Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of a memorable day in the history of Real Club Valderrama: on September 28, 1997 the European team, captained by Seve Ballesteros, defeated the American team and won the Ryder Cup at Valderrama. It was the first time that golf’s most important competition took place outside the United States and the British Isles; for a week, the San Roque course made headlines around the globe by hosting the world’s third largest sporting event, behind only the Olympic Games and the World Cup.
The 32nd edition of the Ryder Cup was very special for José Mari Olazábal. “I have many good memories of that week in Valderrama. The first images that come to my mind are of the opening ceremony, which was very beautiful and exciting, and the deluge that fell in the early hours of Thursday to Friday. What a way to rain. According to rainfall statistics, it had not rained in the area for more than 40 years during that week, but that night it rained for the previous and the following 40 years!
“There is no doubt that for me it was a very special Ryder Cup: after all the Ryder Cups Seve and I had shared as a couple, it was the first time I played with him as captain. The feeling was different. Seve was attentive to everything. He demanded a lot from us, the same as he had always demanded from himself and he was on top of all the players, some of them felt a little uncomfortable because of his level of demand but I think he did it very well. My relationship with him was close and very good, we got along wonderfully. Seve studied the game of the American team in depth and prepared the course so that we all played from the same zone to have the same opportunities, and with the help of “Pisha”, who was his right-hand man, he got it right in the choice of the pairs. He did it very well. He transmitted the passion he put into everything he did and was a great captain.
“I remember the Fourball that Nacho Garrido and I played on Saturday morning against Phil Mickelson and Tom Lehman. We were in a super hurry and we lived the key moment on the famous 17th hole at Valderrama. It was amazing. Nacho missed the green with his second shot and went to the bunker at the back, and Phil hit an extraordinary shot to two meters from the flag. I have never seen a bunker shot like Nacho’s, you give 100 balls to the best bunker shot specialist and he will never give a shot like the one he gave; he left the ball a little further than Phil’s, who didn’t putt, and we tied the hole and then the match. That moment was incredible.
“The final press conference was very emotional. When I was asked how I felt about not playing in the ’95 Ryder Cup, I remembered the tough time I went through between ’95 and early ’97 and I broke down, broke down and cried. I had to wait to get myself together to be able to talk. It was a very special moment because of everything it meant to me: the fact of being there again after having won the Cup representing Europe, Spain and with Seve as captain… it was tremendously emotional”.
Olazábal (Hondarribia, Guipúzcoa 5-2-1966) has participated this season in some events of the European Tour and the Champions Tour. The winner of 35 international titles, including the Augusta Masters in 1994 and 1999, Ryder Cup player on seven occasions, victorious captain in 2012 and member of the Hall of Fame since 2009, will take part in the Andalucía Valderrama Masters from October 19 to 22, although he admits that his game is not going through the best moment, “there is no way to catch fairway, I will return to greet all the cork oaks on the course,” he jokes.
The San Roque track brings back “many good memories. My best result was third place in the 1989 Volvo Masters, won by Ronan Rafferty. Valderrama is one of the most demanding courses in existence, without being long; it is narrow, technical and has small greens. It demands the maximum from the moment you pin the ball on the first tee until you putt the last putt on the 18th green, no other course has that level of demand, throughout 18 holes it does not allow you a single moment of relaxation. It is a great course that is always in extraordinary conditions”.
Leave a Reply