administrator

Birthdate: February 5, 1966
Nationality: Spanish
Turned Professional: 1985
Current Tour: PGA
European Tour


Background & Professional Career Bio:

With his first club in hand at the age of 2 and his father as the greens keeper at the country club next door, Jose Maria Olazabal began his journey toward becoming a professional golf. As an Amateur gave the world a preview of what was to come, winning the 1983 Italian Open Amateur Championship, the Spanish Open Amateur Championship and the British Boys Amateur Championship. The following year, he took the Amateur Championship, The Belgian International Youths Championship and the Spanish Open Amateur Championship, and in 1985 the British Youths Amateur Championship. He also won the Eisenhower Trophy, representing Spain, in 1982 and 1984, the St. Andrews Trophy in 1984 and the Jacques Leglise Trophy from 1982-1984.

His first year as a professional, he finished second on the European Tour Order of Merit. In his first nine seasons, he finished in the top 10 almost every year, and placed second again in 1989. On the European Tour alone, he holds more than twenty titles. A foot injury kept him sidelined in 1996, but he rebounded to begin playing on the PGA Tour in 2001. He has six career PGA titles, including the 1994 and 1999 Masters, which came prior to him official becoming a member of the US Tour.

Olazabal holds the world record for the longest putt (9.232 miles) – but it came not on the course, but on a plane, the Concorde during the flight to the 1999 Ryder Cup.



Professional Wins:

European Tour Wins
· 1986 Ebel European Masters Swiss Open, Sanyo Open
· 1988 Volvo Belgian Open, German Masters
· 1989 Tenerife Open, KLM Dutch Open
· 1990 Benson & Hedges International Open, Carroll's Irish Open, Lancome Trophy
· 1991 Open Catalonia, Epson Grand Prix of Europe
· 1992 Turespana Open de Tenerife, Open Mediterrania
· 1994 Turespana Open Mediterrania, Volvo PGA Championship
· 1997 Turespana Masters Open de Canarias
· 1998 Dubai Desert Classic
· 1999 The Masters
· 2000 Benson and Hedges International Open
· 2001 Open de France
· 2002 Omega Hong Kong Open (2001 calendar year, 2002 season)
· 2005 Mallorca Classic
The European Tour recognized the three U.S. based majors in 1998, so Olazábal's 1999 Masters victory counts as a European Tour win, but his 1994 Masters title doesn't.
PGA Tour Wins
· 1990 (1) NEC World Series of Golf
· 1991 (1) The International
· 1994 (2) The Masters, NEC World Series of Golf
· 1999 (1) The Masters
· 2002 (1) Buick Invitational
Olazabal's 1999 Masters win also counted as a European Tour title.
Other Professional Wins
· 1989 Visa Taiheiyo Masters (Japan)
· 1990 Visa Taiheiyo Masters (Japan)
Team Appearances
· Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1987 (winners), 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997 (winners), 1999
· Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Spain): 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999 (winners), 2000
· World Cup (representing Spain): 1989, 2000
· Four Tours World Championship: 1987, 1989
· The Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2000 (winners), 2002, 2003, 2005 (playing captain)


Majors: The Masters (1994)
The Masters (1999)


Awards:

PGA Earnings (per year): $1,953,102 (PGA)
€557,508 (European Tour)

Attached Images

Jose M5.jpg (32.4 KB, 0 views)