Seve Ballesteros has spoken about his battle with a brain tumour for the first time since being diagnosed with the disease.

The five-time major winner talked of the shock he felt at being told by doctors the seriousness of his illness last October.

"They were very clear with me," said the Spaniard. "They told me, 'This is a tumour, it is lucky it is in a place on the right side of the brain.'

"I was shocked. You are fine and suddenly they tell you that, can you imagine? It is dreadful."

Ballesteros's illness first came to light after he collapsed at Madrid airport on the way to launching a new range of golf clubs.

He recalls falling down an escalator but, not wanting to make a fuss, managed to drag his suitcase to where his nephew, Ivan, was waiting.

"I just got into the car and told him, 'If you knew what had happened to me'," said the 51-year-old in an interview with The Times.

Since then Ballesteros has had three operations and is on his fourth course of chemotherapy.

He has been given a fitness regime to follow and as a result is now 75kg, the weight he was when he became the youngest player to win the Masters in 1980, a record since surpassed by Tiger Woods.

He admits he has not always been the perfect patient.

"Some days the physiotherapist comes along and other days I have cognitive therapy," he said. "Sometimes I have been rebellious. It has happened a couple of times."