Two holes have finished burying any hope of José María Olazábal (+9) of making the cut at the Masters de Augusta. They were the 4th and the 9th. Two poor swings and two double bogeys very hard to recover from for someone who finds birdies much harder than others. He is 60 years old and the Masters takes its toll. A round of 79 strokes with only one birdie, but what a birdie. It came on the 16th, after hitting a huge shot that left it a little over two metres. In.
Be that as it may, and despite the fact that missing the cut is never pleasant, Olazábal has managed to enjoy himself again on his favourite course. It was from the 10th hole onwards. He turned the page on his poor start, with a +6 over the first nine, and decided that up to the 18th it was going to be a pleasant stroll through his best memories at Augusta. He achieved it. He was moved.
The best moment came on the tee of the 13th hole, that secluded spot away from the madding crowd where spectators hardly get and where cameras barely reach. There he found peace and quiet and began to revisit the great moments he has experienced at the Masters, the best shots, the anecdotes. Interestingly, after doing that exercise he started to play much better again.
Olazábal leaves Augusta early, but with a smile on his face and plenty left in the tank. “No, I’m not going to give it up, unless my body falls to pieces. I enjoy this week immensely and I want to keep coming for at least two or three more years”, he said afterwards. Fred Couples, 66, could well be his reference in this respect. If his body holds up for the genius from Fuenterrabía, we’ll see him even beyond those two or three years he mentions.
I hope so. Olazábal deserves it and Augusta will be a little less Augusta when the two-time Masters champion doesn’t come to his particular paradise.
