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Seve Ballesteros' health is improving as he continues to recover from a third brain operation in Madrid.

While doctors at the La Paz hospital say the golfer remains in intensive care after undergoing surgery on Friday, they insist they he is responding well to treatment.

"The patient Mr Severiano Ballesteros has a favourable trend in his neurological status, but needs to be further controlled in the Intensive Care Unit," a statement read.

Times Archive, 1980: Ballesteros claims his first Masters

The 23-year-old won at Augusta with a four-stroke victory over Jack Newton and Gibby Gilbert

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Ballesteros, the 51-year-old five-time major winner, was diagnosed with a tumour earlier this month and before Friday's surgery he had already undergone two operations - the second to reduce swelling on the brain.

A spokesperson for the hospital has confirmed Ballesteros had also had a tracheotomy to help him breathe.

"It is true that he has a tracheotomy but, like many other procedures, it is customary and is part of the protocols established for similar cases," the spokesman said.

Ballesteros was taken to hospital on October 6 after collapsing and suffering from a fit as he waited to board a plane from Madrid to Munich for a golf exhibition. The Spaniard had one operation for the removal of the tumour and a follow-on procedure, a decompressive craniectomy, two days later when his brain began to swell.