• Defending champion, Francesco Molinari, is aiming to become the first player to successfully defend the Open de España since the event first became part of The European Tour International Schedule in 1972. Indeed the last player to win back-to-back titles was Max Faulkner in 1952-53. No Italian player has ever won the same European Tour title in successive years.
• The Open de España was the very first official European Tour event in 1972. Spain’s national open is one of seven events that have been staged every season since 1972. The events are: the Open de España, The Open Championship, Alstom Open de France, KLM Open, BMW PGA Championship, Omega European Masters and Italian Open.
• Low scoring was the order of the week at the 2003 Open de España at the Golf Costa Adeje Tenerife with the lowest 36 hole cut in European Tour history at 138 (-6). This record was since matched at the 2005 TCL Classic.
• Another piece of history was created in 2003. Then Spanish amateur, Pablo Martin Benavides, who was 17 years and six days became the youngest player to lead or share the lead in a European Tour event after a round. He was one of six players to jointly hold the lead after 54 holes. He eventually finished in a tie for 22nd. This is a record he still holds.
• The 2013 edition will be the 87th time the tournament has been staged in all.
• Parador de El Saler is staging the Open de España for the fourth time. Bernhard Langer won here in 1984 and 1989, whilst Robert Karlsson triumphed in 2001.
• Miguel Angel Jiménez is making his first appearance of the 2013 season, following his broken leg. It will be his 26th career start in the Open de España and 599th career appearance on The European Tour. His very first European Tour tournament was his national open in 1983. He has recorded four top ten finishes from those 25, including a tie for third at Parador de El Saler in 2001.
• Since The European Tour’s first season, only four Spanish players have won – Antonio Garrido (1972 – very first European Tour event), Seve Ballesteros (1981, 1985 and 1995), Sergio Garcia (2002) and Alavro Quiros (2010).
