Great news from Seve: He does not need more treatment
FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.COM WEBSITE
By OLIVER BROWN
When Tom Watson smiled wistfully upon letting slip his moment of Open fantasy, commentators in the Turnberry press tent were unanimous in arguing that there was only one scenario that could eclipse such a moment.
All eyes turned to St Andrews for the next instalment, and to a prospect of a comeback not of Watson, but of Seve Ballesteros. Against all odds, it has emerged that the Spaniard's return to the scene of his greatest triumphs could yet come to pass.
If Watson's exploits on the Ailsa produced a lump in the throat, then expect Ballesteros's walk to the first tee of the Old Course to prompt a collective crumpling. After 15 months of battling a brain tumour, the 52-year old has been cleared by his specialists to start a fitness regime that could culminate in a short but profoundly emotional appearance in Fife this summer.
Ballesteros has scarcely been seen in between draining sessions of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in Madrid, save for a speech last month accepting a BBC lifetime achievement award and an interview that he gave to the broadcaster's Peter Alliss. On both occasions he bore the scars of his ordeal, appearing frail and drawn.
Remarkably, though, he joined a conference call with players at the Royal Trophy in Thailand on Saturday to communicate the happy news that doctors have informed him he needs no more treatment. He has already gleefully told Jack Nicklaus about his first visit to the golf course since the therapy, and how he hit his first shot straight and true.
While Ballesteros is unlikely ever to regain the strength to play professionally again, he is targeting an entry into the four-hole "past champions" event at St Andrews, held on the final practice day before the Open, to signal to the world his status as golf's great survivor.
The "home of golf" is renowned for the stylish honouring of its champions: the same Wednesday evening competition was staged in 2000, featuring winners as diverse as Tom Lehman and Tom Weiskopf. When Nicklaus, the only other man besides Ballesteros to have lifted the Claret Jug twice at St Andrews, played his final Open there in 2005, tens of thousands of spectators lined the fairways to mark their appreciation.
The Royal & Ancient Golf Club has sent a formal invitation to Ballesteros to take part in the four-hole challenge, as they have to all other 31 living Open champions. It is an occasion designed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Open, although prior to the latest development, few R&A members can have expected Ballesteros, who won over the Old Course in 1984 and 1988, to stand any chance of playing.
But it seems there is to be no containing his energy, even in extremis. One rumour holds that Ballesteros, having ceded the Ryder Cup captaincy to Colin Montgomerie, is thinking seriously of trying to retake the reins in Chicago in 2012.
"There is no need to schedule any further treatment at the moment," he told the Europe and Asia teams at the Royal Trophy, a Ryder Cup-style match that he founded four years ago.
"Despite admitting that his last bout of radiotherapy had sapped him, he said: "Everyone is pleased with the way it has gone – especially me, of course. I very much wished to be in Thailand, but I am still working on my health recovery and I am hopeful I will see all of you personally next year."
Should that reunion come at St Andrews, Ballesteros will join his fellow champions in a valedictory procession across the first, second, 17th and 18th.
The symbolism, the sheer improbability of seeing the man take on the Road Hole one last time, before posing for photographs on the bridge over the Swilken Burn, could prove too much for some to bear.
FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.COM WEBSITE
By OLIVER BROWN
When Tom Watson smiled wistfully upon letting slip his moment of Open fantasy, commentators in the Turnberry press tent were unanimous in arguing that there was only one scenario that could eclipse such a moment.
All eyes turned to St Andrews for the next instalment, and to a prospect of a comeback not of Watson, but of Seve Ballesteros. Against all odds, it has emerged that the Spaniard's return to the scene of his greatest triumphs could yet come to pass.
If Watson's exploits on the Ailsa produced a lump in the throat, then expect Ballesteros's walk to the first tee of the Old Course to prompt a collective crumpling. After 15 months of battling a brain tumour, the 52-year old has been cleared by his specialists to start a fitness regime that could culminate in a short but profoundly emotional appearance in Fife this summer.
Ballesteros has scarcely been seen in between draining sessions of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in Madrid, save for a speech last month accepting a BBC lifetime achievement award and an interview that he gave to the broadcaster's Peter Alliss. On both occasions he bore the scars of his ordeal, appearing frail and drawn.
Remarkably, though, he joined a conference call with players at the Royal Trophy in Thailand on Saturday to communicate the happy news that doctors have informed him he needs no more treatment. He has already gleefully told Jack Nicklaus about his first visit to the golf course since the therapy, and how he hit his first shot straight and true.
While Ballesteros is unlikely ever to regain the strength to play professionally again, he is targeting an entry into the four-hole "past champions" event at St Andrews, held on the final practice day before the Open, to signal to the world his status as golf's great survivor.
The "home of golf" is renowned for the stylish honouring of its champions: the same Wednesday evening competition was staged in 2000, featuring winners as diverse as Tom Lehman and Tom Weiskopf. When Nicklaus, the only other man besides Ballesteros to have lifted the Claret Jug twice at St Andrews, played his final Open there in 2005, tens of thousands of spectators lined the fairways to mark their appreciation.
The Royal & Ancient Golf Club has sent a formal invitation to Ballesteros to take part in the four-hole challenge, as they have to all other 31 living Open champions. It is an occasion designed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Open, although prior to the latest development, few R&A members can have expected Ballesteros, who won over the Old Course in 1984 and 1988, to stand any chance of playing.
But it seems there is to be no containing his energy, even in extremis. One rumour holds that Ballesteros, having ceded the Ryder Cup captaincy to Colin Montgomerie, is thinking seriously of trying to retake the reins in Chicago in 2012.
"There is no need to schedule any further treatment at the moment," he told the Europe and Asia teams at the Royal Trophy, a Ryder Cup-style match that he founded four years ago.
"Despite admitting that his last bout of radiotherapy had sapped him, he said: "Everyone is pleased with the way it has gone – especially me, of course. I very much wished to be in Thailand, but I am still working on my health recovery and I am hopeful I will see all of you personally next year."
Should that reunion come at St Andrews, Ballesteros will join his fellow champions in a valedictory procession across the first, second, 17th and 18th.
The symbolism, the sheer improbability of seeing the man take on the Road Hole one last time, before posing for photographs on the bridge over the Swilken Burn, could prove too much for some to bear.
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