Cabreras join father and son set

NEWS AND PREVIEW:FORMER US Open champion Angel Cabrera and his teenage offspring Federico provide the European Tour's latest father and son combination when they play in this week's inaugural Madrid Masters.

The Argentine duo follow in the footsteps of Spain's Antonio and Ignacio Garrido and Germany's Bernhard and Stefan Langer.

Federico (19), in his second year as a professional, has been playing mainly in South America but has also featured in five Challenge Tour events in Europe this year.

Angel is hoping his son can kick-start his career in Madrid, but has his reservations.

"It's great to play in Europe with Federico and I hope he does well this week, but I think he is still too young and inexperienced," the 39-year-old said.

"He's never played a tournament like this one, so he's going to be nervous. I've told him more about enjoying himself and getting on with his playing partners than I have about his swing."

The Da is renowned as one of the biggest hitters in golf and his son is also long off the tee.

"Federico's hitting the ball about 320-330 yards. He's already similar in his driving to me, but he knows that's not the whole story."

Perhaps the biggest draw this week is two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal who will be attempting his third career comeback. But he admits he does not have high expectations after three months out.

The 42-year-old, who assisted European captain Nick Faldo at last month's Ryder Cup, has been plagued with injury and fatigue and has not played a competitive round since June, when he narrowly missed out on qualification for the British Open.

That was less than three months after resuming competition, having been out since the previous August.

Olazabal has been blighted by rheumatism since 1995, and the medication for the condition is thought to be the cause of his fatigue.

Although he says he is feeling much better, he is under no illusions that it will be a fairytale comeback this week.

"I don't have any great expectations. My first target is to see if I can make the cut," Olazabal explained. "The last few months I have played every day, doing 18 holes one day and just hitting balls the next, to try to keep the feel of the club.

"I stopped taking the medication eight weeks ago and the positive news is that my condition has not worsened. It is getting better, and that's good.

"I didn't think I would be back playing so soon, but it is very important to support the tournaments we have in Spain. We have great weather and courses and I am helping fly the flag for Spanish golf."

The combination of fewer European players making the trip and the introduction of a lucrative, season-ending event in Dubai has led to the dropping of the New Zealand Open from the European Tour.

New Zealand Golf chief executive Bill MacGowan said yesterday officials would now look to be sanctioned by the US PGA's Nationwide Tour after Europe removed the Queenstown-based tournament from its 2009 calendar.