THE long-awaited return of Jose-Maria Olazabal has been delayed still further. The Spaniard, out of action since mid-September because of a foot injury, has withdrawn from next week's Johnnie Walker Classic in Singapore and the Heineken Classic in Perth a week later.

Olazabal's manager Sergio Gomez said yesterday: "Jose-Maria's foot is much better and he played 18 holes last Friday. But on Saturday his knees and back were bad. I think it's a side effect of a cold he had and so we've taken the decision to wait a little longer. It would be wrong to come back before he feels confident about his health."