Australian great Jan Stephenson — a three-time major champion and World Golf Hall of Fame member — has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Stephenson's Crossroads Foundation – which supports disabled military veterans and first responders — said the cancer was stage 3.

The 71-year-old will begin treatment with chemotherapy and radiation in the next two weeks.

"It means so much to me for all my friends and family to lend so much support," Stephenson said in a statement.

"I have had some negative challenges in my career and managed to survive. This is just another tough hole that is 'uphill and against the wind'.

"See you on my next downhill and downwind hole!"

Stephenson won 16 times on the LPGA Tour, with her first victory coming in 1976.

She claimed her majors in the early 1980s, highlighted by her victories in the Women's PGA Championship (1982) and the US Women's Open (1983).

She received the Order of Australia Medal in 2018 and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame the following year.

AAP