Seve Ballesteros has made his first official public appearance since undergoing lifesaving surgery to remove a brain tumour.

The 52-year-old was speaking at the launch of his cancer federation and admits he feels like he has been given a second chance at life.

"The first thing that I told the doctors after I woke up from the anaesthetic was that my new name was Seve Mulligan," he said in reference to the golf rule which permits a player to retake a shot.

"Nine months ago my life was hanging by a thread. I feel now like I have a mulligan in life."

The five-time major winner was diagnosed with a brain tumour after losing consciousness at Madrid Airport last October.

He spent the next 66 days in La Paz hospital in Madrid where he underwent four operations before being allowed to return to his home in Bilbao on December 9.

Ballesteros has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment since and praised the doctors who performed the operations to remove the tumour, describing their work as "a miracle".

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