{"id":7479,"date":"2015-12-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.golfinspain.es.local\/b\/2015\/12\/18\/chat-with-chema-olazabal\/"},"modified":"2019-11-07T11:02:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T10:02:50","slug":"chat-with-chema-olazabal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/2015\/12\/chat-with-chema-olazabal\/","title":{"rendered":"A chat with Chema Olazabal"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few days ago Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Olaz\u00e1bal competed in the Lacoste Promesas at La Sella Golf Resort<\/a>\u00a0. The two time champion of the Augusta Masters, who holds more than 35 international titles, played in the Ryder Cup six times and who, as captain in 2012, engineered the so-called \u2018miracle of Medinah\u2019, took time out to chat to Mar\u00eda Acacia Lop\u00e9z Bachiller about \u2018the divine and the human.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Chema<\/a> \u201cGolf\u2019s critics and stigmas don\u2019t bother me, each to his own, and as to what people end up doing, only time will tell\u201d Photo courtesy of Jorge Andreu<\/p>\n

He came ninth in the last tournament he competed in, the Hassan II Golf Trophy in Morocco (29\/03\/15), and shot a round of 71 in the second round of the Masters (10\/04\/15). \u201cI put in a good performance in Morocco, but on the first day at Augusta it all unraveled. After the Masters, I felt quite stiff, I did some training the following Monday and went to the Spanish Open with reservations. I couldn\u2019t play. I came home, started to see several doctors, had therapy\u2026 And here I am taking anti-inflammatories and steroids, unable to do anything. If I\u2019m still it doesn\u2019t bother me but when I try to move around, my shoulders, groin, abductor muscles and calves ache. It was the same thing that happened to me during the US Open in 2007: overnight my joints started to ache and I couldn\u2019t move. There\u2019s no need to keep going over and over it, what happened happened. It\u2019s annoying, without a doubt, being at home not being able to move or live a vaguely normal life- it\u2019s pretty tough. But just as last time it happened and I was able to bounce back from it, it could well be the case this time too. They say that these things come in waves, cycles\u2026 Right now I\u2019ve got to be optimistic and be patient- it\u2019s a slow process, that will take around five or six months. It\u2019s the same old story, but what can you do?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last few months I\u2019ve watched a lot of TV- sport, documentaries, movies, I\u2019ve done a lot of Sudoku- if I play anymore they\u2019ll make me world champion! I\u2019ve seen what Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy have done. It\u2019s been an exceptional season of two halves: Spieth dominated the first, playing at an extraordinary level; that he could put up such a performance was just unreal. Jason Day was pretty much the same- he played spectacularly- off the chart. It\u2019s been a year to remember. Both have been at the top of their game. It was a shame about the accident that put Rory out of the running.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been wonderful to see Spieth and Day win and rewrite history in the process. On various occasions we\u2019ve seen players who\u2019ve experienced difficulties only to come out of it on top and taking into account the problems Jason had when he was younger, he deserves all the more credit. The fundamental element as to why, at just 21, Jordan comes across older than his years, is his sister, who suffers from a disability; the harsh reality of life makes you appreciate things and realize how fortunate you are.\u201d
\nChanges to the European Tour regulations: \u201cI don\u2019t think reducing the number of tournaments you have to play in order to be a member of the European Tour to five really changes anything. Granted, this step will make life easier for those that aren\u2019t in the top 50 and can\u2019t get into the four majors or the WGC. As far as the possible agreement with the Asian Tour is concerned, the offer\u2019s on the table but nothing\u2019s decided yet. I think it\u2019s too early to say what will come of it. We\u2019ll see. \u201c<\/p>\n

Ryder Cup 2016: \u201cAlthough there\u2019s still a lot do before the team\u2019s complete, there are six or seven players, such as McIlroy, Stenson, Rose and McDowell that will form the backbone of it\u2026. There are other potential candidates like Andy Sullivan, Danny Willett, or Michael Fitzpatrick who have come a long way but still need to do more. Darren Clarke, (European team captain in 2016) is respected by all his team mates, he\u2019s been a temperamental player who over the years has learnt to control this personality trait. The Americans are doing things differently, the players\u2019 opinions are starting to be taken into account when it comes to taking decisions and this has contributed to a better team spirit. After the last few defeats, playing the next edition of the tournament at home will add extra pressure. I think it was a sound decision to pick Davis Love III as captain. He was crucified after Chicago and it was nothing to do with his captaincy, he did well: on the Sunday, in the crucial stages, everything came good for Europe. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anyone else up to the task.<\/p>\n

Tiger Woods, vice-captain of the USA. \u201cKnowing him, he\u2019ll be falling over himself to play! Unfortunately, his physical condition is a real cause for concern. He came back following surgery and lately hasn\u2019t picked up a club. It would be better for golf if he just came clean about it, it would be nice to see the sport itself being talked about in the media. I would like to see Tiger competing alongside the new generation: McIlroy, Day, Spieth. They\u2019d give him a good game, that goes without saying, and quite right too. Tiger was everyone\u2019s idol, of the kids and their parents, the model son that every mother wants. It all went to the dogs and he lost his aura of invincibility. It was a tough situation- he was fighting a losing battle, we all know what American morality can be like. What I was most struck by was his composure when under pressure: his game was consistently very good, and his approach shots and putting were out of this world. But his composure\u2026. Thanks to this he was already a cut above the rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpanish golf comes in waves. Winning three or four tournaments every year isn\u2019t easy. The competition and standard is bigger and better every time. The differences between players are now minimal. I\u2019ve always said that we have Sergio (Garcia) for however many years, he proved himself when he won in Vietnam. I hope that Gonzalo (Fernandez-Casta\u00f1o) and \u00c1lvaro (Quir\u00f3s) make a comeback; I see potential in the rest to win, for example, I look at Alejandro (Ca\u00f1izares) and think that with a game like his, he should win more. We are not far off. And \u2018El Pisha\u2019\u2026 He\u2019s another kettle of fish altogether; totally unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe final Lacoste Promesas is very special for me, I am very close to the Basis (distributors of Lacoste in Spain) and Ba\u00f1\u00f3 (owners of La Sella). They had faith in me when I started out, and I had a lot of fun with the kids. Every year they play better, the average ages gets lower. This time round there were two 13 year-olds and lots of 14 year-olds- and the standard of play and the coaching gets better and better. They train harder, they\u2019re more professional, and they are in shape, but this has to go hand-in-hand with discipline, sacrifice and perseverance. All this has to be married together to help them get to the top. Healthy competition at this level is good, it helps them to develop as individuals at the same time as they evolve as players. I really enjoy watching them, I love how they play and the enthusiasm they put into it, I find it rejuvenating. We strive to create a convivial atmosphere and to make them feel comfortable. They ask lots of questions, and check with us on whether or not they\u2019re doing the movements properly. We began at La Manga Club<\/a>\u00a012 years ago and we\u2019ve seen them grow. It\u2019s been such a joy to come back to see Azahara Mu\u00f1oz and to spend those days with Marta Silva and Juan Sarasti, the first winners. It\u2019s been wonderful watching them as professionals. I remember the edition that saw Jon Rahm qualify, and now he\u2019s doing extraordinary things. We always had enjoyable times in what was a really familial atmosphere and I\u2019m thankful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his work as a golf course designer: \u201cAt the moment, we\u2019re working on a course in Qatar but progress is a lot slower than we\u2019d hoped: they\u2019re starting to create the front nine holes and the practice course. And it seems as though the project we began in Spain years ago is now starting to gather renewed momentum. I\u2019m very happy with the results of the back nine holes at La Sella: they\u2019re there to be enjoyed, they\u2019re spacious, not too difficult, players have a whale of a time, and finish on a high. The first few holes are harder, the trees have grown and the fairways are narrower.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf\u2019s critics and stigmas don\u2019t bother me, each to his own, and as to what people end up doing, only time will tell. It\u2019s all about making it more attractive to kids; the future of golf rests on this; we need to ensure that kids are drawn to this sport- it\u2019s essential. Golf is doing great things. Those of us that play golf have a particular sensitivity towards those at a disadvantage and that\u2019s the part that tends to be overlooked. At the end of the day, you get what you give.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife has given me everything. I couldn\u2019t ask for anything more. I look back at the past and see a kid in his element kicking a ball around\u2026. How did I wind up here! I\u2019m extremely fortunate. I\u2019ve fulfilled so many of the dreams I had, some that once seemed so impossible have become a reality. I have met a lot of people, and have been lucky enough to rub shoulders with the best in the sport, I have learned from them all, from the great, and the not so great. They have all taught me many things that have made me a better person. I\u2019ve also learned that, despite all the effort and hard work, not everyone comes out on top; they have my total respect. It\u2019s been a long but entertaining journey, full of both ups and downs: great highs and the deepest lows when it felt as though everything was shrouded in total darkness. It\u2019s been an emotional ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interview by Maria Acacia Lopez Bachiller.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few days ago Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Olaz\u00e1bal competed in the Lacoste Promesas at La Sella Golf Resort\u00a0. The two time champion of the Augusta Masters, who holds more than 35 international titles, played in the Ryder Cup six times and who, as captain in 2012, engineered the so-called \u2018miracle of Medinah\u2019, took time out to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[573,558,572,559],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-european-tour","category-interview","category-jose-maria-olazabal","category-spanish-players"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/cont\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Olaz\u00e1bal-Lacoste-Promesas15\u00a9Jorge-Andreu.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}