AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal said Friday that he will not play in the Masters for health reasons that have kept him from playing for an entire year.
He did not specify his health problems, saying only that tests show "some improvement."
Olazabal says he hits a bucket of balls each morning and spends 45 minutes on the putting green. But he hasn't set a goal for when he can play again.
The 50-year-old Spaniard won the Masters in 1994 and 1999.
He said in a statement Friday that the Masters is special to him and that driving up Magnolia Lane "gives me a peace of mind like nowhere else."
Olazabal hasn't played since he shot 71 in the second round last year at Augusta National and missed the cut.
