Omnipresent Seve pushes right buttons
By PATRICK McMANAMON
Scripps Howard News Service
SOTOGRANDE, Spain -- It seems like he has been everywhere.
In every camera shot, at every crucial point of a match, at
every turn when a player needs some advice, Seve Ballesteros has
been there.
"He vaporizes from out of nowhere," said Tom Lehman,
one of the U.S. players.
Vaporizes and stalks and exhorts and encourages his team. Based
on the broadcasts, there are five Seves on the course and perhaps
one-half a Tom Kite.
"I think Tom has been there every time we've needed him,"
Phil Mickelson said.
But Ballesteros has been there whether the Europeans have needed
him or not.
He was there when Jesper Parnevik and Ignacio Garrido finished
their morning match against Lehman and Mickelson. He was there
when Jose Maria Olazabal and Garrido beat Lehman and Mickelson
in the afternoon. He was there with Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie
in the morning and with Montgomerie and Langer in the afternoon.
He's suggested clubs, provided advice -- "That's the fairway
there," he told Parnevik -- and pumped his fist when his
players made big putts.
"He's pretty active out there," Lehman said. "He's
the same way as a captain as he was as a player. Every time a
team goes down one or two, you can count on seeing him."
Lehman said Ballesteros could be intimidating, but isn't.
"If he gets in the way you ask him to move," Lehman
said. "As long as he's not bothering me I could care less."
More important, though, is how motivating Ballesteros is to
his team.
"Seve knows what he's doing," Montgomerie said. "He's
the only one who knows what he's doing."
TOUGH ROAD: This his how tough the U.S. comeback from the 9-4
deficit will be:
No Ryder Cup team has ever come back from an 8-4 deficit after
12 pairing matches, and no team has ever come back to win after
starting the singles more than two down.
JESPER TALES: Parnevik has been wearing his signature hat with
the brim up, but had to special- order one for the Ryder Cup.
"I couldn't wear a regular hat," Parnevik said. "Because
I hadn't done it in so long. I didn't even know how I would play
wearing one. I might not have been able to hit the ball."
TIGER TALES?: Tiger Woods was the rookie with the biggest name
in the Ryder Cup, but so far he's been overshadowed by another
rookie: 24-year-old Lee Westwood of England.
Westwood made a birdie putt to win a match delayed from Friday,
then went out and made five birdies as he and Nick Faldo beat
Woods and Mark O'Meara in morning fourball 2 & 1.
It may have helped Westwood to be paired with Faldo, a veteran
and one of the best Ryder Cup players ever, but he has responded
as well.
"As experienced as Nick is," Mickelson said. "I
think that he said, 'Hey he's playing pretty good golf; I want
to be on his team.' "
Westwood and Faldo are 2-1, while Woods has gone 1-2 paired
with Mark O'Meara.
"No one player can win the Ryder Cup alone," Ballesteros
said. "I've never been worried about Tiger Woods being the
American team. I don't think he's doing that badly, it's just
that the Ryder Cup is very tough. He's a human being, and the
other players are very good also."
CHIP SHOTS: Michael Jordan, vacationing in Monaco, flew in
to watch Saturday's play. ... England's Faldo won his 24th Ryder
Cup point, a record. ... Another deluge delayed the start of play
almost two hours, and more rain is forecast for Sunday. ... The
U.S. team made only putt longer than 20 feet on Saturday. ...
Montgomerie has won three points for Europe. ...Justin Leonard
eagled from the fairway on No. 4 with a sand wedge. Fred Couples
also eagled from the fairway, using a sand wedge from 76 yards
... Lehman called Mickelson's 2-iron from 239 yards to 6 feet
on the par-5 17th the best shot he'd ever seen. Second-best was
Ignacio Garrido popping up a sand shot from behind the green,
and stopping it on the lower level 10 feet from the hole.
|
