DID YOU KNOW – OPEN DE ANDALUCIA COSTA DEL SOL
• Paul Lawrie returns to defend his Open de Andalucia Costa del Sol title. His victory in 2011 was his first on The European Tour since the Celtic Manor Wales Open in 2002, a gap of eight years and 228 days. During that period the 1999 Open Champion played in 232 European Tour events between victories.
• No player has successfully defended the Open de Andalucia Costa del Sol. Lee Westwood came the closest. He won in 2007 and was third 12 months later. Both years were played at Aloha Golf Club.
• Tournament promoter and 1999 champion, Miguel Angel Jiménez, has an outstanding record in his homeland, with four of his 18 European Tour wins coming on Spanish soil, more than any other country. With 11 of his 18victories coming after he turned 40, the man from Malaga holds the record for most European Tour wins by a player in his 40s.
• For the first time in the event’s history there will be five former Major Champions competing. They are: Rich Beem (2002 US PGA Championship), Michael Campbell (2005 US Open Championship), Paul Lawrie (1999 Open Championship), José María Olazábal (1994 and 1999 Masters Tournament) and Mike Weir (2003 Masters Tournament).
• The event has a history of producing first-time winners. In the ten previous tournaments, four players made this event their debut European Tour victory. They are: Andrew Oldcorn (1993), Carl Mason (1994), Alex Cejka (1995) and Louis Oosthuizen (2010).
• For the fifth consecutive season the Open de Andalucia Costa del Sol is the first event on mainland Europe.
