Ramon Sota - uncle of the late Seve Ballesteros and one of the pioneering figures in the history of Spanish golf - has died of pneumonia at the age of 74.
Sota was born on April 23, 1938 in Pedrena, a village in the region of Cantabria, northern Spain.
He turned professional in 1956 after working as a caddie at Real Golf de Pedrena, winning the Spanish Professional Championship four times and becoming one of the first Spaniards to tour the world as a professional golfer.
He won a number of tournaments around the world, including the Open de France in 1965, the Dutch Open in 1966 and 1971, the Open de Portugal in 1963, 1969 and 1970, the Italian Open in 1971 and the Spanish Open in 1963.
He also triumphed a number of times outside Europe, including victory at the Brazil Open in 1965.
In 2001, he and his two sons, Gabriel and Jose Antonio, achieved their dream of building a nine-hole par three course, driving range and golf academy in the Cantabrian village of Aguero, close to Pedrena.
Sota's sister, Carmen, gave birth to one of the greatest golfers of al time, Seve Ballesteros, who died of cancer in May 2011, aged 54.
Sota's funeral will take place in Pedrena at 5pm on Thursday, August 30.
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