The European Tour returns to Madrid for the Mutuactivos Open de España this week. Ahead of the Spanish event we have picked out five key storylines to look out for.
Red-hot Rahm
Jon Rahm, who joined an illustrious list of home winners of the Open de España with victory last year, will aim to become the first player to successfully defend the title since it first became part of the European Tour’s International Schedule in 1972. The last player to win back-to-back was Max Faulkner in 1952-53. Rahm’s victory saw him join Antonio Garrido (1972), Seve Ballesteros (1981, 1985 and 1995), Sergio Garcia (2002), Alvaro Quiros (2010) and Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2014) as Spanish champions of the event.
Superb Spaniards
Rahm is one of three Spaniards ranked inside the top 40 in the world who are in this week’s field. The 23-year-old is currently the World Number Five and he is joined by Sergio Garcia (World Number 33) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (World Number 38). Garcia is also one of two Masters Tournament winners teeing it up in Madrid this week, with the 2017 champion joined by two-time Green Jacket winner José María Olazábal.
Historic National Opens
This week marks the beginning of a streak of historic national opens. The Open de España was first played in 1912 – prior to the formation of the European Tour – and was the first event played when the European Tour came into existence in 1972, won by Antonio Garrido. Next week, players will fly from Madrid to Rome for the Italian Open before jetting to Paris for the Amundi Open de France, the oldest national open in Continental Europe.
Hala Madrid!
The 2018 Open de España marked a return to the Spanish capital for the first time since 2007. Played at the municipal Centro Nacional de Golf, the event was a great success with an extremely popular winner in Rahm. This year, the tournament moves to Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, a country club formed in 1929. In addition to the Black Course on which the tournament will be played, the venue also has the Seve Ballesteros designed Yellow Course alongside hockey pitches, tennis courts and swimming pools. The venue has previously hosted the Open de España, most recently in 1996 when the event was won by 2020 European Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington.
A new era
This year marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the Open de España, with Madrid Trophy Promotion, the company responsible for staging the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament, embarking on the first event of a five-year partnership with the European Tour to lead the development of the tournament. Their main goal is to popularise golf in Spain and Madrid Trophy Promotion’s CEO, Gerard Tsobanian, said their intention is to put their stamp on the world of golf by making the Open de España ‘an unmissable social event in Madrid’.
