Pain in Spain
Last updated: 28th March 2008
Olazabal: back in action
If swinging the club and playing 18 holes is not a problem, that would be fantastic.
Jose Maria Olazabal
Quotes of the week
Open de Andalucia
The European Tour available in High Definition
Thu Mar 27 - Sun Mar 20
Live on Sky Sports
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Jose Maria Olazabal told Golf Night he is hoping his body can come through the pain barrier as he makes his long-awaited comeback from injury.
The popular Spanish golfer accepted an invitation to play competitively for the first time in seven months at the Andalucia Open after persistent problems with rheumatism cut short his 2007 season.
Olazabal explained he is still not fully recovered from his injury problems and he has been unable to practise much in the last few months, but he is keen to see how he fares in front of his home fans this weekend.
He said: "I'm feeling better, though not 100 percent.
"There's still a few little issues with the right shoulder and the lower back, but it's been improving in the last few weeks and the reason why I'm going to give it a little try this week is just to see if the whole body holds on in one piece before the week is over.
"It was impossible to hit a shot. I couldn't raise my hands or arms, I couldn't sit down, it was quite painful.
"I really don't know how I'm playing because I haven't practised much. In the week before the tournament I played 18 holes over three days and that was all.
"Before that I just hit 100 balls or so during the day and chipped and putted a little bit, but not much practice."
Invitation
This week's tournament is being promoted by the personal companies of the Spanish European Tour members Miguel Angel Jimenez and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
Olazabal explained how his two fellow professionals reserved an invitation for him until the last possible moment as he decided if he would be fit enough to play.
And he said he is not concerned about challenging for the lead and is simply waiting to see how his body holds up to the rigours of tournament golf.
"The decision was made on Sunday, he continued.
"It couldn't be done any later. I had asked Gonzalo and Miguel to save an invite until the very end just in case I felt I was going to be good enough to try. That was the process during the week.
"The only target is just to see how the body holds on during the week and to play in as many rounds as possible.
"I'll see how well I can cope with the pain and how much pain I can go through during the round. If swinging the club and playing 18 holes is not a problem, that would be fantastic.
"I'm not expecting any results at all, it's more to see how the body holds on."
- Video
