With Sergio Garcia’s title romp at home last week at the Castelló Masters, the European Tour Fantasy Race’s Ones to Watch have finally picked up their first ‘W’ and head to the Andalucía Masters looking for more of the same from this week’s selections.
It is only the second staging of this new tournament to be held at Valderrama, but it is a venue familiar to those more seasoned veterans on the Tour after multiple stagings of the season ending Volvo Masters up until 2008.
The first one up for special mention this week is defending champion and 2010 winning machine Graeme McDowell who, although showing glimpses of his heroics from last year, has struggled a little for that kind of form so far this season. However, there has still been some fine play from the Ulsterman which has seen him pick up three third place finishes in 2011 – the most recent of which came at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship where he finished behind compatriots Rory McIlroy and the eventual champion Michael Hoey.
Valderrama suits McDowell down to the ground though, with it’s tight fairways and small targets playing to the strengths of his game. He currently ranks fifth on Tour in Greens in Regulation, hitting 13.9 per round, which coupled with his above average driving accuracy (9.1 fairways per round) should see him fare well this week. And whatever the venue it always helps to putt well, and with this Northern Irishman ranking 16th in putts per GIR the numbers really do seem to be in his favour. With this in mind, McDowell could very well be the man to beat this week on a course that rewards patience and accuracy, qualities he showed in abundance last year when winning at Pebble Beach.
Next on the list is affable Englishman Ross Fisher who, like McDowell above, will be looking to finish the season off strongly as he looks to continue his run of having won once every year since 2007. Fisher has shown some signs of form with top tens at the KLM Open, BMW International Open and Volvo World Match Play so far in 2011 but is yet to really threaten for a title. He does have form here though, finishing in a tie for 14th last year, which is down to the kind of long, straight hitting that sees him rank 14th in GIR (13.4 per round), so clearly all he needs do is roll the rock a little better and he too could be contending come the weekend. However, putting has been his Achilles heel – ranking 180th in putts per round and 169th in putts per GIR so far in 2011. If he were to start holing some putts there is no doubt that he knows how to win, and if he gets a sniff over the weekend he will take some beating down the stretch.
We always like to throw in a home favourite, and this week it is the turn once again of Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño. We highlighted him earlier in the season at the KLM Open, but it was a little too early in his return from a back injury that had kept him out from early February until late July. However, since then he has been much more like the ‘Gonzo’ we all know and love, finishing sixth at the Madrid Masters and second last week to the rampant Garcia. Not only does this show recent form but it proves that he really enjoys playing on home soil, and having not won since the Quinn Insurance British Masters in 2008 he will be hungry for victory, his first win at home and his fifth European Tour title.
Our next contender might not be a Spaniard, he is in fact South African, but Thomas Aiken certainly seems to like playing on Spanish soil, having already one once this season at the Open de Espana while also having finished ninth at the Iberdrola Open and fifth at both of the last two events in Spain – the Bankia Madrid Masters and last week at the Castelló Masters. He also showed good form at the start of the season in his homeland finishing no worse than fourteenth and as high as third at the Joburg Open. Put his 2011 form alongside his love of Spanish golf and he is definitely one worth a watch over the weekend.
Last, but not least, we have steady Scotsman Richie Ramsay who plays a style of golf that is ideally suited for the test on offer this week at Valderrama. He picked up his first win last year at the South African Open Championship and has since proven to be one of the Tour’s most solid performers notching up four top tens and four other top 20s so far in 2011 – the most of recent of which being a tie for third at last week’s Castelló Masters. Valderrama seems to play right into his hands as he currently ranks second in driving accuracy (75.2%) behind World Number One Luke Donald, and seventh in greens in regulation (76.1%) which are both essential round what is one of the tightest venues on Tour. He does struggle on the greens though, which could be his only hindrance on the small but undulating targets that he will be greeted with this week. However, if he gets his eye in, he could be a sneaky outsider for the trophy this weekend.
If you don’t like the look of these form horses, then with The European Tour’s strength in depth you might think it wise to check our
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