Seve: A Biography of Severiano Ballesteros - Tapa dura

Seve is the most extrovert player Europe has ever produced. Playboy good looks along with magnetism that attracted non-golfers to the game made him the biggest drawing card Europe has ever had. He emerged on the world scene with typical elan, hitting one of the most outrageous shots ever seen at the 1976 Open Championship. Three years later he became the youngest Open Champion of the modern era when he won the first of his five major championships. The manner of his win was what captured the public's imagination. He was dubbed the car park champion after he was forced to play a shot from a car park in the final round. Typically, Seve made par. Ballesteros started Europe's domination of the Majors throughout the 80s and 90s, paving the way for Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle and Jose Maria Olazabal. His play in the Ryder Cup, fuelled by an intense dislike for Americans, helped restored Europe's pride in the event. Fuelled by Basque pride and with a fiery Latin temperament, Seve has often let his heart rule his head. Now moving into the realms of a television career, there has never been a better time to assess the life and career of one of the game's most fascinating characters.

Alistair Tait has been writing about golf since 1989. He is European Bureau Chief for Golfweek magazine and regularly contributes to The Guardian. The Observer, Sunday Herald, the Financial Times, Links Magazine, Golf News and other publications. He is also author of four other books on golf.