Seve Ballesteros Diagnosed with Brain Tumour
Seve's 'toughest match of his life' as Doctors discover tumour.
The five time major winner had been taken to hospital last Monday in Madrid after fainting and concerns had grown over the 51-year olds health during the week.
After tests, an announcement was made that Seve Ballesteros had been diagnosed with a Brain Tumour.
Ever since the announcement Seve has been inundated with support from fellow golfers, family and fans. He said, "(I will be) counting on those who have been sending me get well messages.
"Throughout my entire career I have been one of the best at over coming obstacles on the golf course and now I want to be the best, facing the most difficult game of my life, using all my strength," said the Spaniard in his statement to the press.
Seve Ballesteros, a Golfing Great.
Seve Ballesteros boasts one of the best records in golf and appeared in the Ryder cup nine times, eight as a player and one as captain in 1997, holding the greatest partnership in Ryder Cup history with fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal.
Olazabal himself expressed his support stating, "While I'm rightly worried, I thought Seve seemed very well, I wish him a speedy recovery".
Seve came from a great golfing background. His Uncle Ramon competing in the Masters and older brother Manuel competing on the European tour.
Then, Seve himself burst onto the scene at the British Open in 1976, finishing joint second with Jack Nicklaus aged only nineteen.
Seve did not look back, dominating the sport from the late seventies to late eighties, winning his first major at the British Open in 1979 following this with two Masters championships in 1980 and 1983 only to succeed at the British Open again in 1984 and 1988.
He was duly recognised for his golfing excellence as he claimed his place alongside greats such as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer in Golf's Hall of fame in 1999, officially cementing his place in golfing history.
Seve eventually retired from competitive golf in 2007, ending a career of twenty- eight years of competitive golf, his persistent back problems affecting his game during the later years of his career.
During Seve's golfing career he gained a fanatical following, particularly from British and Irish fans and the news of his diagnosis of a Brain Tumour has been met with far greater concern than Europe's recent defeat to the US in last months Ryder Cup.
Seve has the status of a true sporting hero in Britain, often stating himself that his true fans were in Britain, enjoying how Ballesteros played the game appreciating what he was doing and how he was doing it.
It was this great support and fantastic record that gained him the Ryder Cup captaincy for the 1997 Ryder Cup held at Valderrama, winning the tournament 14 ½ and 13 ½ to retain the trophy in one of the closest competitions ever in front of his native fans.
The list of successes is endless and quite rightly he is seen as one of Golf's true heroes, but he now faces one more challenge, tougher than any final round of any major competition, one Seve will give everything to succeed in.
Seve Ballesteros stats:
British Open champion: 1979, 1984, 1988
Masters Champion: 1980, 1983
World Matchplay champion: five-time champion
Ryder Cup Captain: 1997
Ryder Cup Player: eight appearances between 1979-1995
European Tour wins: 49
PGA tour wins: 9
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