He was the fist-pumping, Spanish golfing prodigy. A man so adored by Europeans and universally respected the world over.
Now a movie about the great Seve Ballesteros is set to hit theatres in the UK on June 27.
The film, titled “Seve”, will pair re-enactments with actual footage to tell the story of Ballesteros’ journey from a small fishing village in the north of Spain to the top of the golfing world.
“We’re dealing essentially with his youth from the age of 16 to 19,” Stephen Evans, the film’s producer, told The Independent in 2011. “Unless you understand his youth, you’ll never understand Ballesteros and you’ll never give him the sympathy that he merits.”
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Watch the trailer for the new Seve Ballesteros movie, in cinemas on June 27.
Ballesteros is played by Spanish teen Jose Luis Gutierrez, who is a member of the Cantabrian golf team and a former runner-up in the Spanish amateur.
Legend has it that by the age of seven, a young Seve was already hitting pebbles on the beach – his only club comprising of an old 3-iron head into which he’d ram sticks to form a shaft.
“Ballesteros was Spain’s ultimate matador,” Evans said. “He did it through golf. No-one wanted him to play golf. He wasn’t allowed to play golf but he insisted on doing it.”
The film will culminate in his astounding performance at the 1976 Open at Royal Birkdale, where a then unknown Ballesteros led for the first three rounds before finishing tied second with Jack Nicklaus, six shots behind Johnny Miller.
