At the time, it was said rather dismissively that the matches were watched by five men and a dog. But the 1979 Ryder Cup at the Greenbrier in West Virginia, was notable for two key reasons: Lee Elder had become the first black player to represent the US, while the newly-formed European team contained two Spaniards.

It was also an occasion when the legendary Sam Snead, one-time professional at the Greenbrier but who had since fallen out of favour with the club, sneaked back purely to see a remarkable 22-year-old whom he longed to meet. As it happened, the feeling was mutual.

Seve Ballesteros was not only the reigning British Open champion but had already topped the European Order of Merit on three occasions. When introduced to Snead, the young Spaniard asked to see the famous leg kick.

The old "Slammer", an incredibly fit 67year-old at the time, duly obliged, raising his right leg level with the Spaniard's upstretched hand. When he demanded that Ballesteros do likewise, however, the reply was a firm "no."

On the afternoon of the first day, the young conquistador and compatriot Antonio Garrido played against Fuzzy Zoeller and Hubert Green in the second foursomes. As a foretaste of many a Ryder Cup clash to come, there was an incident on the 16th green, where the Spaniards secured the match by 3 and 2.

On conceding a putt to Green, Garrido scooped the ball back to him with his putter. The two of them then began arguing and became progressively agitated. Ballesteros later recalled: "I remember I had to stand in between them. At that moment I could see that the Ryder Cup was important. Even though we didn't play for money, we played for pride."

Eighteen years on, Ballesteros now has much more emphatic reasons for recognising the importance of this biennial showpiece. Primary among them is that he happens to be skipper of the European side. "I said yes, because so many people wanted me to take the job," he said. "And I gained so much from golf in Europe that, really, I had no choice."

Ballesteros and his US counterpart, Tom Kite, halved their singles in one of the landmark matches of 1985 at The Belfry, where the Spaniard had been three down with five to play. That was towards the end of a season in which rich skills had brought him the Irish Open, Spanish Open and French Open titles and were about to deliver the World Matchplay Championship.

Two months ago, he and Kite met again in a Shell Wonderful World of Golf series match on his home course of Pedrena. The sparkling skills of 1985 were recognisable only in the short game, as Ballesteros struggled desperately to a 76 against a sparkling 67 from the American. Though the outcome will have no bearing on events at Valderrama this weekend, the pride that the Spaniard had talked about at The Greenbrier was gravely wounded.

Indeed, there have been quite a few upsets for Ballesteros since his decision to accept the captaincy of the European side. For instance, initial talk about becoming a possible playing captain was rendered somewhat meaningless by a dramatic slump in form.

Then, for legal reasons, there was his failure earlier this year to have the rules of qualification changed so that he could have four wild-card choices instead of two. More recently, and with the law again being threatened, we had the sorry spectacle of the Miguel Martin affair, which reflected precious little credit on the European skipper.

In fact, Ballesteros has never been far from controversy since the decision was first taken to bring the Ryder Cup to Spain. One remembers the distasteful sequence of accusation and counter-accusation as he attempted to undermine the bid of Valderrama as the host venue, to the benefit of his own choice, Novo Sancti Petri.

Whatever about his faults, it is certain that Ballesteros will be a superb advocate of the European cause. Ironically, this burning desire for victory stems more from a desperate need to whip the dreaded Americans, than to uphold the honour and glory of European golf.

In fact, the Americans will never fully comprehend the deep-seated antipathy they created in the young Spaniard when they chose to give him a difficult time during his early years on tour there. From that first meeting at the Greenbrier, he decided they should be beaten at all costs.

Though no longer a playing member of the side, Ballesteros can continue to torment the Americans on two levels - with his leadership skills and as the creator of Valderrama's infamous, long 17th. He was also involved in minor modifications to the course last April, when he travelled there after the Spanish Open.

Regarding the 17th, he said: "Strangely enough, it is the only hole, or at least one of the few, that we have done nothing with this year. The only recommendation I made was that the two bunkers be moved."

He went on: "My main concern is the calmness and emotional control of the players. It is only when a player is calm and determined that he can produce the best results."

In assessing the Spaniard's immense contribution to the Ryder Cup, his erstwhile skipper, Tony Jacklin, said: "Seve has been fantastic for his passion and conviction. Because of his commitment, he's made things happen out there in Ryder Cup confrontations that couldn't happen otherwise."

Now, the challenge has changed. Instead of leading by example, Ballesteros must get his players to believe that they, too, can make things happen. That they can experience greatness, if only for a weekend.