Olazabal tired of golf

One of the finest golfers ever to emerge from Spain continued his slide towards obscurity this week. Jose Maria Olazabal, two times winner of the US Masters, failed to qualify for the British Open this week after hitting a double bogey in the playoff of a qualifying tournament.

Olazabal has endured a poor season after making a return to golf following a break from the sport spent fighting rheumatism. Olazabal has indicated that fatigue is at the heart of the sort of play that saw him fail to make the cut for the European PGA Tour’s BMW Championship.

"I haven't played at all and can't practice much, so I'm not really expecting great things," Olazabal told reporters. "Because it's the Open, it was a good reason to come, but it's basically a test for me.  I don't think I will be playing for four or five weeks at least."

Despite indicating that he may take yet another break from the pro tour, Olzabal is still registered for two top notch tournaments – the Scottish Open and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

However despite the fact that a good performance in the Scottish Open could be sufficient to qualify for the British Open, Olazabal has told reporters that he will probably want to work towards full fitness before participating in any more tournaments.