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'A great honor' Hall of Fame welcomes Ballesteros, Alcott and Mangrum
Posted: Friday March 19, 1999 09:11 AM
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) -- A crystal cone in the World Golf Hall of Fame will soon contain Seve Ballesteros' signature, image and career highlights. He won the British Open three times and the Masters twice, becoming the youngest man to wear the green jacket until Tiger Woods came along. Ballesteros won 78 tournaments around the world, led the European tour money list six times and was on nine Ryder Cup teams, the last one as the winning captain. But sheer numbers tell only half the story of the stylish Spaniard with the charisma of Arnold Palmer and an unequaled imagination. With a mighty slash of a swing, he can find trouble in just about every corner of the course. With brilliant touch and shots only he can visualize, Ballesteros always seems to find a way out. "He was a man who got into trouble. Only for Seve, there really was no such thing as trouble," Gary Player said. "He could manufacturer shots like a genius. This man, from 100 yards in, had as good a touch as anyone." On Monday, Ballesteros will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with Amy Alcott of the LPGA Tour and the late Lloyd Mangrum, who won two Purple Hearts in World War II and the U.S. Open in 1946. Their crystal cones will be on display with those of the other 72 members of the Hall. Alcott will be the first woman inducted since Betsy King in 1995. Some felt King might have been the last to get in from the LPGA had it not revamped its stringent criteria by going to a points system. Alcott, whose 29 victories include five major championships, and Beth Daniel easily qualified when the new requirements were approved last month. Daniel will be inducted next year. Mangrum was elected in October with the minimum 75 percent of votes from a panel of golf writers, dignitaries and Hall of Fame members. One of the coolest customers in golf but toughened by an Army career that took him to Omaha Beach on D-Day, the Texan won 36 times. He retired after the 1962 season and died in 1973 following his 12th heart attack. Ballesteros was elected last year on the international ballot along with Nick Faldo. He deferred his induction until Monday because of prior commitments, although he was said to be upset that the PGA Tour failed to invite him to The Players Championship. He will be in the field next week on the Stadium Course of the TPC at Sawgrass, although past form indicates it might be nothing more than a ceremonial appearance. Ballesteros last won in 1995, the Peugeot Open in Spain. The induction will be more about the celebration of a man who meant as much to European golf as Palmer meant to America, and whose desire to beat the United States helped turn the Ryder Cup into the biggest event in golf. "Arnold Palmer did a lot for the game of golf, not only in America but all over the world," Ballesteros said. "If people compare me to him ... that's a great honor." Ernie Els found another comparison to Ballesteros, the first European player to take his game around the globe and an Open champion in nine countries on three continents. "I remember when he came down to South Africa. It was like the Beatles," Els said. "He was the biggest attraction in golf. He kind of put us on the map, those who play golf worldwide, because he won all over the place." That also describes Ballesteros' game. He's been in bunkers and the rough, in the trees and even a parking lot. He's been all over the map but always looks right at home. "He invented shots around the green," Jack Nicklaus said. "You don't find many big hitters like him with that kind of imagination and touch around the green. He's been a big inspiration to golf in continental Europe, more than anyone has. He's been good for the game of golf." The highlight reel of Ballesteros could show any number of shots, not many from the short grass of the fairway. Perhaps his most famous came in the 1979 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, when his drive ended up in a parking lot. He had a car moved, rifled his approach into the green and made birdie to clinch the Open. Irritated by American comments that he was more lucky than good -- the "Car Park Champion" was one reference -- Ballesteros came to the Masters the following year and dominated Augusta National in a way he says was "pretty similar" to what Woods did in 1997. He took a seven-stroke lead into the final round and it swelled to 10 strokes before he started spraying the ball all over Augusta and won by four. Still, his 23 birdies that week remain a record today. But for all the heroics of Ballesteros, his intensity in the Ryder Cup may be his legacy. He was the spiritual leader of the team for two decades, from a player who accounted for 20 points in 37 matches, to a captain who seemed to will his team to victory without playing a shot. "His desire to beat the Americans was paramount, and probably the reason they did beat us," Tom Watson said. "The Ryder Cup became the focus of world golf, and Seve was right there as the leader." Mangrum won only one major championship in a career interrupted by World War II. He was awarded his Purple Hearts for wounds in his leg, chin and shoulder, and the experience served him well when he returned to golf. "I don't suppose that any of the pro or amateur golfers who were combat soldiers, Marines or sailors will soon be able to think of a three-putt green as one of the really bad troubles in life," Mangrum said after the war. For much of the 1990s, Alcott was the example of why the LPGA Hall of Fame was the toughest in sports to enter. It required 40 wins and no majors, 35 wins and one major or 30 wins and two majors. Only nine women have won more majors than Alcott, and all of them are in the Hall of Fame. The new system requires 27 points -- two points are awarded for majors, one point each for a victory, Vare Trophy for lowest average score or player-of-the-year honor. Alcott would have qualified 14 years ago. Still, it was worth the wait. "It validates me in the world of golf," she said.
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