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Ballesteros fires in Spain
Spain, Apr 17: Raul Ballesteros, nephew of Spanish legend Seve, was poised one shot off the pace after the second round of the Seville Open on Friday.
Spain, Apr 17: Raul Ballesteros, nephew of Spanish legend Seve, was poised one shot off the pace after the second round of the Seville Open on Friday.
The 23-year-old carded a second 68 to sit in a three-way tie for second behind Argentina's Cesar Monasterio.
Italy's Emmanuele Canonica and Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez were also on eight under with England's Matthew Blackey one stroke further back. But France's Jean van de Velde lost his Tour card after missing the cut.
Ballesteros, son of Seve's brother and manager Baldomero, picked up six birdies and dropped two shots at the Real Club de Golf. Victory in Spain would give him his Tour card in only his third event of a possible seven invitations this year. "You ask me can I win, and I have to say 'yes'," he said. "I'm looking forward to a good weekend but, as I found two weeks ago in Portugal, golf doesn't always give you what you want. "I can't play in more than seven invitations and I don't know whether I can make it in that time, but I'm going to try." Raul has played occasional European Tour events since 1999 and has benefitted from tips on his game from his uncle, but he insisted he felt no pressure for having a famous name. "I have the privilege of having Seve as my uncle and I have learned things from him, but my future has nothing to do with Seve," he said. "I am a different person - he has been the best player in the world. I am apart from that, I am Raul Ballesteros, professional, who just wants to play well every week."
Two-time Masters champion Seve was forced to pull out of this year's event at Augusta with a long-term back injury, and Raul faces a second back operation in December. "It is a hernia in the muscle, something similar to that suffered by Seve and my father and my other uncles," he said. Van de Velde, who squandered a chance to win the Open at Carnoustie in 1999 with a triple-bogey seven at the last, needed to finish 35th or higher to keep his card. The Frenchman was granted seven events this season on a medical exemption after a second knee operation. Bureau Report
Ballesteros, son of Seve's brother and manager Baldomero, picked up six birdies and dropped two shots at the Real Club de Golf. Victory in Spain would give him his Tour card in only his third event of a possible seven invitations this year. "You ask me can I win, and I have to say 'yes'," he said. "I'm looking forward to a good weekend but, as I found two weeks ago in Portugal, golf doesn't always give you what you want. "I can't play in more than seven invitations and I don't know whether I can make it in that time, but I'm going to try." Raul has played occasional European Tour events since 1999 and has benefitted from tips on his game from his uncle, but he insisted he felt no pressure for having a famous name. "I have the privilege of having Seve as my uncle and I have learned things from him, but my future has nothing to do with Seve," he said. "I am a different person - he has been the best player in the world. I am apart from that, I am Raul Ballesteros, professional, who just wants to play well every week."
Two-time Masters champion Seve was forced to pull out of this year's event at Augusta with a long-term back injury, and Raul faces a second back operation in December. "It is a hernia in the muscle, something similar to that suffered by Seve and my father and my other uncles," he said. Van de Velde, who squandered a chance to win the Open at Carnoustie in 1999 with a triple-bogey seven at the last, needed to finish 35th or higher to keep his card. The Frenchman was granted seven events this season on a medical exemption after a second knee operation. Bureau Report