His uncle, Ramón Sota, was the Spanish champion of this sport and his father was a gardener at the Pedreña golf course, where Severiano made his debut as a caddie when only nine years old.
In 1974 Ballesteros obtained his professional qualification and in the
same year won the National Under-25s Championship and the Vizcaya Open;
he also took part in various European tournaments. In 1975 he repeated
his victory in the Spanish Under-25 Open and was seeded 26 in the world
ranking. Coming third in the Lancôme tournament meant his name began to
be known on the circuits. At the age of 19, Severiano Ballesteros won various important trophies,
among them, the Lancôme; the Dutch Open; the championships of Catalonia,
Tenerife and All- Spain; the Donald Swaalens Memorial; and the World
Championship, along with Manuel Piñero. He came second in The Open and
received the prize for best European golfer of the year. The following
year he began to enjoy great fame in the United States and Great
Britain, thanks to his victories in the World Cup, the Japanese Open, the Pheonix Dunlop, the Otago
Classic and the French and Swiss Opens. His great talent was
acknowledges with the British Order of Merit.
In 1978, after a break due to military service, he was the winner of the
Kenyan, Greensboro, German, Scandinavian, Swiss and Japanese Opens, the
Martini International and the Spanish Under-25 Championship. In 1979 he
triumphed in the Catalan Open, the English Classic and he became the
youngest-ever winner of The Open. A year later, he gained another
prestigious trophy, the Augusta Masters, rounding of his trophies that
year with the Madrid and Dutch Opens and the Martini International.
The next season did not start off terribly well, but Severiano
Ballestero managed to get on top of his game in the Spanish and
Scandinavian Opens, the Australian PGA Championship, the Japanese Dunlop
trophy and the World Match Play held in England. In 1982 he gained
victories in the Madrid, French and San Remo Opens and the World Match
play Championships. The following year he obtained the USA Masters, as
well as the Lancôme, Westchester Classic, Sun Alliance PGA, and Sun City
(South Africa) Challenge trophies, and the Irish Open.
In 1984 Ballesteros triumphed again in The Open, the Sun City Tournament
and his third Match Play. In the 1985 season he tried to repeat his
victory in Augusta, but had to make do with second place and with
victory in the Spanish Championships, the Ryder Cup, and the New
Orleans, Irish, French, Sanyo and Spanish Opens. The European Masters
was his most important trophy in 1986, along with the Irish, Montecarlo,
French and Dutch Opens, and the Lancome Trophy.
In 1987 he totalled four first places - the APG Larios, the Cannes Open,
the Ryder Cup and the Spanish Professional Championship - and, in
October, he presented, in Jerez, the first golf course designed of his
own design, built in the town of Chiclana, in Cádiz. The Open was his
again a year later; he also emerged victorious from the APG Larios, the
Baleares, Harrison (USA), Scandinavian, German and Paris Opens, and the
White and Mackay Champions Challenge Tournament. On the 13th November
that year he took the Japanese Open.
Up to the time of writing, his most important recent victory has been in the 1989 European Masters.
