José María Olazábal

Exempt status

• PGA TOUR Champions: PGA TOUR Points List (10), All-Time Money List (82nd)

JOINED TOUR

• PGA TOUR: 2000
• PGA TOUR Champions: 2016

PGA TOUR Victories (6)

• 1990 NEC World Series of Golf
• 1991 The International
• 1994 Masters Tournament, NEC World Series of Golf
• 1999 Masters Tournament
• 2002 Buick Invitational

International Victories (23)

• 1986 Ebel European Masters
• 1986 Swiss Open
• 1986 Sanyo Open
• 1988 Volvo Belgian Open
• 1988 German Masters
• 1989 Tenerife Open
• 1989 KLM Dutch Open
• 1989 Visa Taiheiyo Masters
• 1990 Benson & Hedges International Open
• 1990 Carroll's Irish Open
• 1990 Lancome Trophy
• 1990 Visa Taiheiyo Masters
• 1991 Open Catalonia
• 1991 Epson Grand Prix of Europe
• 1992 Turespana Open de Tenerife
• 1992 Open Mediterrania
• 1994 Turespana Open Mediterrania
• 1994 Volvo PGA Championship
• 1997 Turespana Masters Open de Canarias
• 1998 Dubai Desert Classic
• 2000 Benson and Hedges International Open
• 2001 French Open
• 2005 Mallorca Classic [Eur]

PLAYOFF RECORD

PGA TOUR (0-2)

• 2005 Lost to Phil Mickelson, Brandt Jobe, Arjun Atwal, Rich Beem, BellSouth Classic
• 2006 Lost to Tiger Woods, Nathan Green, Buick Invitational

National Teams

• 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2006 Ryder Cup
• 2012 Ryder Cup Captain
• 2000, 2002, 2003 Seve Trophy
• 2005 Seve Trophy Captain
• 2011 Royal Trophy
• 2009, 2011, 2013 Royal Trophy Captain

Personal

• Born the day after a golf course opened next door (Real GC de San Sebastian) where grandfather was greenskeeper. Mother and father also worked there. When grandfather died, Jose's father, Gaspar, took his place as greenskeeper. Father received a club to cut down and Jose, at age 2, used it to hit balls. Mother would take him out on golf course late in the afternoon starting at age 6.
• Sometimes called "Chemma," a short way to say Jose Maria in Spanish.

Special Interests

• Pop music, cinema, hunting, wildlife, ecology

CURRENT YEAR HIGHLIGHTS

• Morocco Champions: Carded rounds of 67-68-71, including a hole-in-one in the second round, to finish T5 at the inaugural Morocco Champions.

Career Highlights

2020 Season

• Morocco Champions: Carded rounds of 67-68-71, including a hole-in-one in the second round, to finish T5 at the inaugural Morocco Champions.

2019 Season

Made nine starts in the 2019 season and carded three top-25 finishes. Finished No. 85 on the Charles Schwab Cup points list.

2018 Season

• Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge: Olazabal and teammate Miguel Angel Jimenez birdied the last two holes and finished one shot shy of the playoff at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge. The Spaniards finished T3, and improvement on their T8 finish in 2017.

2017 Season

Competed in 12 PGA TOUR Champions events with one top-ten finish. Continued to make several starts on the European Tour.

• Regions Tradition: Finished six-under-par on the weekend to claim a T20 finish at the Regions Tradition.
• Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge: Posted his first top-10 finish on PGA TOUR Champions when he teamed with Miguel Angel Jimenez to finish T8 at April's Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge.
• Masters Tournament: Made his 28th start in the Masters Tournament but did not make the cut.
• Allianz Championship: Made his PGA TOUR Champions debut at the Allianz Championship, finishing T41.

2016 Season

Made just two starts on the European Tour late in the campaign.

• British Masters supported by Sky Sports: Missed the cut at the British Masters in October.
• Portugal Masters: Missed the cut at the Portugal Masters.

2015 Season

Played in just four events during the year, including three on the European Tour.

• Masters Tournament: His final start of the campaign was at the Masters where he missed the cut after rounds of 79-71.
• Trophee Hassan II: Enjoyed a T9 in late-March at the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco. Shot a final-round 66 to move from up 33 positions and finish inside the top 10 at the Golf du Palais Royal.

2014 Season

• Masters Tournament: Only start on the PGA TOUR came at the Masters, where he finished T34 in his 26th career start.

2013 Season

Had two PGA TOUR starts.

• U.S. Open: Missed the cut at the U.S. Open.
• Masters Tournament: Finished T50 at the Masters.

2012 Season

Made only five TOUR starts, making two cuts. Extension. Played the season on a Major Medical Extension that stems from rheumatism. Coupled with 2008 ($60,200), 2009 ($239,629) and 2011 ($6,330) earnings, had 14 events to earn $546,593 and retain his Major Medical Extension status for the remainder of the season.

• Ryder Cup: As captain, led the European team to a second straight victory in the Ryder Cup at Medinah CC outside Chicago. The European team was down 10-6 going into the final day but claimed a historic come-from-behind win, 14 1/2-13 1/2. He was a member of the European team that lost the Ryder Cup in Massachusetts in 1999 after leading 10-6. Selected Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts as the European team captain's picks for the Ryder Cup. Named Miguel Angel Jimenez, Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn and Paul McGinley as his assistant Ryder Cup captains.
• The Links at Fancourt: At the Volvo Golf Champions at The Links at Fancourt in South Africa, he was solo sixth. It marked his best finish since he T10 at the European Tour's Andalucia Masters in October 2010. The sixth-place showing was his best overall performance since he T6 at the 2009 Verizon Heritage on the PGA TOUR.

2011 Season

Made one cut in six starts. In January, was named captain of the 2012 European Ryder Cup team.

2010 Season

Did not compete on TOUR as he continued to battle rheumatism.

2009 Season

Still affected by rheumatism, made four TOUR starts on the PGA TOUR, making the cut in three with one top-10. Was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in November.

• Verizon Heritage: Making just his second start of the year, posted a T6 at the Verizon Heritage for his first top-10 finish since the 2007 season.

2008 Season

Limited to four events due to rheumatism, making two cuts with no top-25 finishes for the first time since 1988.

2007 Season

Played in 16 events.

• THE PLAYERS Championship: Posted a T3 at THE PLAYERS.

2006 Season

Surpassed $2 million for the first time in his TOUR career but did not qualify for the TOUR Championship as he fell from No. 26 to No. 31 after the last full-field event, the Chrysler Championship. Concentrated on European Tour after the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship.

• Ryder Cup: In seventh Ryder Cup appearance for the victorious European squad, compiled a 3-0-0 record to extend career record to 18-8-5.
• Masters Tournament: Two-time past Masters champion posted low final round, a 6-under-par 66, to finish T3.
• THE PLAYERS Championship: Second top-10 of the season was a seventh-place finish at THE PLAYERS Championship. It marked his best effort at the TPC Sawgrass in 13 starts.
• Buick Invitational: The 2002 Buick Invitational champion missed out on a chance to become the eighth multiple winner of the tournament when he lost in a three-way playoff that included winner Tiger Woods and Nathan Green. Green was eliminated after the first hole and Olazabal lost on the second after missing a 3-foot par putt to tie the hole. Playoff record dropped to 0-2 and it was the second straight season that he has lost in a playoff (2005 BellSouth Classic).

2005 Season

Finished in the top-10 six times in 16 starts, including losing in a five-way playoff at the BellSouth Classic. Just the second time in his TOUR career he has posted three consecutive top-10s. He ran off five in a row in the early part of the 2002 season.

• The Open Championship: Finished T3 at The Open Championship at St. Andrews. It was his second top-10 in 15 Open Championship appearances (3rd, 1992). He was a late addition to the field in St. Andrews after Seve Ballesteros withdrew. It was his best finish in a major since he finished fourth at the 2002 Masters.
• BellSouth Classic: Recorded third consecutive top-10 with a T2 at the weather-shortened, 54-hole BellSouth Classic. Missed 5-foot birdie putt on the 54th hole, which would have given him the win. Instead headed into a five-way playoff at 8-under 208 with winner Phil Mickelson, Arjun Atwal, Rich Beem and Brandt Jobe. Missed another putt inside 5 feet on the first extra hole that would have produced the win and was eventually eliminated on the third extra hole.
• Mallorca Classic: Won on European Tour for the first time in four years with victory at Mallorca Classic in Spain.

2004 Season

• 84 LUMBER Classic: Lone top-10 of the season was a T9 at the 84 LUMBER Classic, first top-10 since he finished 10th at the 2003 Memorial Tournament.

2003 Season

• Masters Tournament: Finished T8 at the Masters, his second consecutive top-10 in Augusta and his seventh overall there. Also recorded 13th top-15 finish in 16 career Masters.

2002 Season

Had a career year with seven top-10s and a victory.

• Buick Invitational: Captured sixth career TOUR victory at the Buick Invitational, becoming the first player to win a TOUR event after being "on the cutline" (1-under-par 143) since Mike Sullivan at the 1989 Independent Insurance Agent Open. Erased a four-shot deficit with a final-round 65 to top J.L. Lewis and Mark O'Meara by one stroke, and joined Gary Player (1963) as only foreign-born champion in tournament's 50-year history.
• West Coast Swing: Finished second in the West Coast Swing presented by The St. Paul.

2001 Season

First year as full-time TOUR member.

• French Open: In 36-hole finish, earned 19th career European Tour victory at French Open.

2000 Season

Split time between European Tour and PGA TOUR.

• U.S. Open Championship: On PGA TOUR, missed the cut at the THE PLAYERS Championship and Masters, but rebounded later with T12 at the U.S. Open and T4 at the PGA.
• Benson & Hedges International Open: On European Tour, won the Benson & Hedges International Open.

1999 Season

• Memorial Tournament: Finished solo 10th at the Memorial Tournament, aided by a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 in the third round, played in cold and wet conditions with winds up to 35 mph. Only round in the 60s on the day.
• Masters Tournament: Completed a great triumph over adversity when he added a second green jacket to the Masters title he won five years earlier. Finished two shots ahead of Davis Love III for an emotional victory, four years after watching the Masters from his bed due to a back problem.

1998 Season

• Dubai Desert Classic: Captured the Dubai Desert Classic.

1997 Season

• Turespana Masters-Open: He then won the Turespana Masters-Open de Canarias in his third tournament back.
• Dubai Classic: After 18-month absence, during which he could not get out of bed, returned to European Tour at the Dubai Classic.

1996 Season

Did not play on the PGA TOUR, rehabbing foot/back.

1995 Season

Withdrew from the Ryder Cup suffering from a foot and back problem later diagnosed as rheumatoid polyarthritis in three joints of right foot and two in left.

1994 Season

• NEC World Series of Golf: Later that season, won second NEC World Series of Golf by one over Scott Hoch–giving him his only multiple-win season on the PGA TOUR.
• Masters Tournament: Won Masters by three strokes over third-round leader Tom Lehman, shooting a final-round 69 to Lehman's 72. Moved into contention with third-round 69, to pull within one stroke of Lehman, who also shot 69 on Saturday.

1991 Season

• The International: Second PGA TOUR victory came at The INTERNATIONAL.

1990 Season

• NEC World Series of Golf: First victory on PGA TOUR came in record fashion at the NEC World Series of Golf. Opened with course-record 61, then added three consecutive 67s for tournament records following each round. Led Hale Irwin by eight strokes heading into final round and won by 12.

1987 Season

• Ryder Cup Matches: Made debut in Ryder Cup at age 21. During storied Ryder Cup career, teamed with countryman Seve Ballesteros for pairing with most Ryder Cup victories (11-2-2 record).

1986 Season

• Ebel European Masters: Claimed first European Tour title, at the Ebel European Masters, one of three titles that season.
• European Tour qualifying tournament: Won European Tour qualifying tournament.

Amateur Highlights

• Won the British Boys, Youths and Amateur titles–the latter beating Colin Montgomerie in the final.