Thomas Aiken leads Spanish Open
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Thomas Aiken shot a 4-under 69 to Friday to take a one-stroke lead in the Spanish Open, overshadowed by news about Spanish great Seve Ballesteros' worsening health.
Aiken, from South Africa, had an 8-under 136 total. Spain's Pablo Larrazabal (70) was second, and countryman Alvaro Velasco (70), Frenchman Romain Wattel (71), England's Anthony Wall (70) and Scotland's Scott Jamieson (71) were 6 under.
The majority of players were on the El Prat course when news emerged that five-time major champion Ballesteros' condition has severely deteriorated, more than two years after the 54-year-old had surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor. Ryder Cup partners Jose Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez were moved to tears as they left the course and both declined to talk to reporters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We tried to talk to them after their rounds but they couldn't even speak because they were crying. They couldn't even talk," Spanish Open spokeswoman Maria Acacia Lopez-Bachiller said. "This had to be the saddest competition in terms of ambiance today. I've never seen anything like it."
Both players managed to go around the course in even-par 72, with Jimenez sitting seven strokes back of Aiken, and Olazabal — one of Ballesteros' best friends — another shot behind.
Former Ryder Cup player and captain Ballesteros won three British Opens and two Masters with a game marked by spectacular improvisational play. One of the best-known personalities in Spain and the golfing world, he also won 50 times on the European Tour and is widely credited with transforming European golf.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There's no words to describe it, it's something that touches all of our hearts," said Italian teenager Matteo Manassero, 1 under after a 70. "He's always been my idol. I don't know what to say, he's an incredible person and his fighting spirit is an example. My first memory of Seve is from when I was four or five, I saw him play at the Italian Open at my home club."
Ballesteros fainted at Madrid's international airport while waiting to board a flight to Germany on Oct. 6, 2008, and was subsequently diagnosed with the brain tumor. He was hospitalized for 66 days and underwent four brain operations.