LONDON – The manager for two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal says he will pull out of the Masters next month because he is suffering again from rheumatism.
Sergio Gomez told the Press Association on Wednesday that Olazabal has pain in his shoulder, forearms and hands and is unable to swing properly. He said Olazabal cannot practice for much more than an hour and that traditional medicine is not working.
Olazabal won the Masters in 1994 and 1999. The only year he missed was in 1996, when he sat out the entire season after being diagnosed with rheumatoid polyarthritis.
The 44-year-old Spaniard, inducted last year into the World Golf Hall of Fame, has not played a tournament since he finished 14th in the Castello Masters in Spain last October.
