With 50 European Tour victories to his name Seve Ballesteros has found success all over the world but it was in continental Europe’s oldest Open, the HNA Open de France, where he found the most joy – winning the event four times.
And with the third Rolex Series event of the year set to get under way this week, we’ve taken a look at the Ballesteros’s record at the prestigious tournament which he won on more occasions than any other during his outstanding career.
He was a five-time Major Champion and a three-time Ryder Cup winner – in addition to being part of the 1989 team which retained the trophy with a draw – and it was at the 1977 Open de France where Ballesteros really set the ball rolling on his glittering career.
The Spaniard had won his maiden European Tour title at the previous year’s Dutch Open andrecorded his second victory when he triumphed at the Open de France, held at Golf du Touquet, in 1977.
Ballesteros led from the off in 1977, posting a first round 69 to begin with a share of the lead and maintained his position at the summit of the leaderboard with a two under par 70 in the second round.
A one under par third round 71 gave Ballesteros the outright lead with one round to play and he saw it home safely on Sunday, shooting a level par 72 to win by three shots from John Bland, Antonio Garrido, Manuel Piñero and Ian Stanley on three under par.
The Pedreña-born man’s next French victory occurred five years later, with a stunning performance at Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche. Now a double Major Champion following wins at the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship, he posted rounds of 71-70-72-65 to finish on ten under par, five shots clear of Sandy Lyle, the defending champion, and nine shots ahead of the further chasing pack on one under.
The 1982 victory made Ballesteros the fourth player to win the Open de France on multiple occasions, and it wasn’t long before he was in a league of his own.
After wins for Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer in 1983 and 1984, the genius of Ballesteros once again denied Lyle of the title in 1985.
A stunning opening round of 62 – nine under par – set Ballesteros on the road to a wire-to-wire victory. No one could catch the Spaniard – who was by now a four-time Major Champion following his Open Championship triumph the previous year – as he carded three further rounds in the 60s to finish two shots ahead of Scotsman Lyle.
Three French wins in eight years and 30 European Tour victories in total meant Ballesteros was already the most successful European Tour player of all-time, but it was the following year that Ballesteros etched his name into the record books by becoming the first post-war four-time winner of the Open de France – and he did it in some style.
Incredibly, Ballesteros won his fourth title in wire-to-wire fashion, meaning he led the Open de France for a phenomenal eight consecutive rounds.
He finished on 19 under par after rounds of 65-66-69-69 and in doing so made history at Racing Club de France La Boulie.
Since his final Open de France victory, only three players have won multiple titles; Jean-François Remésy and Graeme McDowell, both with two wins, and Faldo, who has since secured his second and third triumphs.
Ballesteros’s four Open de France victories are the most he recorded at any one event during a glittering career which cemented his place among the game’s true greats.
