Ballesteros calls it quits

Three-time champion Seve Ballesteros today announced his retirement from golf ahead of this week’s Open Championship at Carnoustie.

The career of the most charismatic figure in European golf history went into sharp decline in the late 1990s when he started suffering from serious back problems and has never recovered during lengthy lay-offs.

He made yet another comeback at the Masters in April, but after finishing last with rounds of 86 and 80 decided that his game was not good enough for a course as tough as Carnoustie.

Ballesteros turned 50 the Monday after Augusta and a month later made his debut on the US Seniors Tour, but he finished joint last with 67-year-old Lee Trevino and admitted he had been contemplating his future since then.