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Olazabal puts injury problems behind him on home turf

09/10/2008

Jose Maria Olazabal put his injury and fatigue problems behind him to finish the first-round of the Madrid Masters just three shots off the lead.

Olazabal hasn’t played competitively since June but hit four birdies to shoot a one-under-par 70.

The leaders at the end of the first-round were Magnus Carlsson, Paul Broadhurst and Marcus Fraser who all shot 67s.

But the story of the day was the Spaniard's return to form and the 42-year-old was delighted with his performance after suffering back problems this year.

He then suffered fatigue resulting from his back medication, which he has since stopped taking.

"It was much better than I expected. I hit a couple of shots into the trees but overall I'm happy," he said.

"The back was bothering me a little bit at times because it was a cold morning, but I had a good warm-up before starting," he said.

"I have to do the best I can and see if I can cope. I would normally go to the range now and hit balls for an hour or so but that's not going to be the case because obviously I have to look after my back."

Britain's Broadhurst is produced an astonishing performance despite being in 98th place on the Order of Merit after a mediocre season.

But the veteran was delighted with his day's work.

"My game's been a little bit fragile all season," said the Englishman.

"I seem to have a body transplant when I get on the first tee.

"Today I had to hit a couple of miracle shots to keep the round together."