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There are Seve Ballesteros fans, and there are Seve Ballesteros fans.
Dunfermline man Stuart Birrell is most definitely a fan – and, on Tuesday, he spilled his own blood to prove it.
The 41-year-old, who grew up idolising Seve, endured three solid hours of pain to get a tattoo of his hero scratched into his arm forever more.
The inking combines Seve’s famous celebration from the 1984 Open, the Ryder Cup – which the Spaniard is credited for breathing new life into – and two of his most famous quotes.
‘They say I get into too many bunkers. But is no problem. I am the best bunker player’ and ‘I look into eyes, shake their hand, pat their back, and wish them luck, but I am thinking, I am going to bury you’.
For Stuart, the tattoo was £210 well spent.
“I started playing golf when I was 12 and Seve was the reason,” he told bunkered.co.uk. “He was awesome, he was a character, he was swashbuckling.
“I was eight when Seve won the 1984 Open. That’s when it stuck. I was trying to get the Claret Jug in [the tattoo] as well but I decided to just stick with the Ryder Cup because it is what it is because of Seve. I’m made up with the end result.”
Stuart, who has other tattoos, including a Star Wars-themed one, said he faced ‘the usual p***takes’ from his friends but insists that won’t put him off getting more.
He added: “An idea I had was a collage of legends of the game. The likes of Nicklaus, Palmer, Watson and more. But I’ll have to see.”
Have you got any golf-related tattoos? Get in touch! Email [email protected] with pics and details.
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