Seve Ballesteros is “already 90 percent” recovered from surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor, he said in a radio interview late on Tuesday.

The Spanish five-time major winner had four operations to remove the tumor following his collapse at Madrid Airport in October. He has been recuperating at his home in northern Spain while he undergoes chemotherapy.

He appeared in public for the first time since the surgery on Sunday when he watched local soccer team Racing Santander lose 2-0 at home to Almeria. He was given a standing ovation.

He said in an interview with Spanish radio on Tuesday night he had “already recovered 90 percent” and had started playing some golf again.

“Now I am perfect, I can do any kind of sport, running, swimming, rowing and I am also hitting some short golf shots,” he told Cadena Ser’s late-night “El Larguero” show.

Sounding confident and in good spirits, Ballesteros said his brain and memory were fine and even joked that “for a brainless guy like me, you can see I’m explaining myself pretty well.”

“I suffered like a dog but the fact that I was a professional sportsman and used to competing and fighting helped me,” he added.

The 52-year-old said in a message posted on his Web site on Tuesday he was about to begin a fifth round of chemotherapy.

“The results of my last tests at La Paz Hospital in Madrid showed I was on the right path,” he added. “I will go on working to get better each day.”

For other people in similar situations, he said his message was to realize that “there is only one way forward, to keep on fighting.”