ESPN Golf

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Seve Ballesteros says he plans to return next year to his role as captain of Europe's Royal Trophy team.

A statement from the Spanish golfing great was read at a news conference Wednesday, two days before this year's competition begins between teams from Europe and Asia.

"My heart and thoughts are with you," Ballesteros said in his message. "I will keep fighting to win my most difficult match. I hope to be with all of you next year.

Ballesteros was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year that required several operations. He was released from a hospital Dec. 9 and returned home to northern Spain, where he began chemotherapy treatment.

Jose Maria Olazabal replaces Ballesteros as captain.

"Special thanks to Oli for taking over the captaincy," Ballesteros said. "He is not only a great champion but is also one of my best friends."

Olazabal said Ballesteros, who led Europe to the Royal Trophy title in 2006 and 2007, was hopeful the team would win the event at Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand's Chonburi province.

"The last instruction that I received from Seve was to win. Period," Olazabal said. "Seve showed how good he was as a player and then as a captain. I will try to follow him. These eight guys are great players and I'm positive that we will win which is our goal."

Ballesteros' nephew, Ivan Ballesteros , said it was too soon to consider a resumption of his playing career, but that returning as Royal Trophy captain is among his goals.

"He's very positive, he's walking every day, he's determined to get better," Ivan Ballesteros told Reuters.

"It's still too early to tell if he will play again but one of his goals is to be Europe captain at the Royal Trophy next year, and he's serious about it."

Ivan Ballesteros drove his uncle to a hospital the night he collapsed suddenly at the Madrid airport in October and said the weeks that followed were like a "horrible dream."

"We all thought it was a nightmare," he added. "The worst was the third operation, we really didn't know if he would make it. It was like heads or tails."

Ballesteros, 51, was instrumental in the creation of the Royal Trophy match play event and led Europe to victory over Asia in the first two editions in 2006 and 2007.

The European team features Ireland's Paul McGinley; England's Oliver Wilson and Nick Dougherty; Sweden's Niclas Fasth and Johan Edfors; Scotland's Paul Lawrie; Spain's Pablo Larrazabal; and Denmark's Soren Hansen.

The Asian team includes Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee and Prayad Marksaeng; South Korea's Charlie Wi and S.K. Ho; China's Liang Wenchong; and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa, Hideto Tanihara and Toru Taniguchi.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.