be a professional golfer, he will have my support, but I want for him is to have a solid education.”
Javier, who had not realised the Sant Cugat connection to Seve when he signed up for the event on the Alps Tour, said: “I have always played golf. I was on the national team between the ages of 14 and 16, and being surrounded by golf at home always made me think about being a pro in the future. But it’s not just a case of turning professional as soon as I leave college. We will see what happens.”
But his top-15 finish in the company of Larrazábal, a professional of eight years’ experience, was a promising indication that he could carve out a career in the game.
The Alps Tour constitutes the third tier of European Golf, below the European Tour and Challenge Tour.
Larrazábal said: “Javier has started very strongly — he is close to competing with us very soon. He has the makings of a great player.”