In 2000, Golf Digest magazine ranked Ballesteros as the greatest Continental European golfer of all time.

In the 2000s, Ballesteros played sparingly due to continuing back problems and in 2007 he eventually retired from competitive professional golf.

He was presented with the award at his home in Spain by his compatriot and former Ryder Cup teammate José María Olazábal.

[2] He learned the game while playing on the beaches near his home, during the hours he was supposed to be in school, mainly using a 3-iron given to him by his older brother Manuel when he was eight years old.

[5] His maternal uncle Ramón Sota was Spanish professional champion four times and finished sixth in the Masters Tournament in 1965.

[10] He burst onto the international scene with a second-place finish in 1976 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

[14] Ballesteros won his first Open Championship in 1979 with a closing 70, a round in which he famously hit his tee shot into a car park on the 16th hole yet still made a birdie.

[14] His 1980 Masters win was the first by a European player, and at the time he was the youngest winner of the tournament, at age 23 (though this record was broken by Tiger Woods in 1997, when he was 21 years old).

[18][19] Ballesteros described the putt he holed on the 18th green at St Andrews to win the 1984 Open Championship as "the happiest moment of my whole sporting life.

[32] Ballesteros had played sparingly since the late 1990s because of back problems, and made his first start in years at the 2005 Madrid Open.

[36][37] After further recurrences of his back problems, which contributed to his finishing tied for last in his only Champions Tour start, Ballesteros announced his retirement from golf on 16 July 2007, bringing down the curtain on an illustrious career.

[40] He had become involved in European golf course design in his later years, most famously altering the 17th hole at Valderrama before the 1997 Ryder Cup.

On 18 November, he was moved out of the intensive care unit and changed wards at Madrid's La Paz Hospital to continue his rehabilitation.

The foundation aims to research cancer, especially brain tumours, but it will also help financially challenged young golfers, so they might be as successful as he.

[57] On 6 May 2011, Ballesteros's family released a statement announcing that his neurological condition had "suffered a severe deterioration".

The European Tour marked his death with a moment of silence during the third round at the Real Club de Golf El Prat in Barcelona.

Entrees included seafood paella and manchego-topped filet mignon, with a salad course, asparagus, and tortillas as sides, plus ice cream-topped apple empanada for dessert.

[62] At the Madrid Open tennis tournament, a moment of silence was held prior to the semi-final match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

[64] On 10 May, the Irish Independent said of him: "He spoke many other languages too: the dialects of honour, of dignity, of sportsmanship, of decency, of fair play, of loyalty, of integrity, and in the end, of dauntless, unforgettable, astonishing courage.

"[65] A funeral service was held for Ballesteros, previously cremated, at the parish church of San Pedro, in his home village of Pedreña.

[68] The day of Ballesteros's death, the Spanish flag was raised at the World Golf Hall of Fame in Florida, the United States flag was lowered to half-staff, a photo of Ballesteros was hung in the box office, and a black ribbon was hung on the outside of his locker.

[69][70] Clark went on to state, "Seve was a hero of mine growing up...In losing [him] last week, I think the whole golfing world is saddened by that.

[75][76] The Irish golfer Pádraig Harrington, Nick Faldo, and other European players proposed that the PGA replace the image of Harry Vardon on the European Tour's official logo with one of Ballesteros (a silhouette of the iconic image of Ballesteros's "salute", following his win at the 1984 Open Championship).

[77][78] The airport of Ballesteros's homeland, Cantabria, has been named after him since the Spanish Government approved the change on 16 April 2015.