Moment of truth for Olazabal

Andy Farrell reports from Dubai on a master's return after a crippling disease

The figure on the practice range at the Emirates club, arcing beautifully struck iron shots towards the palm trees at the far end, looked reassuringly familiar. Passers-by nodded to each other: "Looks the same to me," they said.

The only clue that Jose Maria Olazabal had been away from the tournament scene since September 1995 was in the white plastic chair next to his golf bag which his manager, Sergio Gomez, gave up for his client's brief rests. Everyone in the United Arab Emirates is united in their anticipation and expectation of how the Spaniard will perform in the Dubai Desert Classic.

"I'm maybe anxious, but not nervous," Olazabal said. "A little bit excited as well." What galled about the Spaniard's enforced absence was that he never lost the talent in his hands that made him the US Masters champion, at 28, in 1994. He just could not walk, nor, at its worst, stand for more than 10 minutes. "It was just too painful," he said.

At the beginning of 1995, Olazabal, who had been noticeably limping for some time, had a section of the big toe on his right foot removed. The discomfort continued and after the Lancome Trophy that year, when ranked ninth in the world, he withdrew from the Ryder Cup team and disappeared from public view.

Experts in Spain and the United States diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis, a genetic condition for which there is no proven cure. Comeback deadlines came and went, interview requests declined. He worked on a course design project in Andorra, and sat at home listening to Tina Turner and Joe Cocker and watching sport on television. The golf was the worst. "You realised how hurt you were and that you might not play golf again. That was maybe the toughest part," he said.

While in Munich last September, Olazabal met Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt. "Dr Feelgood", as he is known to the likes of Boris Becker and Linford Christie, diagnosed a biomechanical problem that could be treated with exercise and physiotherapy. "Since I went to see him, although I am not yet 100 per cent, everything has improved without setbacks," Olazabal said.

"Just being here is a blessing," he added. "I still feel it a bit in my feet, especially at the end of a round, but the pain is bearable. My main target now is to forget about the last 18 months. This week is to see how I cope with the daily demands of a tournament. After so long, I have to be realistic."

Olazabal, who today plays 18 holes for the seventh day running in the pro-am, plans to reassess at the end of the week, which he clearly hopes will be on Sunday rather than Friday. "I am very pleased to see him walking properly and to me, it looks like he is 100 per cent right," his compatriot Seve Ballesteros said.

Ballesteros, the Ryder Cup captain, is not alone is hoping that Olazabal approaches top form in September, even if it would further complicate his wild card plans for the Cup defence. It is a crowded field: Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer have work to do to qualify; Nick Faldo probably has to win a major to do so, and Jesper Parnevik, who has had four top-five finishes in America already this year, cannot even attempt to do so because he is not a member of the European Tour.

"What can I do? I ask for four wild cards and they say only two," Seve said, rehashing the old argument at length. Again, it was clear that his ideas do not coincide with those of the Ryder Cup Committee. Disingenuously, he added: "You all look so worried about this. Keep calm, the tournament is still nine months away." It is a worry, and the Ryder Cup is only seven months away.

n Sam Torrance yesterday pulled out of the Dubai Desert Classic for the second year in a row, because his wife is unwell.