Seve Ballesteros “held talks” with Greg Norman over breakaway tour

Seve Ballesteros held discussions with Greg Norman over a breakaway tour in the 1990s, his nephew has revealed.

Ivan Ballesteros, a close confidant of his uncle and a founding patron of the Seve Ballesteros Foundation, said his uncle, along with his father Baldomero, was in talks with Norman over a potential new circuit.

He spoke out after his uncle’s name was omitted from the new Hero Cup, a competition similar to the Seve Trophy which was contested between 2000 and 2013.

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In a lengthy statement, he accused the game’s governing bodies of “poor, greedy and abusive management”, which he claimed had contributed to the birth of LIV Golf.

“No wonder LIV Golf has arrived,” he said.

“I remember in the 90s the conversations Seve had with my father Baldomero and [former employee] Joe Collet about a new tour they were discussing with Greg Norman among other players, which at the time could not happen.

“LIV Golf, whether you like the format or not, is innovative, fresh, new, and most importantly, has the financial power to compete among those who have been there with no competition during many years.”

Ballesteros, who was a close ally of Seve during the latter stages of his career, also took a swipe at the game’s current stars for failing to speak out over the decision to omit his uncle’s name from the Hero Cup.

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The legend’s family, including his son Javier, were highly critical of the call, revealing they only found out about the decision not to include his name shortly before it was made public.

“I have not seen a single golfer in Europe or professional within the golf industry who has stepped forward defending Seve and his legacy at either of the two events,” Ivan said.

He added chiefs at the DP World Tour “might believe that adorning one of their main meeting rooms at their Wentworth HQ is what a figure like Seve Ballesteros deserves”.

DP World Tour officials have insisted on several occasions that they intend to honour the Spaniard, who passed away aged 54 in 2011.

Discussions with his family over a way forward are ongoing.

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“I was personally in touch with the Ballesteros family before the announcement to brief them and we intend to discuss further with them,” said the tour’s deputy CEO and Ryder Cup director Guy Kinnings.

“We honour Seve’s legacy in many ways. His name adorns one of our main meeting rooms at our Wentworth HQ, we changed the name of our Players’ Player Award to the Seve Ballesteros Award in 2017 and I remember in the 2018 Ryder Cup in France where the last thing our players saw before they left the locker room to go on the course was Seve’s Ryder Cup bag with the phrase written above it; ‘This is why you are here’.

“We respect Seve’s legacy every single day and we will continue to do so.”