José María Olazábal
José María Olazábal (born 5 February 1966) is a professional golfer who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships. He was born in Fuenterrabia/Hondarribia, Guipúzcoa/Gipuzkoa, Spain.
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[edit] Career outline
Olazábal burst onto the golf scene in 1986, when he finished second on the European Tour Order of Merit in his first season at the age of twenty. In his first nine seasons, he finished in the top 10 every year except two, including another second place in 1989, and he was a regular member of the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings. He was unable to play in 1996 due to a foot injury but he recovered and recorded further top ten placing in the Order of Merit in 1997, 1999 and 2000. He has more than twenty career titles on this tour.
Both of Olazábal's majors have come in the United States, namely The Masters in 1994 and 1999. He has been highly placed in The Masters on a number of other occasions.
In 2001 Olazábal began to play on the PGA Tour, while also retaining his membership of the European Tour. He had a solid year on the PGA Tour in 2002, when he won nearly two million dollars and came twenty fourth on the money list, but has not duplicated the success he enjoyed in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. He has six career PGA Tour titles, five of them won before he became a full member of the Tour. In 2006 he made a return to the top fifteen of the world rankings.
Olazábal was a member of the European Ryder Cup team in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997 and 1999. He had a famous partnership with fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros.
Olazábal also holds the world record distance for a completed putt. During the 1999 European Ryder Cup team's Concorde flight to the United States, he holed a putt which travelled the full length of the cabin. The ball was in motion for 26.17s, during which time the Concorde, at 1,270mph, travelled 9.232 miles, beating US golfer Brad Faxon's previous record of 8.5 miles, set in 1997.
[edit] European Tour wins
- 1986 Ebel European Masters Swiss Open, Sanyo Open
- 1988 Volvo Belgian Open, German Masters
- 1989 Tenerife Open, KLM Dutch Open
- 1990 Benson & Hedges International Open, Carroll's Irish Open, Lancome Trophy
- 1991 Open Catalonia, Epson Grand Prix of Europe
- 1992 Turespana Open de Tenerife, Open Mediterrania
- 1994 Turespana Open Mediterrania, Volvo PGA Championship
- 1997 Turespana Masters Open de Canarias
- 1998 Dubai Desert Classic
- 1999 The Masters
- 2000 Benson and Hedges International Open
- 2001 Open de France
- 2002 Omega Hong Kong Open (2001 calendar year, 2002 season)
- 2005 Mallorca Classic
The European Tour only began recognizing the three U.S.-based majors in 1998, so Olazábal's 1999 Masters victory counts as a European Tour win, but his 1994 Masters title doesn't.
[edit] PGA Tour wins
- 1990 (1) NEC World Series of Golf
- 1991 (1) The International
- 1994 (2) The Masters, NEC World Series of Golf
- 1999 (1) The Masters
- 2002 (1) Buick Invitational
Major championships are shown in bold. Olazabal's 1999 Masters win also counted as a European Tour title.
[edit] Other professional wins
- 1989 Visa Taiheiyo Masters (Japan)
- 1990 Visa Taiheiyo Masters (Japan)
[edit] Amateur wins
- 1983 Italian Open Amateur Championship, Spanish Open Amateur Championship, British Boys Amateur Championship
- 1984 The Amateur Championship, Belgian International Youths Championship, Spanish Open Amateur Championship
- 1985 British Youths Amateur Championship
[edit] Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | CUT | DNP | CUT | DNP | T8 |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | T68 | DNP | T9 |
| The Open Championship | CUT | T25 LA | T16 | T11 | T36 | T23 |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | CUT |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | 13 | 2 | T42 | T7 | 1 | T14 | DNP | T12 | T12 | 1 |
| U.S. Open | T8 | T8 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T28 | DNP | T16 | T18 | WD |
| The Open Championship | T16 | T80 | 3 | CUT | T38 | T31 | DNP | T20 | T15 | CUT |
| PGA Championship | T14 | CUT | CUT | T56 | T7 | T31 | DNP | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | CUT | T15 | 4 | T8 | 30 | CUT | T3 |
| U.S. Open | T12 | CUT | T50 | CUT | DNP | DNP | T21 |
| The Open Championship | T31 | T54 | CUT | CUT | DNP | T3 | T56 |
| PGA Championship | T4 | T37 | 69 | T51 | CUT | T47 |
LA = Low Amateur
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
[edit] Team appearances
Amateur
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Spain): 1982, 1984
- St Andrews Trophy: 1984
- Jacques Leglise Trophy: 1982-84
Professional
- Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1987 (winners), 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997 (winners), 1999
- Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Spain): 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999 (winners), 2000
- World Cup (representing Spain): 1989, 2000
- Four Tours World Championship: 1987, 1989
- The Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2000 (winners), 2002, 2003, 2005 (playing captain)
[edit] External links
- Profile on the European Tour's official site
- Profile on the PGA Tour's official site
- Golf Stars Online - links to features and articles
