Every year around this time I wonder who has the best shot at winning The Masters. Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Singh and Goosen can all be considered contenders at Augusta this year.

Not so fast there big fella, what about Jose Maria Olazabal? The quiet guy with the distance challenged and wayward  tee shots is always a dark horse at Augusta National. His rock solid iron and short game, simply cannot be ignored. If he can play decently off the tee, he can win at Augusta. Jose Maria always seems to fly well below the radar and, this year even more so.

Jose Maria has been absent from the game for no less than seven months. This is a lifetime in golf time. Where has he been? He has been suffering with shoulder and groin rheumatoid pains.  He will tune up this week at the Andalucian Open in Spain and then at the Shell Houston Open. After that, it is on to the world stage at the 2008 Masters Tournament.
The United Kingdom press quoted Olazabal as saying, "Even sitting down for any length of time has been painful, but the good news is that tests indicate a marked improvement and my long-term aim is to get back in action in January.

"I’ve seen a lot of doctors and they’ve done all kinds of tests. They know it’s some kind of rheumatism, but they don’t know what has caused it and it’s just a matter of treating the symptoms until they go away.

"I believe I have another five or six good years in me and I want to be playing as soon as possible."

I really enjoy watching Jose Maria when his game goes on a tear. In contrast, when his game is hurting, it can be quite painful to watch. If his game is golden in early April, Jose Maria will be a wolf in sheep’s clothing prowling down Magnolia Lane. Let’s hope the long layoff provided ample healing time, ample practice time and a renewed spirit for contending in the majors. More specifically, the 2008 Masters in just a few short weeks.