“I know, don’t tell me, you were as much in shock as I was”. These are the words of José María Olazábal (+2) shortly after signing the card for the first round of the Masters at Augusta. Dressed in a blue jumper and white polo, in an inevitable nod to his great mentor Seve Ballesteros on his birthday, the two-time Masters champion treated himself to a proper celebration at Augusta today.
Not always, but sometimes love is reciprocated. Few people love Augusta National with the intensity of Olazábal. It is the place where he was happiest. Where he remains very happy. And where he will continue to be so until the end of his days. The Georgia colossus repaid him today with one of those performances that leave a mark.
Olazábal was the Masters leader for nearly two and a half hours. Specifically, from his birdie at the 2nd hole, shortly after eight in the morning, until Patrick Reed recorded an eagle at the 2nd, at around half past ten. Jose Mari was leading at Augusta and he enjoyed it. “I’ve looked at the leaderboards three times, on the 3rd hole (second birdie of the day), on the 5th and on the 11th. When I saw myself up there I punched the air and said, come on, Chema, you’re the leader”, he joked.
Truly, Olazábal enjoyed himself today like a child in an amusement park. Starting with the stratospheric recovery he pulled off at the 1st hole. If you put the other 90 Masters participants in the same situation, probably not even twenty per cent would have made par. His short game should be part of humanity’s intangible heritage. Especially at Augusta.
Shortly after he carded a great birdie at the 2nd with a three-metre putt; he holed the putt of the day at the 3rd, again for birdie, with lots of break and from a delicate position; he again executed an impossible recovery at the 5th, playing the hole like a par 5; another approach and putt at the 7th for par, this time from the sand; a delightful chip to add another par at the 9th and madness at the 11th: a seven-metre putt from the collar to keep the upper hand over the course. At the 12th, the other recovery of the day, one of those that leaves you more than satisfied, from the back and having to bounce first off the antegreen slope. Surgery. Another par.
Olazábal was then on cloud nine. “I was calm, happy and surprised. It has been wonderful and I enjoyed it immensely. I know where I am. My place is no longer among those fighting for the victory, but in enjoying as much as I can of every moment”, he said with a broad smile.
From the 13th things began to go wrong. He missed a great birdie opportunity at the end of Amen Corner, he again missed a short par putt at the 14th. That was his first bogey. And on the 15th came the big stumble. His first two shots were textbook. He left himself the best angle to that bloody left pin, which tempts you even though it is brilliantly protected by the water in front and the difficulty of getting up from the back. “It’s a very difficult pin position. I feel I have to go at the short shot hard to keep it on the green and not have it run long. That’s what I tried, but I lacked a metre and a half. That’s the thing about Augusta. It’s the metre and a half between putting for birdie or making a double bogey”, he says.
The ball backspun and finished in the water. He hadn’t expected that much spin either, with the greens quite firm and the wind behind him, but it happened. His fifth shot went long and he then produced a stellar approach and putt. He then made bogey at the 16th from the bunker, missing another short par putt, and finished with two unforgettable saves at the 17th and 18th, the first with a great putt of almost three metres and the second with the umpteenth prodigious chip of the day, from the right of the right-side bunker of the green.
Olazábal had a ball today and that already makes up for everything. He began with eleven strokes across the first three holes, two birdies and a par. That two-under stretch he hadn’t managed since 2006 and he has only done it six times in 37 Masters appearances. His 34 over the first nine is the third best of his career, only bettered by the 32 in the final round of 2006 and the 33 in the third round of 1994, when he won his first Green Jacket.
It was, quite simply, a joy. Few deserve such a thrill at Augusta as much as Olazábal. The cut will be another matter. At least he’ll fight for it. “If I played well today and finished at +2, it’s clear there’s still a lot to fight for”. But what happened today can’t be taken away from him. Those three looks at the leaderboards at Augusta while being the leader make up for everything. By the way, Olazábal is 60 years old. Everyone to their feet
