The Challenge de España takes place this week, marking the 25th time it has been a part of the Challenge Tour schedule.
The Challenge de España was played for the first time in 1999 in El Saler, Valencia, and since then has been played at some of the best golf courses in Spain, travelling to the provinces of Valencia, Badajoz, Alicante, Alava, Madrid, Gerona, La Gomera, Cádiz, and Almería.
The 25th edition visits the stunning Real Golf Seville Club (pictured) – which has hosted several DP World Tour events over the years – from May 9-12 and will see 156 players tee it up in the hope of joining several famous faces that have triumphed in the tournament.
In 1999, it was home favourite Carlos Suneson who claimed a memorable two stroke victory, with countrymen Manuel Moreno and Tomas Jesus Munoz joining him on the podium to make it a one-two-three for Spain. That sparked the beginning of a tournament that has consistently produced grandstand finishes and nail-biting moments.
Suneson has since been joined by compatriots Alvaro Velasco (2010), Eduardo de la Riva (2012) and most recently Santiago Tarrio (2021) as Spanish winners of the event, but it’s not just home favourites that have shone.
Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka won the Challenge de España title in 2013, with DP World Tour winners Matthew Baldwin, Victor Perez, Antoine Rozner and Rhys Davies all adding their name to the list of winners before making the step up to golf’s Global Tour.
Last year’s event, held at Club de Golf Playa Serena in Almeria, also produced a memorable winner in Frenchman Martin Couvra. After coming out on top in a playoff, he became only the seventh amateur in history to win a Challenge Tour event, and at 20 years old became the youngest winner to date of the Challenge de España.
The scene is set for more history to be made this week in Seville.
