Spanish flag to fly at the Players Championship in memory of Seve Ballesteros – Golf news
The PGA Tour has stated that the Spanish flag will fly at the Players Championship in memory of the golfing legend Seve Ballesteros.
The Players Championship, also known as the fifth major of the year, is scheduled to take place this weekend at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. An inspiration to all golfers, Ballesteros passed away early Saturday morning as he lost the battle to brain cancer.
Ballesteros passed away in his home village of Pedrena in Spain and his funeral will take place there as well on Wednesday. The tradition is that the flag of the previous winner’s nation is flown over the winner’s circle the whole time the tournament takes
place. In this case, it was supposed to be the South African flag since Tim Clark won the championship in 2010. However, the organisers of the tournament have decided that the Spanish flag will fly until Sunday when it will be replaced by the winner of the
2011 event.
Where the flag will be flying in Florida, a Spanish flag is flying at half-mast at the nearby World Golf Hall of Fame. A framed photo of Ballesteros has also been placed in the box office with a black ribbon being placed on his locker door. The recent World
Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Ernie Els, specially paid tribute to Ballesteros on his website before attending the ceremony on Monday.
“It's hard to put into words what Seve meant to everyone in golf and it's impossible to measure his contribution to the game,” Els wrote. “Seve was such an iconic figure and really the flag bearer for European golf over many years. He opened up so many doors
for Europe's players by winning all over the world and particularly in America. It's fair to say that the European Tour would not be what it is today without him.”
Ballesteros was the son of a farmer and was one of five brothers. The player started playing golf when he was only sixteen. Ballesteros won five major championships, winning the Masters twice and the Open Championship three times. Being diagnosed with brain
cancer in 2008, Ballesteros put up a great fight and even though not alive, he will forever remain in the hearts of those who admire him.
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