Gipuzkoan golfer born on February 5, 1966, in Jaizubia (Hondarribia). He is considered one of the best golfers in the world. He has won the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit. Along with Basque cyclist Indur in, mountaineer Oiarzabal, and athlete Martín Fiz, he is the most internationally renowned Basque sportsman of recent times.
In July 1966, the new Real Golf Club de Donostia-San Sebastián course opened on the grounds near his home, and from a very young age, he used a golf club to tee off the balls found by his father, who was the foreman looking after the course. At seven, he won the Spanish Junior Championship. He rose to fame by winning the British Open in the junior and junior categories, where the precision of his game in all facets already established him as a firm promise of the sport. He was one of the youngest players to reach the top positions in world golf. It is worth noting that in the Basque Country, at that time, golf was considered a minority sport; the few players who played it were from the upper social class. This situation is changing today, which has allowed for a socialization of golf, aided by Olazabal's successes and his impact on the media.
He made his professional debut in 1985, with a victory at the European Tour Qualifying School, thus beginning, at the age of 19, his career with brilliant performances in every tournament he took part in, triumphing not only individually but also when he was part of the Spanish team.
He was part of the European team that won the Ryder Cup in 1987 and 1997, a prestigious trophy in which the best European players compete against the twelve best from the United States, and in which he has participated in six editions (1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997 and 1999). Together with Severiano Ballesteros, he formed the partnership known as the Spanish Armada in four Ryder Cups. These two formed the golfing duo that established Spanish dominance on the European scene, as well as continental dominance over the United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He won the Masters at Augusta in 1994 and 1999. He was runner-up in the World Team Championship in 1998. He also won numerous Grand Slam titles on the European and American tours, holding more than 25 important titles. In Europe, perhaps one of the most important was the Volvo PGA Championship. Among his achievements in the United States, his impressive and devastating victory in the World Series of Golf on the American tour in 1990 (Firestone course) is especially worth mentioning, with a score of 61 - 67 - 67 - 67 = 262 strokes, creating a new record by adding twelve strokes to his closest rival. He has also participated in 6 editions of the Alfred Dunhill Cup (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993 and 1998) and in two Four Tours World Championships (1987 and 1989).