The Otago Charity Classic was a big tournament and the organisers always tried to invite at least one name player.
Johnny Miller, Peter Thomson and Kel Nagle all played in it. In 1976, the great Sam Snead came out. Snead was very famous for what he achieved over a lifetime.
The next year, we got this 19-year-old boy called Seve Ballesteros. He was very much a kid for the future.
We knew a little bit about Seve. And we certainly knew about him after the first round.
He only hit about three fairways but he scored 69. He sprayed the ball all over the place. But he was the best recoverer I've ever seen.
He played the St Clair golf course in a way in which it wasn't supposed to be played.
On the eighth hole, you tee off from a plateau and go uphill. Each time he played it, Seve hit his drive over the trees in front of the 10th green. He had to go over more trees to get on to the green, and he did it each time.
He scored 69-67-68-67, a record for a four-round tournament at St Clair. He won reasonably comfortably, by three shots. It was in the middle of a run of five straight wins on five different continents.
I was covering the Classic for Radio Otago. It was the height of the golf season and the tournament was extremely popular. There were big galleries and plenty of media interest.
We knew we were watching something special. He had flair but he wasn't over the top.
Seve was a lovely bloke, he really was. He was courteous. For a young bloke, he was extremely mature, and he had a real sophistication about him.
I interviewed him in the lounge after the final round and the first thing he said was, 'Can I have a smoke?' He didn't normally smoke but he was on a high from the win.
He spoke very kindly of the St Clair course. And he was just a delight to meet and talk to.
One of his older brothers, Manuel, actually came out and played in the Classic the following year.
When I heard the news of Seve's death, I was very sad. He was the loveliest bloke.
- As told to Hayden Meikle.
