Despite Seve Ballesteros’ heroic efforts to record an unlikely win against Colin Montgomerie, his opposing captain, Continental Europe lost the Seve Trophy 14&1/2 - 11&1/2 to Britain and Ireland at Druids Glen today.
Typically, Ballesteros only hit one fairway all day at the first, and still he lost it to a birdie. Virtually every other hole required the Spaniard’s midas touch around the greens to defeat Montgomerie 1-up in the top singles match. In doing so, he not only maintained his 100 percent record from two outings, it is the second time Ballesteros has scalped Monty after doing the same at Sunningdale two years ago.
"It wasn’t a good game, it was too difficult. My hands were frozen and it was a battle out there, against each other and the golf course," said an exhausted Ballesteros who was round in 78 to Monty’s 73.
"There is no mixed emotion here," said Montgomerie after losing to Ballesteros again "this is a team event and a very happy occasion."
Time and time again Ballesteros got up and down from unorthodox positions on the course, wearing his opponent down with every save. The defining moment of the match came at the 13th when the Spaniard went three-up. Both missed the green in regulation, Ballesteros pitched to 12 feet and holed for par while Monty knocked it in to eight feet but missed.
Still Ballesteros struggled from the tee, his weakness none more glaring than at the next hole when he failed to advance the ball beyond the ladies tee 30 yards in front of him. By the 17th the European captain had a four footer for the match but he missed with a nervy stabbed attempt. For all his woes Ballesteros stuck to the task and was granted another chance of equal distance at the last and converted for a historic win.
"Seve’s performance was an inspiration to everyone," said Thomas Bjorn after his opponent Darren Clarke put the first points on the board with a 4&3 win. "That’s Seve for you, we watched them all day playing in front of us. It’s what he has done his whole career, every young player could learn from his hatred of losing."
As for his own battle, Bjorn felt fatigue finally caught up with him. "I lost a bit of rhythm and didn’t play well, Darren kept it together and I lost to a better player on the day, simple as that," he said.
Fittingly, the stalwarts of the of the home side, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley, were instrumental in securing the Trophy for Britain and Ireland. With four wins out of five each, they were the leading points scorers for the event, and today McGinley defeated Mathias Gronberg 4&3 while Harrington was always in control against Jose Maria Olazabal in the match in front. The Dubliner won 3&2.
Such a strong collective performance may have cemented an all-Irish partnership for the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in September, as was hinted by the European Captain Sam Torrance yesterday:
"Playing Paul (McGinley) and Padraig (Harrington) together in September has always been a possibility," said Torrance. "In my mind Paul is the perfect partner for Padraig, they know each others game so well."
The only kink in the Irish armour this week was losing to the ‘Seve and Olly’ combination yesterday. It was a vintage display they were up against which saw the Spanish duo dovetail to finish six-under for the last eight holes, culminating with a Ballesteros pitch-in from the bunker at the 17th.
In today’s other games Miguel Angel Jimenez drew on his experience to defeat Paul Casey 4&3 in the third game. Europe’s Robert Karlsson also got the better of Paul Lawrie in the group behind by a narrow one-hole margin.
Lee Westwood showed signs of returning form with a solid 3&2 win over Raphael Jacquelin while Andrew Oldcorn and Niclas Fasth halved their match. Jacquelin’s French compatriot Thomas Levet got the better of Steve Webster 2&1 but Ian Woosnam suffered the biggest defeat of the afternoon. The little Welshman lost 5&4 to Alex Cejka. Each member of the Britain and Ireland side received euro150,000 for winning while the Europeans take some consolation from the euro90,000 won.
Ballesteros may never recover from his wayward errant driving but what he has proved this week is, not only is he an inspiration to golfers of all abilities, top to bottom, with his desire to win, but he can still captivate the galleries with his mercurial methods of recovery.