In this series, we've unearthed images from the RFEG's photographic archive, each one telling a beautiful golf story. The story of our golf. They are OUR CHAMPIONS.

📆 May 11, 2011.

⛳ Royal Golf Club El Prat.

▶Four days before this photo was taken, Severiano Ballesteros, the great idol and icon of golf in our country, passed away. The Cantabrian golfer went from being the best Spanish golfer to being much more than that: a legend of world golf, continually remembered by players and fans from all corners of the globe.

▶Seve passed away at the age of 54 during the week of the 2011 Spanish Open, which was being played at the Real Club de Golf El Prat. And from the very moment the news broke, the golf world poured out tributes to him.

▶On Wednesday, May 11, the day before the tournament began, at 1:00 p.m., coinciding with the start of the funeral service in Pedreña, the extended European golf family observed a profound minute of silence, followed by as many tears as applause. Among those present were his friends José María Olazábal and Miguel Ángel Jiménez, those who so admired him, such as José Manuel Lara and Álvaro Quirós; the two most recent presidents of the RFEG (Royal Spanish Golf Federation), Emma Villacieros and Gonzaga Escauriaza… All together, remembering Seve.

Meanwhile, reactions poured in from the worlds of sports, politics, and society. Great champions like Ángel Nieto, Manolo Santana, Tiger Woods, Johan Cruyff, and Andrés Iniesta bid farewell to Seve with heartfelt and laudatory words.
▶Rory McIlroy, in just one line, summed up the general feeling of the professionals in our sport better than anyone. “Seve is and always will be a great of golf. A true legend in every sense and an inspiration to many people.”.