Spanish professional golfer Jose Maria Olazabal is to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony will take place on November 2, 2009 at the World Gold Village in San Agustin. Other players to be inducted into the Hall include Christy O’Connor and Lanny Watkins.
The honor will see Olazabal join fellow golf player Seve Ballesteros. Together, Olazabal and Ballesteros were known as the ‘Spanish Armada’. The two players not only shared a Spanish heritage, but also had similar playing styles.
“Whenever we had to make a decision, there was not much thinking to do, not much talking. We saw the same shot, the same flight, we had the same ideas.” Olazabal said of Ballesteros. He also added that he owes everything to Ballesteros for allowing him to believe in himself.
Olazabal grew up knowing golf. The son of a greenskeeper, Olazabal learned to play with a putter that had been cut down to size.
Throughout his career, Olazabal has won the Masters twice, once in 1994 and again in 1999. He has also won 4 other PGA Tour events including the Buick Invitational (2002), and The International (1991).
As a golfer, Olazabal never thought that he had a good swing, but he made up for what he lacked with a big heart. Butch Harmon, a swing coach for Olazabal, said that the Spaniard had always been ‘the ultimate warrior’.