Golf’s Citizen of World : Seve Ballesteros Does Battle With the PGA Windmills

Follow Seve Ballesteros around a course and you see why he might be golf’s most intriguing figure.

He has more than control of his game; he has command of the event.

He strides the fairways briskly ahead of the pack, drawing his caddy, his partners, their caddies, scorers, officials and the scurrying crowd along like a king and his court.

He creates the impression that this is his round, if not his game. The truth, as always, is a little more complex.

Ballesteros appears to walk above it all, but he plays by rules he does not set. Rules that as a non-member of the PGA Tour limit his U.S. appearances this year to eight tournaments, starting with two in Southern California.

He will play in the Los Angeles Open starting Thursday at Riviera Country Club after making his 1988 U.S. debut by tying for 18th with a 12-under-par 276 in the Shearson Lehman Hutton Andy Williams Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course.

The rule is one that not only restricts his U.S. appearances but indirectly feeds what might be Ballesteros’ only readily distinguishable insecurity--his command of the English language.

Only in the past few years has Ballesteros been confident enough to carry on a conversation in English.

Actually, his usage is quite steady. But the lingering self-consciousness of those early attempts still leaves him somewhat unsure. When he entered a tournament press room for a recent interview, he stood uncomfortably by a doorway.

His shrinking presence was nothing like his demeanor on the course. His headlong charges up the courses make it appear as if the others are along for the ride, if they can keep pace. The same can be said of his stature in the game.

In a sport where the common criticism is the bland character of the players--one tall, thin, good looking face after another--Ballesteros stands out. He is all of that and more.

He is the sport’s pied piper, the dashing Spaniard from the coastal village of Pedrena, the two-time winner of both the Masters and British Open, the player who has led the latest internationalization of the game.

“If you ask me, he is the greatest player in the world,” said Roger Maltbie, the 1985 winner of the World Series of Golf.

If you need proof, come along. But don’t dawdle.

High on the elevated 17th tee of the Torrey Pines North Course, Ballesteros starts a golf swing that many consider as close to perfect as there is. This shot will do nothing to change that view.

The ball is headed for the stick. It lands with a soft thud, bounces twice, and makes a slight roll to the right, curving directly toward the hole.

For a moment it appears as if the shot will go in, but at the last moment the ball stops. Ballesteros has missed a hole-in-one by 1 1/2 inches.

When he arrives on the green, this time four steps ahead of everyone else, a spectator is ready for a little banter.

“I’ll give you that one, Seve!” he shouts.

“Thanks,” Ballesteros replies, then goes about pretending to size up what is nothing more than a tap-in. “I’m checking for the break,” he deadpans.

The crowd laughs. Ballesteros, normally stern faced and intense on the course, allows himself a well-earned smile.

He has nearly conquered the only part of the game that is foreign to him--English.

A few years ago, Ballesteros, 30, might have made that same type of shot, but not the verbal comeback. For a man so in control of everything else in his life and career, those were difficult times.

“It’s like you come out to play on the course, you know how to play but everything comes out wrong,” he said. “I felt apart from everything.

“I remember early in my career when I went out for dinner, I had to choose my dinner by pointing at the menu with a finger or just by looking at the other tables and saying, ‘I want that.’ It was difficult. Many times, not just one time, but many times, I got the wrong thing.”

But for all doubts about his English, Ballesteros is a thoughtful spokesman for changes in the game--most specifically the rule that affects him the most.

Ballesteros is limited in his U.S. tournaments because of a rule that requires foreign players to participate in 15 PGA Tour events to keep their tour membership. Players who do not meet that requirement are limited to playing in the three major championships--Masters, U.S. Open and PGA--and five other tournaments of the sponsors’ choosing.

Ballesteros met the requirement for foreign players once, playing in 15 tournaments in 1984. But he played in only nine tournaments the next year and was suspended from the tour for 1986.

“I tried it one year and that is why I know I cannot take it,” Ballesteros said. “It is too many tournaments.”

Ballesteros said he would prefer to play 12 U.S. tournaments a year.

“I always believe that nine tournaments (outside of the majors) is better than five,” he said. “It would help me, and it would help the sport.”

But his problem is not so much with the demands of the PGA Tour as much as it is with the global nature of his game. As one of the world’s premier players, he is in demand everywhere.

Ballesteros finds himself with both a financial and personal interest in playing around the world. That means about 14 tournaments a year in Europe, two or more in Japan, a couple more in some other corners of the world, plus his U.S. events.

To play 15 U.S. tournaments, Ballesteros said, that would require 18 weeks in the this country a year, too much time for a player whose time already is stretched thin.

“I would be playing golf the whole year, and that’s why it’s impossible,” Ballesteros said. “The superstar players cannot play too much because they have a lot of pressure. They have other commitments. We understand that. But we have to be productive of our time, otherwise we get burned out very easily.

“I would like to see some of the American players go overseas and spend as much as I spend away from Spain. Then, I’d like to hear what they have to say.”

But there appears little sentiment on the tour to change the rule to satisfy Ballesteros. The rule was established to protect tournament spots for regular tour members, especially in the more lucrative tournaments that likely would attract larger numbers of foreign players.

“We have a tour and all the guys qualified to be a part of it,” said Gary McCord, who was a player director on the PGA Tour tournament policy board that established the rule. “They’ve paid a price to play for a part of $28 million.

“We need good players like Seve, Ian Woosnam (of Wales) and Bernhard Langer (of West Germany), but we can’t let them cherry pick the tour. We had set up guidelines so they’d have to pay a price, too.”

Many of the best foreign players have, including Langer, Sandy Lyle of England and Greg Norman of Australia. Ballesteros remains the most outspoken holdout, frequently criticizing the leadership of Deane Beman, PGA Tour commissioner.

“It’s the policies on the U.S. tour that is the problem,” Ballesteros said. “Deane Beman tries to keep everyone under the same whip. But whoever loves golf must understand that golf is not only in the United States. It’s all over the world.

“Back in Spain, we look at this country as a free place that gives a chance to everybody. We have the impression that people over here, they look at the future very optimistically and we like that. Only on the PGA Tour do they break that rule, and it is too bad.”

Some on the tour argue that it is Ballesteros who takes full advantage of the free market. He wants his pick of the U.S. tournaments and the freedom to play around the world where he can demand large appearance fees that are not permitted on the PGA Tour.

“That’s wrong,” he said. “The reason is what I’ve explained--too much time.”

Ballesteros also argues that his devotion to the European tour is based in a belief that his presence has enhanced what until recently had been a struggling enterprise. He figures he has a continuing duty to the tour he helped build.

“If I had come over five years ago and played full-time here, the European tour would not be as good as it is,” he said. “It’s like if Arnold Palmer went over and played in Europe, the U.S. tour would not be as big as it is.”

But while Europe gains, U.S. fans get a limited look at a player whose take charge play has made him a crowd favorite. Although he teed off with the first threesome on the back nine Sunday, a large gallery accompanied him around the course.

He started the round with bogeys on three of his first five holes but went on to record five birdies and an eagle to finish with his second 68 of the tournament.

Ballesteros figures that such crowds add to his belief that the more appearances he is allowed, the more he can help the game.

“If I played more here, I’d have more fans, I’m sure of that,” he said. “When I play, I can feel that people are pulling for me. Many people walk up to me and say welcome to the United States, welcome to San Diego. It’s good to know that there are always people who care for and appreciate the game.

“I enjoy America very much, that’s why I want to come over here and play a little bit more. Some take it wrong. They think I withdrew from the U.S. tour because I don’t like it over here. That’s wrong. It’s the time.”

But with little more behind his cause than such verbal lobbying, Ballesteros has little effect in modifying PGA tour policy.

“I don’t see the rule being changed,” said Maltbie, a policy board member. “Most players feel the rule is fine the way it is.”

Which means Ballesteros will continue to play a restricted U.S. schedule. He plans to return next month for the The Players Championship and the Masters. He said the rest of his U.S. schedule is undetermined.

But he will be at Riviera this week. And if you want to check him out, remember: Walk fast.