Seve Ballesteros, one of golf’s most charismatic players, has died at the age of 54 years after a long battle with cancer.
Ballesteros passed away surrounded by his family at his home in Pedrena, northern Spain, in the early hours of Saturday morning. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2008 after losing consciousness at Madrid Airport and he underwent four operations to remove the tumour as well as undergoing chemotherapy.
Ballesteros won 87 titles during his career, including the British Open in 1979, 1984 and 1988 and became the first European to win the Augusta Masters in 1980, repeating the feat in 1983.
He also enjoyed a successful Ryder Cup career as both player and captain – playing in eight Ryder Cups and winning 20 points from 37 matches before guiding Europe to victory over the United States at Valderrama in 1997.
Ballesteros became the youngest winner of the Masters at the age of 23 in 1980 and made his Ryder Cup debut later that year. He topped golf’s world rankings for 61 weeks between 1986 and 1989 and won the World Match Play Championship five times, equalling Gary Player’s record.
Plagued by back problems, his game went into decline and he won the last of his record 50 European Tour titles in 1995. He continued to play intermittently until 2007.