PEDRENA, Spain — To the mournful wail of a lone bagpipe, some of Europe’s greatest golfers joined family, friends and local residents yesterday at the funeral of Seve Ballesteros, paying an emotional final tribute to the dynamic Spaniard who revived the European game.
Ryder Cup captains Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam, Sam Torrance and Jose Maria Olazabal and players including Miguel Angel Jimenez marched together in silence as part of the procession from Ballesteros’ family home to the church of San Pedro de Pedrena.
Young boys and girls wore replicas of the navy blue outfit that Ballesteros wore for his first British Open win in 1979. They each held a 3-iron, the only club Ballesteros owned when he learned to play golf.
About 400 people packed the church to provide Ballesteros with one final send-off before his ashes were spread under a magnolia tree at the family home in this tiny fishing village in northern Spain.
Ballesteros, a five-time major winner and Ryder Cup stalwart, died Saturday at age 54 from complications of a cancerous brain tumor.
“He was so young and such a great man. A great champion — the best Europe ever had,” Torrance said.
Ballesteros’ oldest son, Javier, carried the urn holding the Spanish golf great’s ashes at the front of the procession, with the somber notes of a single bagpipe punctuating the occasion on an overcast day in the village off the Bay of Santander.
The crowd of up to 1,000 gathered outside the church burst into applause as Ballesteros’ ashes reached the church. Locals, friends and others watched from one of the three giant screens set up outside.
Relatives inside the church wept and embraced, and so did friends and Pedrena residents watching outside after applauding heartily.
“It’s not a goodbye. We know you’ll always be here by our side,” Ballesteros’ son Miguel said.
Ballesteros’ brother Vicente picked up the urn — which had been set above two golf clubs and a golf ball at the foot of the altar — and carried it out of the church back to the family home, where a private family ceremony was held before the ashes were placed under the magnolia tree overlooking the nearby Real Club de Golf Pedrena course where his career began.
“We all wanted to be here to support Seve and wish him the best. We loved him, he was great,” Faldo said. “European golf owes Seve a great debt. He was the best frontman we could have ever dreamed of.”