Send your well wishes to Ballesteros

There is sadness and concern on this side of the Atlantic at the condition of Seve Ballesteros as he lies in a Madrid hospital following an operation to remove a brain tumour and there is no end to the questioning about his health whenever two or more golfers gather together.

On the other hand, there is pleasure on the other side of the Atlantic at the state of health of Tiger Woods, the world No 1, as he recovers from an operation to his left knee.

One does not quite know whom to believe about Ballesteros's situation. A statement from La Paz hospital said that the five-time major champion was showing signs of improvement on Wednesday. He had been allowed to wake up for a short time, had reacted well during that time of wakefulness and was then sedated again. "As hours go by it means a bit of a recovery" a statement from the hospital said.

Reason for hope perhaps for the man who was world No 1 long before Tiger Woods? Perhaps, except that on Thursday we heard from Madrid that all is not well and he is scheduled to undergo another operation tomorrow. The Ballesteros family is notorious at keeping family matters private and it is not expected that they will issue any statement about Seve's condition until there is real reason to do so.

There are no concerns about Woods's recovery. It is going well, he says, and he should easily be able to return to competitive golf by the time of the Masters in April. Woods will not even hit a shot until the spring.

Jason Sobell, a golf columnist with ESPN Sport, met Woods recently and reported there "was no discernible beer belly. He doesn't lack any upper body strength and, most importantly, he isn't walking with any sign of a limp or other visible issue."

Woods confirmed he was pain free and confirmed that no matter how he felt he would not even pick up a golf club until 2009. "You have to let the ligament heal," he explained to Sobell. "It has to get more taut. I don't want to stretch it out. I don't want to have to go back to where it was. So I have to keep it taut. I can do everything except for rotation right now."

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Golf in the Olympics. Are you for it or against it?

To answer my own question: I am for it, absolutely, 100%, utterly, completely and totally. Get it in - and quick. Do I make myself clear?

Golf is a worldwide game, played by men and women at the bottom of the southern hemisphere and the top of the northern as well as the eastern and western fringes of the globe. The spread of the professional game is best demonstrated by the fact that 20 countries are represented in the top 100 professional golfers in the world. When golf was first held at an Olympics - in St Louis in 1904 - 77 golfers came from two nations, the United States and Canada.