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José María Olazábal caddying for nephew Joseba Torres at Q School
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José María Olazábal caddying for nephew Joseba Torres at Q School

"Luckily enough I have a good caddie with me here this week."

The season may be almost over but Joseba Torres has a late contender for understatement of the year.

Torres is the nephew of two-time Masters Tournament winner and Ryder Cup great José María Olazábal and this week at the DP World Tour Qualifying School Final Stage he has his famous uncle on the bag.

A former Spanish Under-16 champion who played at Nova Southeastern University, Torres is more than capable of making his own headlines this week but he is more than happy to lean on the experience of his illustrious uncle, who has been supporting him since he first picked up a club as a child.

"I'm very lucky to have my uncle José María Olazábal on the bag," he said. "I've practised with him a lot and to have him on the bag with his experience and his knowledge, I'm very lucky.

"The knowledge he has of how to play the shot, what to do in a certain situation - all the stuff that when you're playing by yourself you don't really deal with very well. With him it's so easy because he tells you exactly what you need to do.

"He has been with me since I started playing golf when I was three years old.

"Obviously in a tournament it is different but he has always been with me and he knows what I'm more comfortable with and not. He really knows my game.

"Whatever he says I say yes, let's go and do it because I really trust him. I know he isn't going to say anything that I don't need to do so I really trust what he says."

As far as mentors for Qualifying School go, Torres could not do much better than Olazábal, who won it in 1985 and the following year won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award after finishing second on the then Order of Merit.

But he is not just looking to his uncle for inspiration as he takes his early steps in the professional game.

Whatever he says I say yes, let's go and do it because I really trust him

"This is the first time I'm playing this event and I'm going to try to absorb and learn as much as I can from everyone," he said. "Being my first time I know it's not going to be easy but if I can learn as much as possible, that's the best part of it, that would be amazing.

"Learning from the best guys around you, seeing all the pro players practising and getting better and the level of confidence they have helps so much to understand and learn new things from them.

"In college, out of a hundred guys there are ten guys that play very good, here you have 50 or 60 guys that play very good so you really have to step up and get ready to shoot lower scores.

"They all hit it very similar but the experience they have on how to shoot lower scores on the golf course is the main difference.

"I was lucky enough to play with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño yesterday in a practice round and you can see that his golf game is not the best in the world but his knowledge of how to play it is incredible."

Torres has already shown the grit of a more experienced player in his Qualifying School journey, overcoming weather delays in the First Stage and recovering from an indifferent third round in the Second Stage to make his way to INFINITUM by a single shot.

And he is not short of confidence as he looks to continue a family legacy in his homeland.

"I know that I can fight a lot on the golf course because I know my game is not still where I want it to be but even if it's not, I can still play with the best guys playing golf here," he said.

"The Lakes is more of a driveable golf course, longer with bigger greens. The Hills is more like a narrow test. It's very good because you have both tests at the same tournament and anyone can use both to their advantage.

"You have to find the best way to play each golf course for your game. There are always some advantages on the Lakes or Hills but you have to find your way."