Olazabal hoping to impress as Ryder captaincy in his sights
The 44 year-old Spaniard stated after the Celtic Manor success that he would like the top job – provided his health was up to the task.
The man who won 11 of his 15 Ryder Cup matches in partnership with Seve Ballesteros and halved two others disappeared from the game in the mid-1990s as he battled rheumatoid polyarthritis in his feet. At one stage, the pain was so intense that he was unable to get out of bed.
But, thanks to the work of a German specialist, Olazabal managed one of the greatest sporting triumphs over adversity by winning the second of his two green jackets at Augusta National in 1999.
Sadly the disease has seriously curtailed his appearances since. He won the last of his 23 European Tour tournaments in Majorca (2005) and contested only one event this year – the French Open in July where he shot rounds of 82 and 70 to miss the cut. However, when it came to the Ryder Cup, he just can’t get enough of it!
He has played in seven matches, figuring on three successful teams, was Nick Faldo’s vice captain at Valhalla two years ago and was drafted in on a part-time basis midway through the recent contest in Wales by Colin Montgomerie. It was an inspired move by the Scot and once Olazabal expressed an interest in succeeding the Scot at Medinah, the other candidates for the role including Paul McGinley, immediately gave him their full support.
However, Olazabal did enter a caveat. He insisted: “You need to be close to the players and play with them in the qualifying process. My health is the only question mark. But I have always said that the Ryder Cup is special and it’s been great to be a part of it.”
Olazabal sees this week’s Castellon Masters as the start of a long and winding road to becoming ‘close to the players’ and leading the side in 2012.
Considering his near total inactivity of recent months, little should be expected of him although in the corresponding event last year, he finished a respectable 14th with rounds of 65, 67, 70 and 70.
A similar performance would be a massive confidence booster for Olazabal in an event that has also attracted Sergio Garcia, another Spaniard who has dropped off the public stage for very different reasons.
Garcia has been caught in a slump that has seen him plummet down the rankings and lose his appetite for the game.
Given he is only 30, it is inconceivable a golfer of Garcia’s calibre won’t play himself back into the limelight in the near future. The Castellon native will be anxious to improve on his fourth place 12 months ago. The Irish in the field are Paul McGinley, Shane Lowry, Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane, Michael Hoey and Gareth Maybin.
Meanwhile, Pádraig Harrington yesterday returned from Malaysia where he combined an initial look at the site on which he is to design his first golf course with ending a two year drought by claiming the Iskandar Johor Open at the Horizon Hills Country Club.
This result has improved his world ranking from 22nd to 19th and assures him of a place in next month’s WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai. While understandably claiming that the victory – his first since the US PGA in 2008 – “got a monkey off my back especially because I was reminded of how long it was since I had last won every day of every week”, Harrington agreed he enjoyed many breaks throughout the four days.
Nevertheless, to shoot a total of 20 under par after so many indifferent performances throughout the year suggests that his game is in good shape as he now takes a couple of weeks off before going back east to contest the Shanghai event in the first week of November followed directly by the Barclays Singapore Open.
Rory McIlroy will also contest both events having opted this week for the Egyptian Open at the JW Marriott Mirage City golf course in Cairo. The other Irish players in the field are Colm Moriarty and Gary Murphy with the former hoping for a substantial cheque to carry forward into the season ending Challenge Tour Grand Final in Apulia San Domenico, Italy, the following week.
