Poor round completes the misery

A poorly-judged short-iron shot to the long 18th, followed by three putts from 40 feet, completed the misery. Seve Ballesteros, winner of five major championships and once the world's number one player, had just carded a six for a wretched round of 84 in Dubai yesterday.

People moved aside out of courtesy as he made the bleak journey to the recorder's hut, his mouth grim, his eyes dead. A little while later, he was still incapable of making any sense of it all.

Gently massaging his damaged back, he said: "I try my best, as I always do, but it was no good. It's a sad day for me."

It was also a sad day for his many admirers, both inside and outside the fairway ropes. And Greg Norman articulated the general mood when he said: "I just hope he gets his game back because I think golf would really miss him if he decided to walk away from it."

As a particularly keen student of the mechanics of the game, Christy O'Connor Jnr takes the view that Ballesteros has stopped being a shot-maker. "He seems to be content with making a graceful swing with a nice tempo," said the Galwayman.

"As a consequence, he's not working the ball, which is certainly disastrous in these conditions."

Norman didn't attempt to analyse the problem but it was clear his heart went out to the troubled Spaniard. "Sure, I've had my disappointments, but they weren't 84s," he said. "My disappointments were still playing well and finishing second. Those things were easier pills to swallow.

He went on: "Knowing Seve the way I have for 20 years, this has got to be killing him. I think that's why everybody pours their heart out to him. But it's difficult to walk up to a guy with that much talent and give him advice, because Seve is a self-made player. When you're self-made, sometimes it's hard to take advice.

"It's the same thing with Tom Watson and his putting, you know. Everybody wants to give Tom advice on his putting. We could all see what he was doing wrong but it's all up here (pointing to his head) for those guys.

Norman remains convinced, however, that Ballesteros, now 133rd in the world rankings, can still get his game back, even to the point of being a playing captain of this year's Ryder Cup team. "Absolutely," insisted the Shark. "Seve's an inspirational figure. He has an aura about him. I've spent 20-odd years around the guy and I'm still conscious of that aura. Seve could be playing-captain without a problem."

Did he suspect Ballesteros might be contemplating quitting the game? "No," Norman replied. "But I know I'd be. I'd be thinking of hanging up the sticks for six months and walking away from it like Ian Baker-Finch did."

This was the Spaniard's third tournament of the season and his third missed cut. And it's not as if the malaise has struck suddenly. He missed six cuts last season, including the British Open, and finished 62nd in the Volvo Masters. And in his opening event this year, he shot an 82 at Sun City.

Still, it is too early to suggest that we may be witnessing the end of a great talent. Or perhaps the truth is that we don't want to believe it.