Coaches and mentors of any sporting hue love their little mottos. The other week I noticed one even emerged from the peerless Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman when he told us: “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

This phrase sprang to mind during an enthralling conversation with one of European golf’s greatest winners - a player who has suffered plenty of cause to quit, but who is determined to keep going.

For the second time, Jose Maria Olazabal is fighting back from debilitating ill health that has put in jeopardy his playing career.

The Spaniard could barely walk when he missed the 1995 Ryder Cup, but famously climbed from his hands and knees to rise to the top of the game and win a second Masters title four years later.

He’d endured the pain of the injuries and the frustration of months of misdiagnosis before a lower back problem that was affecting the nerves in his legs was identified as the cause.

And since the start of last summer Olazabal has been battling almost the same scenario. He last played at the USPGA in August and revealed, as we chatted in central London, that he has endured many dark days since.

“It’s some kind of rheumatism, they don’t know what’s causing it,” the 41-year-old said. “It affects my lower back and shoulders. It’s the tendons in the joints that become inflamed and swollen.”

So has he feared his career might be over? “At one stage yes,” he admits. “We didn’t know what was going on. Actually we still don’t know what has caused it. But we know the symptoms and the doctors say they can be treated.”

Olazabal was in London to be honoured for his outstanding contribution to golf by the Professional Golfers’ Association. He joins Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Colin Montgomerie in receiving the PGA’s Recognition Award.

Olazabal was able to do so with a smile on his face because the latest medical bulletins offer some hope. In the last couple of weeks he’s been able to start hitting balls, though with nothing longer than a six iron.

“I have to take it easy, I can’t hit drivers yet,” he said. “After hitting those irons it did feel a bit tight in the shoulder, but it was a great advance. Before I couldn’t make any kind of swing.”

This was when Olazabal was at his lowest ebb. “It’s been tough, I’m not going to lie about that and it is still tough. The situation is similar to the one before and obviously you think to yourself ‘what is going on? Is it the same thing?’

“Weeks go by and the doctors don’t know what it is. It’s then that you feel a little down,” he adds with more than a hint of understatement.

But it is clear he will be heading into 2008 with a more optimistic frame of mind. He knows he will be at the Ryder Cup, having been named as Faldo’s vice captain, but still hasn’t ruled out being at Valhalla as a player.

“There’s a lot of catching up to do,” he concedes. “But you never know.”

Olazabal has no worries about working with Faldo and believes the captain’s recent rift with Montgomerie is of no consequence. “You’ll remember it was supposed to be a row between me and Monty ahead of the last Ryder Cup and, to be honest, that was all media talk," he said.

“Whenever you get to play in the Ryder Cup we always band together."

The two-time Masters Champion is also emphatic about his desire to one day lead the European team and is in no doubt that he will be named captain in the future. “I think it’s only a matter of time,” he said.

“There are a few guys ahead of me. Obviously there’s Monty, but it is someone else’s decision to take.”

In the last Ryder Cup, Olly partnered his young compatriot Sergio Garcia. He’s not surprised Garcia has struggled since failing to capitalise on his winning position at this year’s Open.

“What happened after the Open is pretty much normal. Not winning hurts and you have to take time to recover from that,” he said.

“Sergio is a great ball striker but it is true that in recent times his putting stroke has let him down. At 27 he has a lot of years ahead of him and I am convinced that he will win not just one major but many.”

Olazabal believes it is far tougher to win at Tour level than it was in previous eras. “There are so many players capable of winning. It’s so close and when you have a chance and you make only a slight mistake you often pay a very heavy price.

“Tiger is the one who knows what to do at the right time, but I honestly feel that you only get a player like Tiger Woods once in a lifetime.”

Right now for Olazabal, just competing would feel like winning and in the meantime he is able to savour the award conferred on him by the PGA.

He said: “I have to say thanks to the professionals for this. They are the ones who make golf as healthy as it is today by giving lessons and somehow keeping the light burning for all the golfers in the country."

The PGA were absolutely right to honour the brave Olazabal and there's no doubt that Strictly's Len would heartily approve as well.