Two-time Masters champion returns to Augusta after fearing he'd never walk again
Jose Maria Olazabal has returned to the Augusta National, showing his resilience as the two-time champion was once nearly taken out of the game completely
A former two-time Masters champion has shown his true resilience and strength of character by returning to golf after a terrible foot injury nearly took him out of the game for ever.
Jose Maria Olazabal, who won at Augusta National in both 1994 and 1999 has made a return to the course this week. The 59-year-old was one of the first players to arrive at the club on Friday, the Mirror US reported, and he isn’t just attending for the Champions Dinner.
The Spaniard fitted in a range session on Monday and was the first to arrive at the practice facility on Tuesday at about 5.30am.
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Olazabal has two majors under his belt as well as six PGA Tour wins, and 23 European Tour wins. However, he almost lost his ability to play in 1995 when he was faced with a terrifying foot injury following his first Masters win.
He spent 18 months out of the game and told The Guardian that at that time he couldn’t even stand. He said: “So I thought I would never walk again. I faced a very hard future.”
He explained to Today’s Golfer that he thought his career was “over”, saying: “I wasn’t able to walk, I was in a lot of pain. Days went by, weeks went by, months went by with no positive signs. I watched golf, watched my peers playing tournaments and quite a few times I thought my career was over.” Olazabal added: “I never thought of me being able to be in that situation, or achieving another Major like I did."
By 1997 he had fought his way back to health and won in his third tournament back. Two years later, Olazabal won his second green jacket in Augusta.
Discussing his return from injury, Olazabal said: "At one of the first tournaments I played at Las Palmas in Tenerife, I was able to win.”
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He added: "I was in tears on 18, but at that time I didn’t think I was going to get back to where I was before all of this happened. I was very cautious about it, and I knew I still had a long road, to be honest, physically and mentally. But it was a great boost to my confidence and my desire to keep on fighting."
Olazabal will be teeing off at 11.10 am local time on Thursday alongside Thriston Lawrence and Brian Campbell.
