Rafael Cabrera-Bello hopes to follow in Olazabal's footsteps

Rafael Cabrera-Bello’s Masters Tournament dreams started at 9 years old.

As a boy in Spain, he watched Jose Maria Olazabal win the 1994 Masters Tour­na­ment, joining Seve Balles­teros as the only Spaniards to earn the green jacket. Olazabal won again in 1999, strengthening Cabrera-Bello’s hopes of making it to Augusta.

A young boy’s dream is now a 31-year-old’s real-life experience.

“I have mixed memories between that one and 1999, but I do remember watching him hitting great shots and then lifting the trophy. That was very special,” Cabrera-Bello said about Olazabal’s Masters wins. “I was a little kid, and I got to see a fellow countryman do so good. I loved golf at that age, so it really made me dream about one day being here and being able to do the same.”

Cabrera-Bello is one of two Spaniards in the 2016 Masters field, along with Sergio Garcia. His childhood inspiration will miss the tournament because of health reasons.

When Cabrera-Bello qualified for his first Masters, he talked with Olazabal. After he played at Augusta National Golf Club for the first time Monday, Cabrera-Bello said he planned to text Olazabal about his experience – and to take in any tips about how to play the course.

“It’s exactly how I thought it was going to be – absolutely impeccable place,” Cabrera-Bello said. “Obviously, the slopes are bigger than what you see, but the place is absolutely beautiful and the greens are terrific.”

Cabrera-Bello earned his spot in the Masters by moving into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking. After the WGC-Match Play in Houston, he improved almost 20 spots to 36th.

“It was pretty exciting and a hard week for me at the Match Play,” he said. “I had in my mind, kind of like, if I went through the round robin, that would probably be it.

“But I went through that and saw that wasn’t it. That was another night where I didn’t manage to sleep so good, knowing that I still had to beat one more guy to get in.”

Cabrera-Bello won his group, then beat Byeong-Hun An and Ryan Moore to reach the semifinals. Though he lost to Louis Oosthuizen, he defeated Rory McIlroy to finish third.

One week later, Cabrera-Bello shot 12-under to place fourth at the Shell Houston Open and is now No. 33 in the world.

“I’m looking forward to enjoying it, playing good, competing good and playing on an extremely challenging course,” he said about the Masters. “I’ll stay patient out there. I’m in a good position, so, hey, all chances open, let’s see what happens.”