Golf great Seve Ballesteros dead at 54

MADRID - Five-time major winner Seve Ballesteros died from complications of a cancerous brain tumor on Saturday. He was 54.

The Spanish golf great was surrounded by family at his home in Pedrena, northern Spain, when he passed at 2:10 a.m. local time, according to a statement released on his website.

"Today, at 2.10 a.m. Spanish time, Seve Ballesteros passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at his home in Pedrena," read a statement on seveballesteros.com.

"The Ballesteros family is very grateful for all the support and gestures of love that have been received since Seve was diagnosed with a brain tumor on 5th October 2008 at Madrid Hospital la Paz. At this time the family asks for respect and privacy at such a painful time."

Ballesteros suffered a "severe deterioration" in his recovery from multiple surgeries to remove the malignant brain tumor, according to the family on Friday.

The former Ryder Cup star, winner of three British Opens and two Masters, is one of Spain's and the golfing world's best-known sporting personalities for his swashbuckling playing style. He also recorded 50 victories on the European Tour and is widely recognized as having transformed European golf.

Spanish golfers Jose Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez — also good friends of Ballesteros' — were in tears as they came off the El Prat golf course upon learning of Ballesteros' deteriorating state during second round play at the Spanish Open on Friday. Olazabal and Ballesteros combined to form one of the greatest Ryder Cup pairs in history.

Messages of condolences were pouring onto Ballesteros' Facebook page while athletes also began expressing entiments on Twitter with Spanish basketball player Rudy Fernandez writing: "He'll always remain in our thoughts."

"What he did in sport is unbelievable," top-ranked tennis player Rafael Nadal said on Friday. "These are tough moments."

Ballesteros fainted at Madrid's international airport while waiting to board a flight to Germany on Oct. 6, 2008 and was subsequently diagnosed with the brain tumor.

He underwent four separate operations, including one to remove the tumor and reduce swelling around the brain. After leaving the hospital, his treatment continued with chemotherapy.

While looking much more thin and pale, Ballesteros made several public appearances in 2009 after being given what he referred to as the "mulligan of my life." He has rarely been seen in public since March 2010 when he fell off a golf cart and banged his head on the ground.

His few appearances or public statements were usually in connection through work with his Seve Ballesteros Foundation to fight cancer.

After lobbying to have the Ryder Cup expanded to include continental Europe in 1979, Ballesteros helped beat the United States in 1985 to begin two decades of dominance. He also captained Europe to victory in 1997 at Valderrama, Spain.

Ballesteros retired in 2007 because of a long history of back pain and has since concentrated on golf course design.