Colin Montgomerie: Seve Ballesteros was the most skilful golfer of all time How unfair that someone who had done so much to give the game its more youthful image could have died at 54. Every golfer of a certain generation has a 'Seve moment," when his golf took your breath away. Mine came 20 years ago, during the play-off for the 1991 Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth. To start with, he made a birdie on the last to match my clubhouse lead of 271 and force a play-off. He then seemed on the point of undoing all his good work with a drive down the first that veered off line and hit a buggy. No one, I thought, could recover from that. After all, I was sitting pretty on the fairway with a straightforward approach and probably two putts for victory. Wrong. I would have said that the shot which Seve pulled off was impossible but for the fact that I saw it with my own eyes, not to mention a sinking heart. From 200 yards or more, he launched a five-iron that settled to within three feet of the hole. His victory was a formality from there. Fast forward two decades to the second round of the BMW PGA at Wentworth and I am surrounded by players in navy sweaters and white shirts in tribute to Seve. It was a very poignant moment for me, thinking back to that play-off and that very special glimpse I had had of golfing genius. Was I close to Seve? I'm not sure any of the players, other than José Maria Olazábal, can claim that, but we respected him immensely, loved him for the character he was on and off the course, and for what he had done for the tour. During his playing days and beyond, he was vital to the success of European golf, like nobody else before or since. There is no question in my mind that Seve Ballesteros was the most talented and skilful golfer the world has ever seen.