After winning the Portuguese masters yesterday, Alvaro Quiros only had one thing on his mind. It wasn’t how much money he had won and it wasn’t how he fired an impressive 68 in the final round to seal victory. Instead, he had words of encouragement for Seve Ballesteros who is in the process of recovering from surgery on a brain tumour.

Quiros has dedicated his victory to his fellow Spaniard and like everyone associated with the game of golf, is wishing Ballesteros well. For many people he has been an inspiration. Ballesteros is a legend and Qurios, of course, knows this. It was very obvious about how much Qurios admires Ballesteros and it goes without saying that he wishes him a speedy recovery.

It has to be said that the whole weekend in Portugal was slightly overshadowed by the news surrounding Ballesteros. The golf had to take a back seat as people waited for news about the health of the Spaniard. Several golfers during the tournament were constantly in searching for updates, with Jean van de Velde describing the situation as ‘terrible’.

I have mentioned this before, but the word most used to describe Ballesteros is ‘inspiration’. It is a word banded about too often these days, but for Ballesteros it is very appropriate.

The fact that the European tour heads to Spain next for the final event of the year is very significant. It will bring the whole situation even closer to home and I’m pretty sure that whoever emerges victorious will have some words of praise for Seve Ballesteros.

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about golf betting