José María Olazábal has been awarded the 2013 Prince of Asturias Award for Sports, one of the most prestigious international recognitions granted in our country to those persons or institutions that, in addition to the exemplary nature of their life and work, have contributed with their efforts to the improvement, cultivation, promotion or dissemination of the values of sport.
Established in 1987, since then it has been awarded to twelve Spaniards -now thirteen-, including another golfer, Severiano Ballesteros, who was recognized with the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports in the 1989 edition.
Born in Fuenterrabia (Guipúzcoa) on February 5, 1966, José María Olazábal has two Masters of Augusta in his brilliant sporting curriculum, the spearhead of some thirty victories in various professional tournaments of the highest level.
Historic Ryder triumph
In addition, at the end of September of last year, he took over the captaincy of Europe’s historic victory over the United States in the Ryder Cup with enormous success, leading an epic comeback victory that will go down in the annals of this competition, the third with the greatest media impact worldwide after the Olympic Games and the World Cup.
José María Olazábal’s successful relationship with the Ryder Cup goes back a long way -four victories in seven participations between player and captain-, to the point that he is considered, together with Severiano Ballesteros, as the ‘Best Pair’ in the history of this tournament, a statement supported by their 11 victories in 13 matches.
A member of the Golf Hall of Fame since 2009, José María Olazábal is the only Spaniard, along with Severiano Ballesteros, who belongs to this select club that brings together the best golfers of all time.
Apart from these very important sporting considerations, José María Olazábal is an example as a person. Not in vain, his election as Captain of the European team in the last Ryder Cup meant a process of unanimous and undisputed support from players, institutions and media from all over the world, who valued those signs of identity -respect for the rules, the rival and the public in general- that have always characterized José María Olazábal’s sporting and human trajectory.
Based on these considerations, a human dimension and a successful sporting career unanimously recognized, the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, with the endorsement of all the Autonomous Golf Federations and other bodies of the Spanish golf world in general, presented its candidacy for these Prince of Asturias Awards for Sport.
In addition, at the beginning of the year, the European team that won the Ryder Cup, captained by José María Olazábal, won the Laureus Award for the best team in 2012 at the Gala held in Rio de Janeiro to announce the so-called ‘Oscars of Sport’.
A born competitive spirit
José María Olazábal’s sporting career leaves little room for doubt. His 23 titles on the European Tour, his victories in the United States and Asia and his sensational amateur career have been eclipsed by his successes in two competitions that have marked his life: the Augusta Masters and the Ryder Cup.
1994. Ese año, el campo Augusta National presentaba los greenes más complicados que se recuerdan. Tanto es así que el alemán Bernhard Langer, ganador el año anterior, aseguraba no haber visto “nunca los greenes tan duros durante cuatro días”.
The famous American course looked like “a course full of traps”, said the German golfer. After two days of Larry Mize’s leadership, the 28 year-old from Guipuzcoa was in a position to become the second Spaniard, after the great Severiano Ballesteros, to wear the green jacket as winner of the Augusta Masters.
The sobriety and maturity of his game, with the mastery of the putt as the main bastion, led José María Olazábal to victory with a total of 279 strokes, two less than Tom Lehman and three less than Larry Mize himself.
That same night, Severiano Ballesteros was waiting for him until eleven o’clock at night in the apartment occupied by the Basque player in the vicinity of the club and he would send him a confession full of sincerity and relief. “I will no longer be the only Spaniard to carry the burden of having worn the green jacket. From now on it is your turn to carry that weight and that honor on your shoulders”, the great Seve told him emotionally.
An injury and enormous strength
Just a few months after winning the Masters, José María Olazábal faced one of the worst difficulties an athlete can face: an injury of uncertain diagnosis that threatened to retire him from golf. The Basque player was unable to walk due to discomfort in the sole of one of his feet which, according to the first diagnoses, could be the result of rheumatoid arthritis in two of the toes of a foot that had been operated on to cut a bone.
A long and painful forced leave of absence that lasted almost two years ended thanks to a visit to the German doctor Hans Müller-Wohlfahrt, who discovered a vertebral impingement. After many hours of physiotherapy and physical conditioning, José María Olazábal regained his old life. He could walk and play golf again. After a meteoric recovery, it only took him three tournaments to win again, more specifically in the 1997 Turespaña Masters.
Augusta, always Augusta
No one would have bet that this player, after overcoming such adversity, would return to the top of world golf, but no one doubts that he was the best golfer of the 150 who participated in the 1999 Augusta Masters.
José María Olazábal took the lead on the second day with a fantastic round of 66 strokes. David Duval, then world number one, the young Lee Westwood and, above all, the legendary Australian Greg Norman tried to delay the triumphant return of the Spaniard, but none of the three found the formula for it.
With 33 strokes on the back nine for a round of 71, José María Olazábal reached the pinnacle of his relationship with Augusta in 1999, a course from which only geniuses emerge well.
With the title in his pocket, José María Olazábal recalled the ordeal of the previous two years and confessed that he thought he would “never be able to play golf again”.
Reasons for an Award
Exemplary person; impeccable sportsman; successful golfer; worldwide recognition; prestigious track record; competitive spirit full of elegance; enormous capacity to overcome adversity; spirit of harmony and unity; beloved golfer and admired by his peers; career full of awards; essential reference … are some of the adjectives that accompany the figure of José María Olazábal since his beginnings as a golfer.
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