Jose Maria Olazabal provided one of the all-time great sporting stories when he overcame a crippling disease to win the 1999 Masters title. In 1995 he had to withdraw from the Ryder Cup suffering from a foot problem, eventually diagnosed as rheumatoid polyarthritis in three joints of the right foot and two in the left. Not only was his golf career in jeopardy but there were times when he did not think he would be able to walk again. So there was not a dry eye in the house when he sunk the winning putt at Augusta four years later to add another green jacket to the one he claimed in 1994. A slump in form seemed to have him nearing retirement yet again until he won the Mallorca Classic towards the end of the 2005 season to collect his first victory for almost four years. Olazabal made his Ryder Cup debut, aged 21, in 1987 and combined with Seve Ballesteros to form the most successful Ryder Cup partnership in its history, winning 11, halving two and losing only two of their matches together.

• Olazabal happy to turn back clock