A piece of fruitcake once decided a golf match. In a bizarre 1991 incident, Seve Ballesteros's mid-match snack caused a distraction that cost his opponent, Nick Price, a crucial shot.

The Spaniard’s caddie, Billy Foster, recalled the incident from the 1991 World Match Play Championship between Ballesteros and Nick Price. It was a time when Price was two holes up. But Ballesteros got hungry and asked Foster if there was anything to eat. 

The five-time major champion liked bananas that were black and glossy. But Foster had a yellow one. And the only choice he was left with was a piece of fruitcake. 

Foster recalled, “I give him the fruitcake. So he throws this bit of fruitcake in. Just as Nick Price gets the top of his backswing, his fruitcake goes down the wrong hole.”

He imitated Seve Ballesteros coughing on the cake and continued, “Nick Price is just on his downswing. It’s a foot behind it, duffs it in the front bunker left. And Seve is like, ‘Nick, I’m so sorry.’ He says to the referee can he take the shot again.”

The referee admitted it was an unfortunate event. But if someone in the crowd did the same thing, they couldn’t do anything about it. Hence, to ensure fair play, the referee refused to give Price a second shot. But Price wasn’t bothered.

“Nick being Nick, ‘Oh, Seve, no problem. It didn’t put me off.’ I asked him at the President's Cup a couple of years ago. Sure, it put him off. But he was such a nice fella. ‘No, no. He didn’t put me off. We’ll carry on.’”

However, when later at the same event, Price would face the consequences of the missed shot.

Seve Ballesteros Stayed Stubborn After Billy Foster Suggested a Way to Avoid Controversy

When Price was on the left short bunker, he chopped the ball and sent it just 10 feet away from the hole. Ballesteros and his caddie stood at the back of the green when Foster suggested that the Spaniard give Price the putt. It would have been a subtle way of avoiding controversy and moving on. 

But Ballesteros wasn’t going to let his competitive side down. He replied, “No, no, no, no. In the fairway, I offered him a half. He must finish the hole.”

Price missed the putt. The match swung. And after trailing by two holes earlier, Ballesteros mounted a comeback and eventually defeated Price 3 and 2, turning one of golf’s strangest moments into a decisive turning point.

Seve found the balance between competition and sportsmanship. When his offer of retrying the shot wasn't approved, he went back to his competitive side, ultimately winning the event.

What would you have done had you been in Ballesteros’ shoes against Price? 

Written by

Krushna Pattnaik

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar