José María Olazábal Masters Leaderboard 2026: Is he married, does he have children

José María Olazábal is known as one of Spain's most celebrated golfers and is a two-times Masters winner (1994 and 1999). José María Olazábal was the winning captain of the European Ryder Cup team in 2012 that became known as the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ as it was considered one of the biggest comebacks in sports ever.

When the United States headed into the final day at the European Ryder Cup in 2012, they needed only 4 1⁄2 points from the 12 singles matches to win and were leading 10-6. What happened was that Europe ended up with eight wins and a tie, which resulted in them winning 14½-13½.

José María Olazábal spoke about the Miracle at Medinah’ with the Legends Tour and said: “It was obviously a huge comeback on the Sunday but everything started in the Saturday afternoon session. We were well down at one point, and to be honest, I thought the Ryder Cup was going to be over that day – but that’s the beauty of this game.

“You never know what, what’s going to happen. The last two matches, they turned the day completely. Especially the way Ian Poulter finished and the way he celebrated on 18. He made that huge putt and the whole team was just beside the green. He turned around with those huge eyes and that moment inspired the rest of the team.”

He also said: “You know that as captain, you only have one shot , so it was the icing on the cake for me. All I can say is that I’ve always been thankful to those 12 men and the vice-captains, for what they did that week. My career and my life would not be the same without that victory.”

As well as being one of Spain’s most celebrated golfers, José María Olazábal has a golf course design company. During his career, Olazábal suffered with rheumatoid polyarthritis and according to his website, “Throughout 1996, the pain was so bad that Olazabal was sometimes reduced to crawling around his house. But in the autumn of 1996, Olazabal visited a renowned physician, Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt, in Munich, Germany, and began an entirely fresh course of treatment.

“Remarkably, by February 1997 he was playing in the Dubai Desert Classic. He finished twelfth. Next time out, in Portugal, he was fourth. In his next start, the Turespana Masters, he completed one of the most spectacular comebacks in golf by winning the tournament. By the end of the year, he was again a crucial figure in Europe's retention of the Ryder Cup.”

Masters Leadboard 2026

At the time of writing José María Olazábal leads the Masters Leaderboard 2026, followed by Sam Burns, Max Homa, Kurt Kitayama, Jake Knapp and Shane Lowry.

According to reports, José María Olazábal is not married and does not have children.