Jose Maria Olazabal feels inspired. He also feels slightly overwhelmed.
Olazabal, of Spain, the two-time Masters champion, naturally was elated when fellow countryman Jon Rahm won the U.S. Open on June 20 at Torrey Pines in San Diego. The only thing that would make him happier is to become a USGA champion himself, which he will try to accomplish this week in the 41st U.S. Senior Open at Omaha Country Club in Nebraska.
Though he became eligible when he turned 50 in February 2016, Olazabal will be making his debut in the U.S. Senior Open at age 55, and he is eager to see what kind of game he brings to the hilly Omaha layout that is hosting its second Senior Open in eight years. Kenny Perry posted 13-under-par 267 and registered a five-stroke win over Fred Funk in the 2013 championship.
“Winning would be very fun. It also might be a little bit of a miracle,” said Olazabal, who is coming off a tie for 43rd at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y., and starts play here at 2:09 p.m. CDT on Thursday with fellow Masters champions Fred Couples and Mark O'Meara. “I haven’t put myself in contention very much, so that is why I say it might take a miracle. We shall see. I don’t know much about Omaha except that I hear it is very, very hilly. Going to be a challenge.”
Two weeks ago at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, Olazabal competed in the Bridgestone Senior Players, where he ended up T-28. He was reminded repeatedly about what he had done on the South Course 31 years before, when he opened with a course-record 61 and went on to win the NEC World Series of Golf by 12 strokes.
“It was lovely weather, just a little breeze. It was warm, perfect weather conditions,” he recalled in speaking to reporters in Akron before the tournament. “So I play 18 holes, and I went into the clubhouse and Sergio [Gomez] my manager was there. I sat down at the table, and I look at him straight in the eyes and I said, ‘How on earth did I manage to shoot 61 on this golf course?’ I couldn’t believe it.”
In some ways, he still can’t.
“I had so much game then, but this is a tough place, so I know how well I had to play that year,” he said. “That golf just seems beyond my capabilities right now. But I am trying to find something like that.”
Olazabal competed 18 times in the U.S. Open between 1987 and 2013, making 11 cuts and finishing in the top 25 seven times and the top 10 on three occasions. His best finish was joint eighth in consecutive years, 1990 and ’91, a few years before the first of his two Masters wins in 1994.
After his U.S. Open win at Torrey Pines, Rahm said the triumph, “was definitely for Seve,” referring to Spanish trailblazer, the late Seve Ballesteros. “I know he tried a lot,” Rahm added, “and usually we think a lot about him at the Masters, but I know he wanted to win this one most of all.”
Rahm has said that both Ballesteros and Olazabal have had an influence on his career. “I think it’s important that you know where you came from,” Rahm said. “And when it comes to Spanish golf, it wouldn’t be what it is for us without Seve and Ollie [Olazabal].”
“That is very nice to hear,” said Olazabal, who texted Rahm after his win. “Spanish golf, we are a very close group. Seve, obviously, meant a lot to all of us.”
And Rahm’s win meant a lot to his countrymen.
“It was great for Spain. It was fantastic, and it was great seeing him win, especially after what happened at Memorial,” Olazabal said, referring to Rahm having to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament in suburban Columbus, Ohio, two weeks before the U.S. Open because he had tested positive for COVID-19. He had a six-stroke lead after 54 holes at the time.
“That [winning the U.S. Open] was some kind of achievement, and the way he played, he deserved to win it,” Olazabal added. “His performance is vastly improving … his swing, his putting, his temperament on the golf course, controlling his emotions. He showed what kind of champion he has become.”
Now it is Olazabal’s turn.
Dave Shedloski is an Ohio-based writer who frequently contributes to USGA websites.
