Quick Facts
Biography
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. 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. The humiliation he felt following the incident led him to retire shortly afterwards, 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.
Sota died in August 2012 of pneumonia.
Tournament wins
- This list may be incomplete
- 1956 Spanish Professional Championship
- 1959 Spanish Professional Championship
- 1960 Spanish Professional Championship
- 1961 Spanish Professional Championship
- 1963 Spanish Open, Portuguese Open
- 1965 French Open, Brazil Open
- 1966 Dutch Open, Puerto Rico Open
- 1969 Portuguese Open, Madrid Open
- 1970 Portuguese Open
- 1971 Algarve Open, Italian Open, Dutch Open
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T34 | T6 | T33 | T31 | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | CUT |
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | 15 | T12 | CUT | T7 | T30 | T25 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T11 | CUT |
Note: Sota never played in the U.S. Open nor the PGA Championship.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Team appearances
- World Cup (representing Spain): 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971
- Joy Cup (representing the Rest of Europe): 1958
- Double Diamond International (representing Continental Europe): 1972 (captain)