AUGUSTA, Ga. — In Spanish golf, Jose Maria Olazabal has always played Sonny to Seve Ballesteros’ Cher. They’ve made a terrific team, those two, especially when paired in the Ryder Cup. But dynamic Seve has clearly been the front-liner, the glamour puss, the diva, while understated Jose Maria has tended to accumulate his trophies more quietly, as if he didn’t want to disturb anyone.
In recent years, though, Ballesteros’ talent has been in remission, and Olazabal has edged a little closer to center stage. He won his second Masters in 1999, outdueling Greg Norman down the stretch, and yesterday he positioned himself for a run at a third green jacket, which would put him in select company, indeed. You’re talking Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, Gary Player, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods (but not Seve, who’s only managed two) — a club more exclusive than Augusta National itself.
There’s just something about this place for Olly. Even he can’t explain it. He hasn’t done any damage in the other majors, but he’s been a monster in the Masters. In his last 15 visits, he’s had seven top-eights, a dozen top-15s and only once has failed to finish par or better. No one else in his generation comes close to matching his record of consistent excellence. Not even Fred Couples, who’s 20 for 20 making cuts here.
Olazabal owns Augusta — as much as any golfer can these days. He just doesn’t know why.
“I don’t know if it fits my game,” he said yesterday after a 69 moved him to 4 under and left him tied for second, two strokes behind Justin Rose. “The golf course has changed a lot over the years. I think now you really need to be a long hitter to do well here.”
And Olazabal is anything but. He makes his money around the greens — chipping, putting, scrambling. Off the tee, he couldn’t outdrive Michelle Wie. Olly is one of those guys who wins by not losing. Since the second round in 1989, he has posted just two scores worse than 74 in the Masters. Woods, by way of comparison, has put up five such scores since 1997, including a 75 Thursday.
With sufficient prodding, Olazabal will admit, “I feel a little bit at peace with myself [at Augusta].” And why might that be? “Obviously, I have a lot of nice memories here,” he said. “I’ve won twice; I don’t have to prove anything to anybody.”
Still, it’s hard to figure. Half the time, it seems, Olly arrives here with his game in disarray. This year, for instance, he hasn’t cracked the top-25 once, and last week at Atlanta he finished 77-73-76 after opening with a 65.
Actually, the way he’s played in the Masters isn’t all that different from the way he played in the BellSouth, or so he claims. “Parts of my game,” he said, “are pretty much the same. The putting has not been all that great except for those two or three putts I made today. The driving has been average, not great. I managed to hit more fairways than not, but the quality of shots off the tee [needs to be better] for this golf course.”
Yet he’s in contention … again. Serious contention. Three of the four players closest to him — Rose, Alex Cejka and K.J. Choi — have never won a big tournament, and most folks would be surprised if they broke through this week. But elsewhere on the leader board are the more accomplished Ernie Els, Davis Love, Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson and Woods, but Olazabal’s chances are as good as anybody’s.
Yesterday’s round was vintage Olly. Not much happened until the par-5 13th. Then “I hit two lovely shots and gave myself an eagle chance from about 36 feet or so, maybe 40 feet, and made that putt. And then I made another nice putt [for birdie] on 14 and hit a lovely shot on 15 with my third [to set up another birdie]. That was my round.”
Yup, that’s all there was to it. Just your basic Sonny Bono 69.
“To know the course well helps a lot,” he said. “And being able to chip and putt around the greens.”
The latter is one area, he suggested, where American players have learned from the Europeans. In the 1980s and 1990s, when the Euros made off with most of the green jackets, “I think we were really good around the greens,” he said. “And I think the other players, especially the U.S. players, just caught up to us in that department on this golf course. Most of the players used to use the sand wedge around the greens a lot, and they realized that [at Augusta] that might not be the right choice at certain times. You’ll see more players [now], U.S. players, using the chip-and-run around the greens, the putter around the greens. I think that’s leveled the equation.”
His game isn’t really suited to the place and he’s not playing particularly well and “it’s going to take a longer spell than two days for me to [feel good about things] again.” But he’s Jose Maria Olazabal, and this is the Masters, his own personal Lourdes. In the second week of April, nothing else seems to matter.
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