Masters 2026: Jose Maria Olazabal just put on the best chipping display I've ever seen

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The score itself isn't particularly impressive—a two-over 74. But while the scorecard never lies, it does occasionally omit the full story.

Because Jose Maria Olazabal's round on Thursday at the 2026 Masters—on what would've been his dear friend Seve Ballesteros' 69th birthday—was quite simply the best chipping display I've ever witnessed. It had to be, too. Olazabal is not spending his twilight years sharpening his game on the PGA Tour Champions.

The Masters each year has been his one and only foray into competitive golf each of the last six years. He crams for it the week of—for the second consecutive year, no golfer has hit more range balls the week of the tournament than Olazabal. His highest recorded ball speed on the range this week was 155 mph and his average was 153 mph—which is about the same as a respectable low single-digit handicap golfer.

Olazabal can't reach all of Augusta National's par-4s in regulation, and the ones he can require fairway woods. So, first of all, you have to think about what will be the best side to miss, which side will give you the best chances to up-and-down, and you play from there. Yet Olazabal beat Aldrich Potgieter, the longest hitter on the PGA Tour, by 10 shots on Thursday, and upstart Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen by three, thanks to a brilliant display with his wedge.