Europe Ryder Team Loses Spanish Star; Woosnam To Fill Berth

Europe’s Ryder Cup golf team lost one Masters champion Monday and gained another.

Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal, winner at Augusta last year, was forced to withdraw from the 12-man team because of a recurring injury to his right foot. He was replaced by Ian Woosnam of Wales, the 1991 Masters champion.

Olazabal, who formed a highly successful partnership with fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros in four Ryder Cups, said he was unfit to play 36 holes a day in the Sept. 22-24 competition at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y.

“Jose Maria and I mutually agreed that it would be sensible for him to withdraw,” European captain Bernard Gallacher said. “He is extremely disappointed.”