MADRID - Spanish golf legend Severiano Ballesteros, a five-time major winner who retired last year, remained in hospital today, three days after he suffered a dizzy spell and briefly lost consciousness.

"He remains in hospital and his condition has not changed," a spokeswoman for Madrid's La Paz hospital told AFP, adding the 51-year-old's family had demanded that it not provide further details on his health status.

Ballesteros was described as being in stable condition when he entered the hospital on Monday to undergo tests.

Doctors discovered he was suffering from an irregular heartbeat during a hospital visit last year, a condition which his manager said at the time was not serious.

Ballesteros won the British Open in 1979, 1984 and 1988 and became the first European to win the Augusta Masters in 1980, a title he repeated in 1983.

He was an influential figure in the Ryder Cup, winning 20 points from 37 matches and captaining Europe to victory at Valderrama in 1997.

He collected 87 titles before knee and back problems forced him to retire last year.

Known for his flamboyant and imaginative style of play, he won one of his three British Open titles by playing a shot from a temporary parking lot.

AFP