Spanish greats head to Calgary for Shaw Charity Classic

Before Sergio Garcia became the latest Spanish golfing great to immortalize himself with his Masters win in April, both Jose Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez had long established themselves as huge stars in the sport.

The pair will head to Calgary for the Shaw Charity Classic in late August, the second appearance for Jimenez, and the first for former Masters winner Olazabal.

Jimenez, often referred to as golf’s most interesting man for odd warm-up and stretching routine, and his love of wine, women and cigars, matched the course-record 61 at Shaw Charity host course Canyon Meadows in 2015. Many picked him to win, but a lackluster final round moved him into a tie for 12th.

Jimenez is currently ranked third in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, and has won four times in his four years on the PGA Tour Champions.

“I really enjoyed my time in Calgary and am very happy that my schedule allowed me to be back this year,” Jimenez said in a press release. “It is obviously very competitive out here on the PGA Tour Champions. You have to respect the guys, but I feel I have the game to win any week. The goal every week is to win, and that will be the same in Calgary.”

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Jimenez, who won 21 times on the European Tour, endeared himself to Calgarians by cooking up a plate of prawns in the clubhouse after his second round two years ago.

Olazabal, along with Seve Ballesteros, helped put Spain on the map as a great golfing nation. Though he struggled with injuries through much of the later part of his career, the 51-year-old has 30 wins worldwide while competing on both the European Tour and PGA Tour. His breakthrough came at the 1994 Masters, the first of his two wins at Augusta. He’s been sidelined in recent years by arthritis that made it difficult to walk.

“I have not been able to practice or play golf. I was in such pain I could not even leave my house for nearly two years so I feel very fortunate to be back out on tour,” he said in a statement.

“My goals have changed, and are focused now on staying healthy and just getting back in touch with competitive golf.”

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Olazabal is recognized as one of the best Ryder Cup players in the history of the event, with an 18-8-5 record while competing for Europe seven times. Olazabal also captained the biggest comeback in Ryder Cup history for the Europeans in 2012.