Seve Ballesteros Captures First Win on American Soil
Despite a nightmare transatlantic flight, then making the cut on the number, Ballesteros rides a hot putter to victory
The PGA TOUR was in Blaine, MN, for the 3M Open. This non-elevated event featured players trying to get into the FedEx Playoffs, or to improve their chances for a spot on the Ryder Cup team, or to just improve their position for next year. Congratulations to Lee Hodges who jumped from the 74th place on the FedEx points list to 33rd locking down a playoff spot.
Some were unimpressed:
Congratulations also to Beau Hossler for shooting a final-round 62 that included eight birdies in a row, one shy of the PGA TOUR record.
Did you catch any of the action in The Senior Open Championship during Sunday’s final round? That was brutal weather.
In last week’s Tour Backspin Poll 80% of respondents found Brian Harman’s win in The Open Championship an awesome display of dominance while 20% said it was boring.
In this week’s Tour Backspin Poll, weigh in on Jay Monahan’s memo to the players on the PGA TOUR concerning the ball rollback.
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Clip You Might Have Missed
This week the PGA TOUR is in Greensboro, NC, at the Sedgefield Country Club, for the Wyndham Championship. This tournament goes back to 1938 when it was known as the Greater Greensboro Open until 1987 before it picked up KMart as a title sponsor. Chrysler became the title sponsor in 1996 before Wyndham took over in 2007. We’re backspinning to 1978 when Seve Ballesteros won for the first time on American soil.
We’ve got a special treat in this week’s Vintage Ad. It’s a three-part special advertisement from Spaulding with tips from Al Geiberger and Dave Stockton on how to use the Top-Flite ball. Scroll down to see.
This week we feature 18 hits from 1978 in the Tour Backspin Spotify playlist. Listen HERE.
The powerful and fluid swing of Seve Ballesteros is highlighted in this week’s Swing Like a Pro. Scroll down to view.
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Congratulations to Dave Wolfe who correctly identified hole #18 at Keller Golf Course in Maplewood, MN. Dave beat out three other correct answers and we have a prize pack in the mail to Dave. Check out the 2023 leader board and scroll down for your chance to win in this week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? We’ve got some new prizes to hand out!
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Larry Baush
Ballesteros Comes From Behind To Win On American Soil For The First Time
It is Sunday, March 26th, 1978, and a voice came over the intercom on a transatlantic flight originating from Madrid that was three hours into its flight to a final destination in Greensboro, NC. The voice belonged to the pilot, and he had some bad news to pass on—due to engine trouble, the jetliner would be turning around and returning to Madrid.
“If I had been the driver (pilot), I no turn back.”
Seve Ballesteros was a passenger on that plane, and he was headed to Greensboro to play on a special invitation in the Greater Greensboro Open. He was not happy with the decision to return to Madrid.
“Had it been another tournament,” Ballesteros admitted later, “I would have stayed home. But it very hard to get invitation to play in States. If I had been the driver (pilot), I no turn back.”
Despite the travel problems, Ballesteros did make it the Greater Greensboro Open, but he found it challenging in the first two rounds shooting 72-75 making the cut right on the number of 147. His score resulted in him being the first player to tee off in Saturday’s third round. He was 10 shots behind the leaders which included Wally Armstrong who shot rounds of 67 and 70, Florentino Molina of Argentina (66 – 71). Jack Renner, a 21-year-old rookie from Palm Springs who followed an opening round of 71 with a second round 67 sat one-stroke back of the leaders.
The rookie Renner refused to wilt in Saturday’s windy third round shooting a 73 and grabbed a share of the lead with Armstrong and Dave Eichelberger at 211, five-under-par.
“My game was divided into two very different parts. The first nine holes were very ragged, but there was a real improvement on the second nine.”
“On a day like today, I know that I’m not going to make many birdies,” Renner said after his round. “The high winds magnify bad shots. It also makes club selection very difficult.”
For his part, Eichelberger had a roller coaster round.
“My game was divided into two very different parts,” Eichelberger said after his round. “The first nine holes were very ragged, but there was a real improvement on the second nine.”
“I have to run to course, practice only 25 minutes.”
Hardly anyone took notice of Ballesteros’ 69 on the windy day that moved him up the leader board to 216, just five shots behind the lead. He almost didn’t make his tee time for the third round.
“Gary Player call me at eight,” Ballesteros explained. “I sleepy when I get up. I sleep very good. I take shower, have breakfast, still very sleepy. I have to run to course, practice only 25 minutes.”
There was no reason to think that the young Spaniard had any hope of a high finish on Sunday. Although he had previously played on the PGA TOUR two times, and he was one of the most exciting players on the European Tour having captured the British Order of Merit for the last two years, there were low expectations for the Greater Greensboro Open. But Ballesteros’ front nine in the blustery winds of Sunday’s final round changed that calculation.
He blistered the front nine with two birdies from 25-feet, got another one with a 10-foot putt, and another with a tap-in from three-feet. It added up to a 31 and chopped down the lead of Renner and Eichelberger.
He got a lucky break at the par-5 15th hole when his second shot hit a rake that prevented it from going into a bunker. He then made a birdie that tied him for the lead with Renner. On the 14th hole, his approach shot hit a mound on the right side of the green and kicked toward the hole finishing 10-feet from the pin. He missed the birdie putt and settled for an easy par.
Ballesteros then birdied the 15th hole to take sole possession of the lead. He saved par at the 16th hole but bogeyed the final hole. He then watched as Renner finished his round. Needing a par to tie Ballesteros, Renner put his approach shot in a bunker and failed to get it up-and-down that would’ve put him in a playoff. Renner tied for second-place with Fuzzy Zoeller and Ballesteros had won his first title in America on the PGA TOUR.
“I don’t know how I win tournament,” Ballesteros said in his broken, but understandable english. “When I make bogey on last hole, I think there will be playoff. I am very, very lucky. This is most happy tournament win I ever have and I win 19 tournaments all over world. But to win in States bring much prestige because so many good players. I very lucky.”
“I putt good here this week, but must improve to play in Masters. So many good players there. Course tough. Need to play very good to have a shot at winning.”
Ballesteros then looked forward to the Masters being played the next week.
“I putt good here this week, but must improve to play in Masters,” he said. “So many good players there. Course tough. Need to play very good to have a shot at winning.”
He would get to the Masters without the air traffic drama. Now, he just needed to avoid being very sleepy during his stay in Augusta if he was to play well in his second Masters appearance.
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Bonus Story
Spain has had a long history of mandatory military service and in 1940, just after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Francisco Franco issued the Army Conscription and Replacement Law, which modified the legislation on conscription. One of the changes was to the duration of compulsory military service to two years.
Nobody was exempted from this mandatory service, not even Seve Ballesteros. Ballesteros did military service in Spain’s air force in 1977 and 1978. During his enlistment, he earned £2 a week giving Air Force officers golf lessons.
During his military service, he was still able to compete in and win the Japanese, French, and Swiss Open tournaments. Ballesteros completed his enlistment and was discharged in January of 1978, just a few months short of his first victory on American soil in the Greater Greensboro Open.
WHAT HOLE IS IT?
Are you on the leader board?
Tour Backspin Quiz | Greater Greensboro Open Trivia
Who won the most Greater Greensboro Open titles? What year did he win it first and what year did he win his last?
Scroll down to for answer
Swing Like a Pro
The powerful swing of Seve Ballesteros (photo: Getty Images | Leonard Kamsler)
Blind Shot
Click for something fun. 👀
This story is unreal. It’s about a player who has one ball that he cannot lose or else he will be disqualified from the NV5 Invitational, a Korn Ferry Tour event in Illinois. Learn why and how the story takes a really weird turn. Read it at Golf Magazine HERE.
You should also check out this great player-caddie story. Caddie Monday qualifies for the 3M and then is paired with his boss. Read it HERE from Golf Digest.
Uncorked, The Life and Times of Champagne Tony Lema tells the story of one of the tour’s biggest stars in the mid-1960s. A fascinating glimpse into the traveling caravan that was the PGA TOUR during an era where the fields were full of “Mad Men” era personalities. From a hardscrabble youth spent on the “wrong side of the tracks” in the Oakland suburb of San Leandro, to the temptations of Elko, Nevada, to the bright lights of the PGA TOUR, Uncorked tells a story of determination, redemption and, above all else, a love story that documents how Betty, Tony’s new wife, provided the direction and motivation for him to become a top star. Order on Amazon.
What is Hip?
These were revolutionary in 1978.
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Sam Snead won eight Greater Greensboro Opens with the first one coming in 1938 and his last one in 1965.
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This week’s premium content for paid subscribers:
The Highest Paid Athletes in 1966
The highest paid professional athletes in 1966 were not the ones you would expect. Think golfers and boxers.
1966 was a watershed year for Muhammad Ali. It was the year that he changed his name from Cassius Clay and became active in the American Muslim movement. It was also the year that he declared as a conscientious objector and refused to be drafted into the military. He was arrested, tried and found guilty of draft evasion and stripped of the heavyweight title he won over Sonny Liston in 1964.
Muhammad Ali (photo Sports Illustrated)
He was also nearing the end of the contract with the consortium of Louisville businessmen who were his backers and he planned on letting that contract expire and then put his business interests in the control of Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam. This was very scary for white America and the press excoriated him. With all the controversy, he lost current and future endorsement income. He was stripped of his titles and vilified in the press. As much as Ali was loved worldwide in his later life, he was reviled and hated in 1966.
Vintage Ad
To hear more about how Al Geiberger and Dave Stockton used TopFlight on tour, listen to The Tour Backspin Show interview HERE.
Final Thoughts
What’s the worst weather you’ve played in? Was it worse than Sunday at The Senior Open Championship?
Was Tiger Woods singing, “Here I come, to save the
day(Jay) when he joined the PGA TOUR Policy Board?