Gents:
Wake up and smell the coffee -- Seve needed a mapquest to find fairways. One of the most imaginative golfers for sure -- but one of the most careless golfers of the magnitude we are speaking about here.
George P:
Allow me to refresh your memory about the '83 Open -- since I was there covering it. Seve was toast after the front nine when his playing companion (Tom Watson) buried him with a five-under-par front. If memory serves -- Seve finished the front nine one-under-par but was never remotely in the hunt for the title. Saying he finished 5th is the equivalent in paying homage to the fact that Ernie Els finished second to Tiger in the 2000 US Open.
One other note -- Seve abandoned his driver during the event in order to keep the ball remotely close to the fairways.
One other thing -- I never downplayed Seve's skills or his wins in the majors. Just try to put some stock in the fact that I'm not here to downplay Seve but serve notice on how considerable the skills were of Lee Trevino.
Tim P:
Please don't even think about putting Seve and Tiger in the same sentence -- there is no connection whatsoever.
One other thing -- if I'm not mistaken you are the guy who downplayed a win in the US Open prior to Shinnecock Hills coming on board as a site for the championship in 1986 -- I'm still waiting for your retort on that one. By the way dig a bit deeper than simply throwing back Andy North's name -- you might have forgotten Jack's epic win at Baltusrol in '80, Watson's heroic play at Pebble in '82 and David Graham's superb final round 18 at Merion. One other thing check out the winner's of The Open Championship in recent years -- do the names of Paul Lawrie and Ben Curtis ring a bell?
David T:
Forgive me but the players who can master hitting fairways and greens usually win the big time events. Seve was successful in venues in which driving the ball accurately wasn't such a big deal. More power to him. But when you assess true greatness -- not just the bravado, guile, savvy and charisma elements -- you need to really look a bit deeper at overall greatness. Great players can win anywhere and frankly as I said to you previously -- I see the gap between Snead and Ballesteros to be far greater than the one between Trevino and Hogan.