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José María Olazábal Once Revealed How Augusta’s Flawless Fairways Shook Him During 1985 Debut

Originally posted on DailyClubGolf | By Sneha Abraham | Last updated Apr 7, 2026 6:21 PM ET

In 1985, José María Olazábal arrived at Augusta for his first Masters. Like many newcomers, everyone would be nervous about the crowd or the moment, but in reality, his concern was totally different.

The 19-year-old from Spain walked onto the practice range and paused for a moment. It was not the tournament that caught him off guard, but the condition of the grass, and it looked so perfect that it unsettled him.

“I had never seen grass so perfect before in my life,” Olazábal said. “I started to warm up, hit some wedges, and you know what? I thinned them all. I couldn’t hit a divot. I was so scared of spoiling such perfect turf.”

He earned his place by winning the 1984 British Amateur, beating a young Colin Montgomerie in the final. But Augusta was a different world. The nerves followed him from the practice range into the first round, and being paired with four-time champion Arnold Palmer didn’t make it any easier.

“We didn’t play good golf. Actually, we played poorly,” Olazábal said. “But I was really impressed by how the patrons showed their love and appreciation to Arnold. Every time we got on to a green, everybody stood up and clapped.”

He carded an 81 that day, and it remains the highest single round of his Masters career.

José María Olazábal’s first green jacket in 1994.

That first outing looks very different from what came next. Olazábal kept coming back, kept learning the course, and in 1994, he held off Tom Lehman to win his first green jacket.

This article first appeared on DailyClubGolf and was syndicated with permission.

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