People: Jamie Ortiz-Patino
RYDER CUP HOST & MSU FAN
The biennial Ryder Cup, pitting America against Europe, has become golf's foremost event--September's match in Valderrama, Spain, drew 500 million viewers worldwide. Set amid a cork tree forest with views of Gibraltar and Northern Africa, continental Europe's top course was masterminded by Jaime Ortiz-Patiûo, a global business magnate who is Valderrama's creator, owner, president and head greenskeeper.
A Bolivian born in France, educated in Switzerland, Ortiz-Patino may come from a privileged background--personal friends include King Juan Carlos of Spain, George Bush, Prince Andrew, and IOC's Juan Antonio Samaranch--but he harbors a special respect for Michigan State. 'Ten years ago, I was invited to become a member of the USGA's Environmental and Turfgrass Research Committee,' explains Don Jaime. 'There I met (MSU crop and soil sciences professor/extension specialist) Paul Rieke. We got along very well. He invited me to visit the MSU campus, and I've been involved ever since.'
Don Jaime attended seminars and conferences at MSU, and two years ago gave a lecture at the Michigan Turfgrass Conference on campus. Because he deems MSU's turfgrass program among the world's two best, he funds 'Valderrama Scholars' to attend MSU (Madrid's Juan Aguilera, currently a master's candidate in crop and soil sciences, is the 5th Valderrama Scholar). 'These are Spanish youths, college graduates, who have an interest in becoming golf course superintendents,' explains Don Jaime, who hastens to add, 'Michigan State is the most beautiful campus in the United States. The only other to compare with is Cornell. It's lovely, with lovely buildings, a wonderful place to walk around--and I've walked around the campus in the summer, in the spring, and even in the winter.'
After building his family enterprise into a $3 billion colossus, Don Jaime retired in 1982 to devote himself to golf course management. 'I like to see things that grow and develop,' he explains. 'Grass is like a child--it grows, it gets a disease, you cure it, and it grows. I derive much satisfaction from this process.'