Nick Faldo appeared on a DP World Tour and Ryder Cup's collaborative 'Big Five Roundtable' video on January 9 and shared a Seve Ballesteros story that defied physics.

Faldo recalled playing with Ballesteros at Royal Dublin Golf Club, dating back to the late 1980s. He was paired with Ballesteros, with Dave McNeely on the bag, when the moment occurred during the Irish Open.

"I swear he [Ballesteros] missed a putt this far wide of the hole. He looked at it, and the ball suddenly dipped in," Nick Faldo said, and added that both he and McNeely reacted immediately to what they had just seen.

"We both looked at each other. I said, ‘Did you see that?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘What the hell happened there?’ He just stared at it, and then it went sideways," revealed the veteran golfer.

And that wasn't the only time Ballesteros stunned Faldo. At the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Faldo watched Ballesteros repeatedly play bunker shots using a three-iron.

The following week, during a practice round at TPC Sawgrass, Faldo said the two reached the 18th hole when Ballesteros suggested a contest. "Okay, Nick, we have a bunker competition." said Seve Ballesteros.

While Faldo gave it his best shot, it only landed 10 feet away. However, Ballesteros took the same shot; it went way further, and Faldo knew that he was playing with someone "different."

A 10-time Ryder Cup winner had a similar take on Seve Ballesteros

Right after Nick Faldo spoke, Brenhaad Langer spoke about his experience playing with and against Seve Ballesteros.

"You knew he was going to play well. And like Woosi (Ian Woosnam) said earlier, you know, didn't matter if he hit three greens inregulation or 15, he just would never have a high score. He could chip in, putt in, whatever," said the 10x Ryder Cup winner.

Recalling his '84 loss to Seve Ballesteros, he said: "If it was T to green, I should have won that tournament. But Sevy was two shots better at the end."

Langer explained that it wasn't that Ballesteros wasn't beatable, but he was versatile. "And that was a typical thing about Sevy. He got the most out of everyround. It seemed like because his short game was so good and his touch was magnificent," added the former World No. 1.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi