CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) _ Seve Ballesteros officially retired
from competition Monday, ending a charismatic career filled with
five major championships, a record 50 victories on the European Tour
and a fighting spirit that rejuvenated Europe in the Ryder Cup.
Ballesteros, who turned 50 in April, has not been a force in golf
for the last 10 years as he has coped with back injuries.
He was torn between trying to keep playing and stepping away, and
decided to give it one last chance at the Masters, where he won
twice. But he finished last after rounds of 86-80, then tried one
event on the Champions Tour.
``I don't have the desire,'' Ballesteros said at a news
conference at Carnoustie, where he made his British Open debut in
1975.
He said he would continue to play golf with his children, and his
focus would be spent on his family and his business, which includes
golf course design. His announcement follows television reports from
Spain that he tried to commit suicide, which Ballesteros said ``were
not even close to reality.''
Ballesteros did for Europe what Arnold Palmer did for American
golf a generation earlier. He was a swashbuckler on the course, a
combination of power and amazing imagination. He won one of his
three British Open titles by playing a shot from the car park, and
perhaps his greatest shot was a three-wood from bunker on the final
hole of the Ryder Cup in 1983, the first time Europe had a chance.
Inspired by his fierce style, Europe closed the gap on the United
States in the matches until winning for the first time in 1985, and
dominating ever since. One of those victory came in 1997 at
Valderrama, with Ballesteros as the captain.
He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999.
