The Maestro

IT would be something of an understatement to suggest European golfers have found it tough to win Majors in recent years. A plethora of talented players have threatened often enough, but when it comes to taking on the very best down the final stretch, Europe's finest have been found wanting.

The continent's latest all-conquering Ryder Cup team undoubtedly boasted a host of potential champions, but only one had experienced Major success. But the Open's return to Carnoustie this year is a poignant reminder that the last Euro to win a Major remains Paul Lawrie ­ and that was 29 tournaments ago.

Irishman Paul McGinley has suggested a golden age of European golf is on the horizon, similar to the one which saw us dominate the Majors ­ especially the Masters.

"If you look at the history of European golf, it's one of ebbs and flows," said McGinley. "Five years ago everyone was talking about a crisis in English golf because they had only one player in the top 100. Now there are seven or eight up
there, all excellent players.

"I truly think we are on the verge of another age where Europeans win Majors in bunches. We're just waiting for one of us to knock one off, then it will be like the 80s all over again," he added.

And it just might be that the man to kickstart Europe's Major avalanche is already a member of golf's most exclusive club. A man who not only links the current Ryder Cup winning era with that of the late 1990s but in fact goes further back to the halcyon days of Muirfield Village et al.

That man is Jose Maria Olazabal, twice a Masters champion who has battled back from the brink of both golfing and physical abyss in his glittering career. Now on the cusp of his 40s, Ollie remains a player in the top echelon of the game. Witness his Open Championship of 2005 and especially his surge for a third Green Jacket 12 months ago.

Because, when it comes to the Masters, Olazabal's record is superb. He loves Augusta. His final-round 66 last year, during which he briefly threatened to overtake eventual champion Mickelson, suggests he has not been fazed by the course's numerous increases in length in recent years.

Cold, clinical stats suggest he may be our best bet in April. He first made the cut at Augusta in 1989 and finished in a tie for eighth. Since then, he has picked up two green jackets, finished in the top five three times, the top ten twice and the top 20 five times.

"I'm playing well again and I like to think I can win another Major," says Ollie confidently.

As for any European winning a Major again, Olazabal's school of thought is similar to McGinley's.

He said: "I think we do have the quality of players capable of winning Majors regularly. But, for whatever reason, we just come up short. I think it's just a matter of time."

It is unbelievable to think Olazabal contemplated life in a wheelchair during the mid-90s. After winning his first Masters in 1994, Ollie was struck down by a debilitating ailment in the joints of his feet which seemed likely to cripple him. Without any accurate diagnosis the pain gradually became intolerable and, in 1996, he disappeared from the game. His break from golf lasted 18 months but, at the time, it appeared to mark an unending tragedy.

He has already completed one of sport's most miraculous and emotional journeys by coming back to Augusta and winning for a second time and maybe it would be fitting if it was he who paved the way for a prolonged period of European success by picking up his third Masters title.

"I could not even stand," said Olazabal when talking about his injury. "I thought I would never walk again. I thought I faced a very hard future. In those days when I woke up in the morning, I knew my first move would be to the bathroom. It was only nine feet from my bedroom but I could not get there on my feet. I had to crawl. At that point I thought that I would end
my life in a wheelchair. I did not think I could ever play golf again."

The bleak memories of Olazabal crying in a darkened room or crawling alone across the floor to reach the toilet are even more resonant when retold from his current perspective.

"I'm playing well again. I like to think I can compete with the best in the world," he insists. "But sometimes I get flashbacks. Sometimes when I'm just jogging on the treadmill, I get an image of me in a wheelchair. It reminds me how lucky I
am."

Olazabal's burning intensity has, inevitably, been replaced by a more measured approach. He is no longer the driven obsessive who, at the age of 23, suffered from a stress-related stomach ulcer, or even the golfer who, 10 years later, punched a hole in the wall after shooting a first-round 75 at the 1999 US Open.

"That craziness comes when you learn you are never going to master this game but you still fight it. Golf has given me more than I ever expected but maybe there's another sadness, a feeling that I'm getting close to the finish as a competitive
player," said Olazabal.

Returning to Europe's Ryder Cup team helped Ollie complete his resurgence. Memories of an American mob trampling over his line at Brookline after Justin Leonard's monster putt have been replaced with thoughts of a champagne-soaked 18th green at the K Club.

He won three matches out of three in Ireland, a record which included a win over Mickelson in the singles. Two successes in the fourballs with Garcia provided fans with a second 'Spanish Armada' after the original pairing of Olazabal and Ballesteros.

"Playing with Sergio kept me young," beams Ollie. "He was fantastic. On the first day he was just unbelievable, he played so
well. It's true that I managed to make four or five holes, but he carried the whole team really well. I was pretty much there watching his performance.

"He drove the ball beautifully, split the fairway on nearly every hole and barely missed a shot. It was completely different from playing with Seve. Seve and I stood on the tee, hit our drives, then said: 'See you on the green!'

Ollie is adamant today's courses, including the one at Augusta National, favour the big hitters and are taking the 'artistry' out of the game.

He said: "What I don't like is that there is less artistry in the game now and the set up of the courses contributes to that. When you have rough that is five inches high, not even a magician can create shots. I do believe players still have the skill. They can shape the shots, hit them high or low. But we don't find ourselves in situations where creativity
is encouraged."

That said, Ollie is still in love with Augusta.

"It doesn't matter to me if they make the course 9,000 yards. The week is very special for me because I've done great there," he gleams. "The two Majors I've won, I won there. Golf has given me a lot and that place has given me most of it. I've done well there in the past, but after all my years involved in the game, I've learnt not to look too far ahead."