Seve bidding for comeback

Seve Ballesteros today claimed that reports of his retirement from tournament golf as a result of ill health are premature.

On the eve of the Open Championship, a major won three times by the dashing Spaniard, he revealed: "Hopefully I'll be back before the year is over."

Riddled with arthritis in his back, Ballesteros last teed it up in a Tour tournament in October.

There were fears that the pain was so severe that he would never play again, but at Royal Troon, where he working as a commentator with BBC Television, he insisted: "You should never lose hope.

"I'm not taking painkillers, just stretching for an hour a day and exercising. The problem is that if I practise and play constantly the pain returns."

The 47-year-old, who also won two US Masters titles, went on: "I have to feel 100 per cent ready physically and then I need some time to regain my game.

"I'm trying my best but I don't have a date for my return. I want to be sure that when I come back I am not going home the following week.

"I'm trying to be as patient as I can and see what time brings up."