Jos Mara Olazbal was awarded an honorary doctorate of the University of St Andrewsbeside Lee Trevino, Sir Bob Charles, Sandy Lyle y Catriona Matthew. The greatest tribute that was paid, however, by said institution and by the city itself was the appointment of Jack Nicklaus as an honorary citizen.
The ‘Golden Bear’ joined a truly exclusive club, as it is the third american to receive such a high distinction at St Andrews, after Bobby Jones in 1958 and Benjamin Franklin in 1759.
“I refused to return the last two times of the Open to St. Andrews because it was my farewell in 2005, and I didn’t want to go back so that memory wouldn’t be diluted. It was fantastic then. But when I got the invitation to be made an honorary citizen of St. Andrews and follow Bobby Jones and Benjamin Franklin, I had to go back. So to be back is fantastic,” Nicklaus said.
Bobby Jones, the golfer who was always an amateur and who came to complete the Grand Slam the year he finally won at St. Andrews. He was friends with a young Nicklaus. And what about Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, known as ‘the first American’.
Jos Mara Olazbalas friendly as always, approached the small group of the Spanish press who had attended the event, once the protagonists had paraded around a couple of city streets full of people.
“It was a very emotional act, especially for Jack [Nicklaus]few times have I seen him so emotional, it was difficult for him to speak, he cried a little”, said Olazbal, who again has followed in the footsteps of Seve Ballesteros with this decoration. “Yes, once again. Yesterday I remembered him a lot. Being a part of this group makes me feel proud.” When I received the letter informing me of this I thought what had I done to deserve this and then I assumed that I had done something right.
