José María Olazábal (+9) has handed in a round of 75 strokes in the third round of the Augusta Masters. The worst news is the result. The good news is that the sensations continue to be positive. The golfer from Fuenterrabía barely points out the exit of hole 9 as the only really bad shot of the day. The problem today has been with the putter. It has not accompanied him and hence the result has not been much better.
Olazábal has made three bogeys on holes 4, 5 and 7, a really tough stretch of Augusta and especially for a player with his limited hitting. However, afterwards he managed to leave some good birdie options, such as on 12 and 15, just over three metres. The only putt he has made was on the 9 for par, from about three metres. Chema is a player who needs to be very good on the greens to be able to scratch Augusta.
Be that as it may, Olazábal was very happy with the game and, above all, with the fact of playing again on Saturday at the Masters. “When I arrived at the practice court, many were surprised and told me: but what are you doing here on a Saturday, it’s not very usual”, he confessed with laughter. It’s a humorous way of remembering how difficult it is for him to make the cut and how important it is to know how to value it. However, Jon Rahm, minutes later disagreed with this version. “People were surprised to see Jose Mari on Saturday hitting balls on the practice court, but how is that, if Olazábal is there every year from seven in the morning whether he plays or not…”, he explained amusedly.
It’s a funny anecdote, but it contains an absolute truth: Olazábal’s extraordinary work capacity. Precisely, in this sense, this Saturday morning he was on the practice court with Butch Harmon, the legendary American golf guru with whom he was working two and a half weeks ago polishing some technical aspects. “He gave me a hug, congratulated me and told me that this was the result of all the work I’m still putting into my golf today”.
A recognition from one great to another.
