‘America seems to think Seve is lucky. It takes a lot of guts to win a major and he’s won two’

Standing up for his great mate was Ballesteros’ playing partner, Jack Newton, on that famous Sunday in 1980.

The pair were two of just nine ‘foreign invitations’ to the Masters and, come the end of the week, Europe had its first-ever winner.

This was before the Ryder Cup had taken off and the start of Europe’s dominance at Augusta. Come the end of the millennium they would win another 10.

Europe’s flamboyant, charismatic and dashing talisman was opening the doors and every European golfer, and fan, should all be eternally grateful to him.

Arriving at Augusta, Ballesteros’ form was good. He had tied for third at Sawgrass three weeks previously, but his back was a concern with the Daily Express reporting that he was hanging from a makeshift trapeze for 14 minutes to strengthen it.

The bookies had Tom Watson as a 6-1 favourite with Ballesteros, who had won his first Open the previous year and with it the title of the Car Park champion, one of his main rivals.

Come the Thursday, the day after his 23rd birthday, Seve was in a share of the lead with a 66. He would lay up at all the par 5s – ‘You like this new Seve? I used my head more and my muscles a little less’.

As for the Americans, the young hopeful Ben Crenshaw fancied his chances so much that he was awake at 3.30am on the Thursday and promptly played himself out of the tournament with a 76.

Watson triple-bogeyed the 12th on Saturday to drop away while Jack Nicklaus had his worst Masters since 1967.

Tom Weiskopf missed the cut in spectacular fashion with a 13 at the 12th which was followed by a quadruple bogey at the same hole on Friday.

Seve meanwhile sailed on serenely despite the odd wild heave. On the Friday he somehow found the 7th green with a monumental hook off the 17th tee.

David Graham joked: “Are you playing through, or would you like to putt out for an eagle?” which amused Andy North no end who added: “Nice drive, Seve, you’re closer to the hole in one than I am in three, so how about if I play your ball?”

Ballesteros had just three-putted 16 and never cracked a smile. Instead, after being shown where the green was by a committeeman, he dropped away from the putting surface, moved all manner of patrons who were now in his way and sent a 7-iron over the pines and a 20-foot scoreboard to 15 feet. The putt dropped, he would sign for a 69 and a four-shot lead.

A 68 on Saturday and the lead was up to seven and, in among all the home despair, the man who wouldn’t commit to the tour in the States would get to play the final round with an Australian.

Newton, who had birdied six of his first seven holes on Saturday, had very nearly won The Open at Carnoustie in 1975 when Watson beat him by a shot in the play-off.

The pair of them went way back.

“I first met Seve when he was 17 in 1974 and I just found him to be a good guy. He would ask me to watch him hit a few balls and his only weakness was occasionally getting across the line at the top. I had a lot of time for Seve,” said Newton.

“He used to call me ‘Yack’ instead of Jack and we were good friends. I admired the way he played and he didn’t bitch and moan too much and I liked that.

“There was no doubt in my mind that he was already a brilliant player; great short game, incredible putter and I played with him a lot before that Masters. And he was long.

“I could drive it around 285-290 yards and we were about the same and length was a definite advantage at Augusta. The 8th as maybe out of reach but we could reach the other par 5s.”

Interestingly on the Saturday, Ballesteros whipped a 3-iron to five feet from 245 yards away at the 8^th and made the eagle putt as he continued to run away with the tournament.

Newton would play the first nine holes in a one-under 35, Seve birdied 1, 3 and 5 to extend his lead to 10 at 16-under. Even on the rain-softened course it still measured 7,040 yards and only Nicklaus and Ray Floyd had finished four rounds at 17-under – and they had won their respective Masters by eight and nine shots.

“He blew us all away on that front nine but he then bogeyed 10, and found water on 12 and 13 to drop three more shots. I managed to birdie all of Amen Corner so suddenly, walking off the 13th green, there was only three in it.

“On the 14th tee, Seve taught me to swear in Spanish with all sorts of language from his part of the world. I didn’t mind as it wasn’t something that you often heard!

“I gave him a bit of a hurry up on that and he hooked it into the trees. Normally in those trees, the ball would just drop down but Seve’s ball went 15 metres to the left.

“But he then played a miracle shot to the back of the green and saved his par. Then we both hit the green at 15 and I thought that if I could make the eagle putt I could maybe turn the screws but my putt caught the lip and went four feet past and I missed the return. He made birdie and my race was basically done.”

By this point, the American Gibby Gilbert was making a late run with four straight birdies from the 13th but he also never got within three.

In the end, the Spaniard would par the last three holes for a four-shot win. This was the first Seve Ballesteros Masters win and a prize of $55,000.

Having missed the 1979 PGA Championship, he had won the last two majors that he had started. Bizarrely he got stuck in traffic ahead of the second round of the 1980 US Open at Baltusrol and was disqualified after missing his tee time.

“I don’t think the Americans got how good he was at that point but then they will often think that they are bigger and better and faster and longer at most things, the way I saw it when I went to America there were four or five Yanks who were really good players.

“The crowds thoroughly enjoyed watching him play, even if he hit a poor shot he would produce a miracle recovery and his short game and putter would get him out of trouble.

“He once played one of the greatest shots I’ve ever seen. It was at the then par-5 11th at Royal Melbourne.

“There were two bunkers and he was in the one furthest away from the green so he was 50 metres from the pin and he had about 10 feet to play with. He had to get down on his knees and I was on the next tee thinking ‘Jesus, this is going to be fun’.

“He played one of the most gorgeous shots, over the greenside bunker to about eight feet. He holed the putt for birdie and we all just stood there and shook our heads.”

Three years later Ballesteros won a second Green Jacket, by four shots again. A few months later Newton walked into the moving propeller of a plane that was supposed to be taking him home to Newcastle, an hour north of Sydney Airport. The then 33-year-old lost his right arm and eye and suffered life-threatening damage to his abdomen. He was given a 40 per cent chance of survival.

“After my accident, Seve wrote a letter to me when I was in hospital. I got messages from a number of players which was a real boost for me and Seve’s letter was one of my favourites.”

Many of us will often associate Seve and Augusta with missed opportunities and some sadness; the 4-iron dunked into the water in ’86 or the walk back up the 10th fairway when exiting the play-off with Larry Mize and Greg Norman the following year stand out.

Thanks to the likes of Newton we’re reminded of what a talent Ballesteros was and the role he played in stirring the careers of many of Europe’s future superstars.

As for Newton, he turned 70 a few weeks ago – ‘I’m a proper old bastard now!’ – and is doing alright.

“I’ve had some ups and down in the past 12-18 months but I’m coming good now and I’m looking forward to getting back on the course a bit more regularly.”

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