Ramón_Sota
Ramón Sota
Spanish golfer
Ramón Sota Ocejo (23 April 1938 – 28 August 2012) was a Spanish professional golfer.
Sota was born in Pedreña, Cantabria. He won many professional tournaments around the world including some of the major national opens around Europe that formed the basis of the European Tour when it was formed in 1972. Those wins included his own national open, three Portuguese Opens and the French Open. He recorded several victories farther afield, including winning the Brazil Open in 1965. He was also Spanish professional champion four times.
In 1965, Sota finished 6th at the U.S. Masters, which at the time was the best performance in the tournament by any European.[1] He finished 10th on the European Order of Merit in 1971, the year prior to the official start of the new European Tour. He only competed on the tour for one season, in 1972. During that season's Double Diamond International he became the first player ever to be penalised for slow play in Britain.[1] The humiliation he felt following the incident led him to retire shortly afterwards,[2] although he did return to play on the European Seniors Tour for a few years in the mid 1990s.
Sota started the Club de Golf Ramon Sota in Marina de Cudeyo, which has a 9-hole par–3 course and a golf school. He was also the uncle of Spain's most successful golfer, Seve Ballesteros.