Txema Olazabal, 56 years old and double champion in Augusta, it has been a few editions since he has not fought with the same weapons as the rest for the precious Green jacket: has played 102 laps of competition in the Augusta National and his average stroke is 72.90. This Wednesday he recognized the Gipuzkoan that the field that saw him win in 1994 and 1999 and in which he debuted as an amateur in 1985 is becoming more and more uphill.
“The field is very long; I tell you from the heart, it seems eternal to me, I don’t know what the others will play, but I have to hit woods and long irons with second shots and it is very difficult for me. Make the cut ?… no way. My only aspiration right now is not to bother my match partner too much. The problem is not to hit the first shot of the tournament (he plays in the first match, at 8 in the morning), but to hit it good” (laughs).
The Basque does not face this edition of the Masters in the best physical conditions. “I come from an arm injury, the typical tendinitis with bursitis that has not allowed me to have a good preseason and now I am accusing him. But hey, this is a special appointment and I hope it does not affect me too much,” he said in a mixed zone. .
Regarding the champions’ dinner, Txema assured that “it was one of the best in recent years. The food that Hideki Matsuyama prepared was spectacular, as was his speech. emotional, both for its content and for the way it is expressed. In fact, for many years, I did not remember that at the end we all got up to applaud him”.
Txema added that there was a little conversation with Tiger at dinner. “We talked about what his new stage means now and that it’s time to get used to living with pain. In fact, Tiger’s swing has been modified to adapt to his current situation… there is no other way, I know what that is with my arthritis rheumatoid. We were discussing all this”.
This Wednesday’s day was being a bit chaotic, with intermittent breaks and the public evicted from the big field, in which the game was suspended for almost an hour and a half, but the Par 3s were developing normally. Until the threat of a storm with an electrical device returned and the Contest was suspended.
