Alvaro inspired by Seve

Portugal Masters champ draws on fellow Spaniard for motivation

Last updated: 20th October 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Alvaro inspired by Seve

Quiros: second Tour victory

Seve was playing in a different way to the rest of the world. He was something special.

Alvaro Quiros on Seve Ballesteros
Quotes of the week

Also see

Alvaro Quiros revealed that Seve Ballesteros had been uppermost in his thoughts as he secured a three-stroke win at the Portugal Masters over the weekend.

Quiros claimed his second European Tour victory and the biggest pay-cheque of his career as he held of European Order of Merit leader Robert Karlsson to emerge triumphant in Vilamoura.

And with the golfing the world, and Spanish minds in particular, preoccupied with the failing health of Ballesteros, Quiros admitted he had used the 51-year-old as his inspiration during his final round at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Course.

"My caddy told me that Seve always wanted to beat everybody and today I drew inspiration from thinking about the way he played his golf," declared the 25-year-old from Cadiz.

"Seve was and still is an inspiration for all of the Spaniards, particularly when things don't go very straight.

"But with the short game I stopped and remembered him - when he made chips and putts with wonderful recoveries.

"Seve was playing in a different way to the rest of the world. He was something special.

"He was playing more with the heart than the real game and when you think about it, you have two ways to make a birdie.

"The easy way: driver, green and one putt, and the other is one drive - don't know where - a chip and a good putt. That's how I played and Seve sometimes had rounds like that."

Quiros signalled his potential when he won on his first European Tour start at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in 2007, but was then struck down by a wrist injury that kept him out of the game for five months.

However, the Spaniard - the longest driver on the European Tour - now looks back to his very best with his win over the weekend securing his place at the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama.