AUGUSTA, Ga. — Before it was warm enough to shed long sleeves on Thursday morning at the Masters, Jose Maria Olazábal, at 60 years old, was leading the tournament.
Plodding his way around Augusta National in the third group of the day, he made a birdie on 2 and another on 3. As more players started their rounds, they still couldn’t catch Olazábal, the two-time Masters champ.
Eventually, everyone started to take notice. Olazábal did too.
“Everybody was in shock,” he said, smiling, at the end of his round. “Of course, yes, I look at the leaderboard. I saw myself 2-under par, and for a little while I said to myself, hey, I’m leading the Masters. There you go. [Laughs] It’s one of those things. Obviously it was fun.”
Olazábal is not currently leading the Masters. After a par-birdie-birdie start, he made 10 straight pars but struggled coming into the clubhouse.
He bogeyed 14 and made double on 15 when he spun his approach off the green and into the water. He made another bogey on 16 before finishing his round with two pars and a 2-over 74.
Still, it was a heck of a round for the 1994 and 1999 champion, who is making his 37th career Masters start this week.
“I started really well. I made a few putts, a few saves and I got the round going,” he said. “I mean, the only headache was 15, to be honest. I felt I didn’t mishit the shot, to be honest. I think a couple more yards, it would have been perfect, but it’s one of those things. I mean, you know, Augusta is like that. Five feet can make a huge difference. It was just a pity, but the rest of the round was pretty solid. I’m really pleased. I mean, I will take 2-over par every day over here.”
Olazábal hit 11 fairways but just five greens. He’ll finish the first day ranked near the bottom for driving distance (271.5 yards) while one of his playing partners, 21-year-old Aldrich Potgieter, will rank near the top (332 yards).
Olazábal said Potgieter, who leads the PGA Tour in driving distance, was the longest pro he’s played with in his career. Olazábal beat Potgieter by 10.
“I mean, you just have to stay focused on your game. You cannot be distracted about that,” Olazábal said about the difference in driving distance. “You know, we have a job to do. You have to apply your game, simple as that. I mean, stay focused on what you have to do. Obviously you enjoy and you are mesmerized when you see the ball fly that far for that long, but obviously, you know, you have to stay focused on the job at hand.”
Although maybe Olazábal’s Thursday 74 will be good luck.
“The first year I won, I shot 74 the first day, and I was really pissed off, you know, because I came to the tournament thinking that my game was all right, and that was it,” he said. “I was so upset with myself that I didn’t even go to the driving range. I went straight home, and that was it. Then, you know, the rest of the three days obviously I managed to play a little better.”
