José Maria Olazábal made a tentative return to golf at the Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca Pro-Am yesterday.
The Spaniard has not played on The European Tour since October, suffering from the rheumatism problem that has plagued his career, and, while he is not playing in the Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca itself, his Pro-Am appearance, alongside football legend Johan Cruyff, signalled significant progress for the two-time Masters Champion.
Olazábal’s team finished sixth in the Pro-Am at Pula Golf with a 19 under aggregate score, some seven shots behind the winning team of his compatriot Raul Quiros.
“We had fun, that’s all that matters,” said Olazábal. “I had great partners and we didn’t do too badly, 19 under, considering that I was quite useless on the front nine. I sent my first shot out of bounds, but managed to take 3 with my second ball, so quite a good bogey!
“After that I played reasonably, but only at the end did I get a string of birdies on 12, 13 and 14. I also missed birdie putts on 15 and 16.
“I was feeling better a month ago, so I thought I would sign up for the tournament, not knowing if I would be able to play. I figured that it would be better to drop out and let the next guy in, with all those young people struggling to enter the Tour, than to ask for a last minute invitation if I was feeling OK.
“I was hoping to be able to play, I actually played 18 holes on Saturday and Sunday, but on Monday I was in pain again and unable to compete.
“I have stopped taking any medicine and I am on a special diet, I am doing all sorts of different treatments. I am really trying everything to get back playing again.”
To view the full list of Pro-Am results, please click here
