A powerful domestic contingent spearheaded by in-form Rafa Cabrera-Bello — fresh from consecutive top four finishes in America — and Sergio García, will seek to follow the footsteps of Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2012) or Álvaro Quirós (2010), the last two Spanish winners of their national Open.
Cabrera-Bello has moved to number 33 in the world rankings after finishing fourth at the Shell Houston Open, and is second in the Race to Dubai standings. The in-form Spaniard will head to the Real Club Valderrama Open de España Hosted by the Sergio García Foundation on the back of his Masters debut aiming continue a remarkable season start, after two runner-up places at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and a third at the WGC-Dell Match Play.
“Valderrama is the kind of course that tests your whole game. You need to master all the shots and all the clubs in the bag. It always produces quality winners," said Cabrera Bello.
Sergio García, currently ranked 15th in the world, is another big favourite. He thrives in the testing Valderrama track where he won the 2011 Andalucía Masters. After a solid start to the season with a near win at the Honda Classic, he will most certainly not be content with playing host.
There are 23 Spaniards in the field in total with home fans also able to enjoy the performances of Pablo Larrazábal, Alejandro Cañizares, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Álvaro Quirós, Jorge Campillo, Nacho Elvira, Eduardo de la Riva, José Manuel Lara, Adrián Otaegui, Borja Virto, Carlos del Moral, Pedro Oriol, Javier Colomo, Xavier Guzmán, Carlos Pigem, Pablo Martín-Benavides, Borja Etchart and Pep Anglés. Leading amateurs Mario Galiano and Iván Cantero are also in the field.
Pablo Larrazábal: “We have to thank first of all the European Tour for believing that the Spanish Open has to stay in the calendar; we have to thank Sergio García through his Foundation, for contributing to the success of the Spanish Open; and, obviously, we have to thank Valderrama for letting us play in one of the most iconic golf courses in Europe.
“For Spanish golf it will be important, because of our history, and because many people play the game. When I started on Tour we had seven tournaments in Spain on the European Tour, now we almost had zero.
“And for us, for me, it is exciting to perform in my home Open. I finished second behind Francesco Molinari in Seville and had a couple more chances to win it.
“Valderrama is a tough test. If you are four rounds around level par, you are going to be very close to the leaders on Sunday, to know that and try to do it is a big challenge.
“What we have seen in Valderrama in the past, the Ryder Cup, Tiger Woods winning there, Sergio winning there, Miguel making albatross on 17th, Graeme McDowell winning. Only the best in the world have won there, great ball strikers. I must keep working hard to be a good ball striker.”
Alejandro Cañizares said: “I am very excited, it’s my home course, I’ll be at home, and I will have my family there. It’s one of my favourite golf courses and it’s going to be in great shape for sure, like always. It’s going to be a lot of fun to have the Spanish Open there. Valderrama is very tricky. You’ve got to keep it, not even on the fairway but on the right spot of the fairway, and try to be in all the pins in a few greens. The greens are going to be fast and it’s going to be tough.
“The Spanish Open is our main event, an old event, and it would have been a pity to lose it. We’re very happy that we can play it and play in one of the best golf courses in Spain; for sure it’s going to be a great event.
“This is a step forward for Spanish golf. Hopefully we can get more starts like we had before, more people investing in Spain for golf tournaments. I’s a pity, we only have one and have to fight for it at the moment.
“Sergio’s support is very important. He’s our number one player, one of the best in the world for a long time, and having him support the tournament gives it that bit more strength that it needs to turn a good event into a great event”.
The Real Club Valderrama Open de España Hosted by the Sergio García Foundation is promoted by the European Tour, with the support of Real Federación Española de Golf and the Spanish High Council for Sports. The tournament sponsors are: Reale, Rolex, Avis, Canon, Heineken, Osborne, Solán de Cabras and Volvo.
