“Ollie” is simply a golfing icon and Ryder Cup legend. The Spaniard was born to play in the historic tournament and the passion and romance for the competition courses through the 44-year-old’s veins – when you say Ryder Cup you think Jose Maria Olazabal.
Whether it be the historic matches alongside friend and compatriot Seve Ballesteros, his partnership with Sergio Garcia, or the famous putt on-board Concorde on the way to the 1999 tournament, where Olazabal holed a beauty the length of the cabin, the charismatic Spaniard is synonymous with the Ryder Cup.
With only days to go until this year’s event at Celtic Manor, emotion is rising, and Ryder Cup fever is hitting living-rooms up and down the country. Sport.co.uk sat down with Ollie for a Nespresso and a chat to get his thoughts on mind games, his greatest Ryder Cup moments, and his expert knowledge on the course and the outcome of the weekend. Safe to say, he’s backing Europe!
Jose, you’re obviously a golfing icon, a Ryder Cup legend, you embody everything from the romance to the spirit of the tournament. Can you tell me exactly what this tournament means to you personally?
It’s part of my life… I’ve experienced things in the Ryder Cup that I’ve never experienced before compared to other events… the friendships, the relationships, it’s a whole team, it’s not just yourself…you have 50% of the crowd cheering you on depending on what side you play on, and when you play in Europe, the whole crowd are backing you. You have your team members, their girlfriends, their wives, it’s like a huge family for the week, it’s completely different to what we are used to week in week out.
Three Ryder Cup legends joined forces in 2008 under captain Nick Faldo, unfortunately the Americans were victorious at Valhalla.
I was watching the 1997 Ryder Cup yesterday and you lead out the European team on that first morning… just tell me, what goes through your mind as a golfer on such an occasion and how difficult is it to control your emotions?
Well, it’s hard to control your emotions, there’s always a bit of butterflies, a little stress, but you know that you are a member of a team, that your leading the team and that everybody is conscious of the importance of the occasion, and that an early point in the morning will be positive for the whole team. It’s very important, like what Monty did in Ireland, he played individuals, he teed off first, he was ready for it and he managed to win his point… Obviously, you’re not on your own, you know that there are 11 members backing you, you represent your country and continent- it’s like a fraternity during the week and you’re not on your own.
Who then would you like to see tee off first on the Friday morning at Celtic Manor?
I wouldn’t like say names actually. I think Monty will see which players are on form or not and he will have to make the decision. I don’t think there is a certain player now that we can name who I would like to tee off first, it will depend on how things go in the build up to be honest.
You were involved in the greatest pairs match in the history of the Ryder Cup, you and Seve Ballesteros against Paul Azinger and Chip Beck, obviously there were allegations of cheating from 1989, can you talk a bit about that and if it got personal on the course? Did you have to control Seve’s emotions?
Well, it didn’t get personal at all, it was a match, there are certain goals that should be fulfilled, it was definitely not personal and I want to make that clear!
It was just the matter of, in those days, a player could choose whatever ball he wanted to tee off and once you chose that ball you had to use it for those holes that you tee off on. At one stage, I think there was just an error from the US party, they switched balls, that’s what we thought we saw, so that’s what we said…everything was clarified and then there were no problems after that.
But what a fantastic match to be involved in, and to come out on the winning side as well…
We had a bad start to be honest, we didn’t play well and they did; they played solid from tee to green, they didn’t give us any chances and on top of that, we were underperforming…. And then everything changed, we started hitting great shots and unless I’m much mistaken, I think we hit 4 under par on that course- which is quite an accomplishment!
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A proud Sport.co.uk Editor meets his hero.
Unbelievable Jose! What made your partnership with Seve so special, why did it work so perfectly?
I think it worked because, first of all, the relationship between the two of us went back to when I was 15 years old when I first met and played with Seve and I think it worked because we felt the same way on the golf course, there was not much thinking to do or much talking to do, everything was pretty much clear by the time we got to the ball.
And on top of that, you’re playing with one of the best players in the world, a player who has the best short game I’ve ever seen and in that regard, things were a little bit easier on that side; you knew that even though you missed the shot onto the green, if Seve was anywhere near, 30 or 40 yards, you knew that 9 times out of 10, that ball was going to be really close to the hole, so that made things a lot easier.
He also had a lot of charisma. When he was on the golf course, he was the centre of attention, he was not afraid of anything. I was lucky enough to play with a very special man, and I think because we understood each other so well and we saw the game in the same way, that’s why it worked.
It was fantastic to watch, great memories for everyone. There’s another one of your compatriots and good friends involved once again in a Ryder Cup - Miguel Angel Jiminez. He was a vice captain in 1997 and he played in 1999, how important is he going to be to the Europeans at Celtic Manor? What is he going to bring to the European locker-room?
As a player he will bring a steady game, he is very solid from tee to green, he won’t lose matches, you will have to beat him, that’s the good thing about Miguel, he will never give matches away.
As a person, I don’t need to tell you what he brings (laughing)… He’s a joyful guy, he’s always ready for a joke, he loves a cigar, the way he lives life- that’s what he brings to the team. If things aren’t going your way, Miguel always has his head up, always cheerful. He’s going to bring this kind of happiness to the team.
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Chipping against the great man...it didn't go well.
Sergio Garcia, as vice captain, is also involved, what do you think he’s going to bring and do you think Monty ever considered bringing him in as a wild card?
That I don’t know… he’s been an important part of the team in the last Ryder Cups and even though he’s going through a tough time, the Ryder Cup spirit is there with him and that’s why he wanted to be there in the team even though he didn’t make the team, and that’s what he told Monty. In that regard he could be beneficial for both parties - the team and Sergio himself.
Do you think this could be a catalyst for Sergio to get out of this current difficult period and regain his form?
I think it will be good for him in the sense that it will give him perhaps the need to play golf more and to enjoy the game more, to fall in love again.
Monty said yesterday, whilst talking about the Celtic Manor course, that he’d set it up according to “European standards” and that would give the Europeans an advantage. Can you interpret what Monty means by that and what sort of an advantage the Europeans will have?
Well, maybe in the height of the rough and the speed of the green and that’s one of the advantages you have when you play the Ryder Cup on home soil, you can tweak the golf course the way you think is best for your team. For example, whenever we play in the US, those greens are very, very firm and quick, they try to make them as quick as possible because they feel more comfortable on the quick greens, so when we hold Ryder Cups in Europe we try to refrain from the American style. It’s something we’ll work on even in the next few days, depending on how we are playing.
The atmosphere, particularly with the Welsh citizens at Celtic Manor and a lot of locals going down for the occasion, it seems that it’s going to be a fantastic atmosphere. How do you think Tiger Woods will cope with the atmosphere on the course?
Tiger has experience, I’m sure he won’t be shocked by the crowd, he’s played Ryder Cups before, he’s played majors he’s going to cope without a problem. The crowds won’t be a problem for him in the sense that whenever we’ve played a Ryder Cup in Europe, we’ve always proved that we respect the other team; I’m not saying the crowd will clap and cheer the same for the US team, but the crowd respect the US players and in that regard, I don’t think Tiger will have any problems.
Deputy Editor Andrew Allen gets a chipping lesson from Ollie ahead of finishing runner-up in the Nespresso Target Golf Cup.
Do you think there are any specific players or danger men on the US side that the Europeans should be looking out for?
It’s hard to say…but out of 12 players, there are always some who are playing better than others… I would say that Tiger is not playing to his usual standards, but other players in the team are playing really solid… Also during the Ryder Cup week, there is a tendency for the less famous stars to gain glory, for example, when Peter Baker was a rookie playing with Woosie (Ian Woosnam), he did wonderfully well- that’s the kind of thing that happens especially at the Ryder Cup.
And do you think that the course is well acquitted for match play golf?
I think so, I think the finishing holes are good match play holes. Hole 15 is a par four you can reach and I’m pretty sure they’ll move the tees forward so people can go for it. Hole 16 is a tough, tough par four, it’s very, very long. Hole 17 is par 3 and 18, depending on the weather conditions and where they put the tees, is a par 5 that could be reachable. It’s a golf course for great match play. I cannot wait!
How do you relax in the evenings at the Ryder Cup? On that Friday night, were you and members of the team able to sleep?
Well, everyone’s different, but I couldn’t sleep all that well to be honest. You want to get to that moment as quick as possible, to start the match as soon as possible. There are lot of high emotions going on and in that regard it’s hard to get a good solid sleep but whenever you are close to tee time, I can assure you are not going to be feeling tired- the adrenaline flows!
And when the Europeans win on Sunday, what do you think will be Monty’s tipple to celebrate?
No idea! Monty is his own man so I have no idea how he’ll celebrate…I’m sure it will be fun!
Will you be there?
Yes, I will be there with Nespresso from Friday to Sunday, all three days! I wouldn’t miss it!
As the Preferred Supplier to The 2010 Ryder Cup Nespresso is delighted to announce its partnership with golfing legend José María Olazábal, who will act as its golf ambassador for this year’s competition.