Thursday 29 January 2015 06:48, UK
Javier Ballesteros is relishing the prospect of making his first European Tour appearance as a professional at this week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The son of the late five-time major winner Seve Ballesteros missed the cut when featuring in last year’s tournament as an amateur, but has been invited to return to the Emirates Golf Club by tournament officials after turning pro in November.
Ballesteros, who sits outside of the world’s top 1500, has yet to hit the heights that saw him win the Madrid Amateur Open three years ago, but is excited to feature in a star-studded field this week.
“Really look forward to the challenge,” the 24-year-old said. “I have played in a couple of tournaments as a professional in Spain, but this will be the first time I will be competing in a European Tour event.
“With the likes of Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Ernie Els among other world-class players in the field, it’s going to be fun and that’s what I will try to have.”
Family ties
The Spaniard, who has a stencilled image of his dad on his golf bag, will play alongside last year’s runner-up Emiliano Grillo and Australia’s Brett Rumford in the opening round.
Ballesteros Jnr was only invited to last year’s 25th anniversary of the tournament to represent his father, with Seve a former Dubai Desert Classic winner in 1992, and isn’t setting himself any targets of repeating his dad’s achievements.
“When I play a tournament, I usually don’t have expectations," he added. "The thinking is to practice hard and play as well as you can and let things happens.
“My surname doesn’t really put any pressure on my golf. What my dad did was just fantastic, winning five Majors and close to 100 tournaments. I just try to be myself and play golf. Missing a few drives here and there is normal, nothing really very strange.
"The experience of playing in this tournament will be a great learning curve, something which will stand me in good stead for the future."
Watch day one of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic live on Thursday from 6am on Sky Sports 4 – your home of golf.
