Jose Maria Olazabal guiding his 24-year-old nephew in Grand Final in Mallorca
Scottish duo off to promising starts as young Spaniard sets hot pace in HotelPlanner Tour Grand Final
You felt Seve Ballesteros was at the HotelPlanner Tour Grand Final in spirit at Club de Golf Alcanada in Mallorca two years ago when Angel Ayora, who is managed by Javier, the great man’s son, was among the players to earn a step up to the DP World Tour.
This time, the season finale in the Balearics is being graced by the other legendary figure in Spanish golf, with two-time Masters champion and Ryder Cup legend Jose Maria Olazabal here this week to both coach and cheer on his nephew, Joseba Torres.
With Olazabal, who has caddied for Torres in the past but watching from outside the ropes on this occasion and following every blow as if he was a nervous parent, the 24-year-old showed he could well be a star in the making by setting the pace with an eye-catching seven-under-par 65.
“Yeah, he is a massive influence,” Torres, a former Spanish Under-16 champion, told The Scotsman of Olazabal. “Every time we are back home, I always practice with him. He has taught me everything I know. Obviously there are a few things I have to learn by myself, but he is always there if I need to ask him anything. It is very helpful to have him around.”
In a glittering playing career, Olazabal racked up 30 professional wins worldwide, with his standout successes coming at Augusta National in 1994 and 1999. He then led Europe to the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in the 2012 Ryder Cup and was part of Luke Donald’s backroom team for Europe’s victories in the last two clashes with the US in that event. “I mean, he is one of the best in the history of golf,” added Torres with a huge smile. “He’s also a very nice person to talk to away from the golf course, so I am very happy to have him around.”
For this week’s event, which will see 15 players secure DP World Tour cards for 2027, Olazabal is carrying out a coaching role as opposed to doubling up as a caddie. “Even through he was not on the bag today, I bet he was nervous,” declared Torres, laughing.
After a strong finish to the regular part of the season, Torres came into this week sitting 23rd in the Road to Mallorca Ranking. On the back of his fast start - he leads by a shot from American John Catlin and Frenchman Julien Sale - the home player is up to fifth in the projected positions.
“His main advice so far this week is that you really have to read the greens very well because they are so fast,” said Torres of Olazabal’s words of wisdom before heading out. “The thing he always tells me is this is not a sprint but a marathon. So, even though I shot seven under today, there are three days still to go.”
Playing in the same group as Torres, Calum Fyfe opened with a four-under 68 to sit joint-eighth alongside fellow Scot Marc Warren. “We also played in Portugal together and Jose Maria was caddying that week,” said Fyfe, who is up one spot to 23rd on the projected list. “He was great and it is good to have someone like that watching you as it makes you want to produce your best stuff.”
Warren not only played alongside Olazabal on a number of occasions on the DP World Tour but also had him as a European captain against Asia for the Royal Trophy in China in 2013.
“I played with Joseba at Tour School last year, where Olazbal was caddying for him,” recalled Warren, who, at 45, is the oldest player in this week’s 45-man field and laughed about the presence of someone like Torres and 22-year-old Frenchman Maxence Giboudot, the youngest player in the line up, reminding him of time ticking on.
“I remember being in a bunker on one hole and came out of it to see Jose Maria standing there with a towel. I was like ‘there is no way you are cleaning my golf ball, just give me the towel’. His response consisted of a few expletives, so I thought I’d better let him do what jhe wanted to. So you could say I’ve had a double Masters winner clean my golf ball (laughing).”
On his return to the season finale after a 22-year absence, Warren started with a bogey 6 after finding a hazard at the left of the first green. He’d talked on Wednesday about how he hoped to use his 20-odd year experience in professional golf and he did exactly that to turn his day around. Like Fyfe, he’s up one place to 19th in the projected standings.
“One of the things in my head this week is the need for patience as it is four rounds and there is going to be good, bad, indifferent for everyone,” said the four-time DP World Tour winner and only Scot to top the HotelPlanner Tour points list, as he did in 2005. “How you react to it is so important and it has probably taken me far too long to realise that (smiling). In the past, I would probably have gone chasing after a start like that and feeling like you’ve done nothing wrong. But today I reacted really well to what happened at the first.”
Patience was also the key for Fyfe. “I was hitting it great but couldn’t get the putts to drop early on,” said the Glaswegian. “However, Jamie [Savage], my caddie, told me to stay patient due to the fact I was hitting it great. He said ‘just keep doing what you are doing and the putts will start to drop’ and he was right.”
Catlin, last week’s Hong Kong Open winner, is already lurking ominously at the top of the leaderboard, with Sale sitting No 1 on the projected list and Dane Hamish Brown, who led before teeing off, down to third after his 69.
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