Golf Gear Newswire : Olazabal returns after chronic illness improves

SAINT QUENTIN, France, June 30 (Reuters) - A marked improvement in his chronic rheumatic problems has allowed Jose Maria Olazabal to play his first tournament of the year in a world class French Open field this week.

The nearest the 44-year-old Spaniard had come to making a comeback after the condition worsened at the end of last year, had been to play in the Majorca Open pro-am in May.

But now the double U.S. Open champion is able to play in the event he won nine years ago before taking a summer break to try to get himself completely tournament fit.

“I feel better, the level of pain is less,” Olazabal told reporters on Wednesday at the National course near Versailles, the day before the tournament begins.

“The shoulder tendons are still swelling and I cannot say I’m feeling good or 100 percent pain free but there has been some improvement in the last couple of months.

“I haven’t been able to practise like one should, to be competitive, but I’m giving it a try this week to see how I get on. Then I’ll take another big break for pretty much the whole summer, to see if I can get rid of that remaining pain to be able to play a few events at the end of the season.”

Olazabal said he had been frustrated by a second bout of the injury and illness that has bedevilled his career. He suffered rheumatoid arthritis in the mid-90s but battled back to win his second Augusta title in 1999.

“I’ve been in a lot of pain. When you struggle to lift a glass of water, it’s quite severe,” he said. “I’ve seen a bunch of doctors, been all over the place, but they really can’t pinpoint what is causing it.

“I’m taking inflammatory pills but that’s all. I was taking some very strong medication but that was affecting my immune system, so we had to stop that.”

Olazabal’s condition has now ended any hopes of playing in the Ryder Cup. However, although Europe’s captain Colin Montgomerie is expected to talk to Olazabal this week about being one of his vice-captains, Olazabal is likely to turn the captain down.

Although he was praised highly for his vice-captaincy under Nick Faldo when Europe lost to the United States at Valhalla in 2008, Olazabal has said he is reluctant to take an administrative role until getting the chance to captain himself.

--By Norman Dabell

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Olazabal returns after chronic illness improves

2010-06-30

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