Garrido, Tour's first winner 50 years ago, hits ceremonial tee shot at Catalunya Championship

Antonio Garrido, the winner of the first event on the European Tour, now known as the DP World Tour, enjoyed the honour of hitting the ceremonial tee shot ahead of the inaugural Catalunya Championship.

The Spaniard made history when he won the Open de España on April 15, 1972, following a three-hole play-off against fellow countryman Valentin Barrios at Golf de Pals in Girona.

On Thursday, the 78 year old returned to the city as the Tour continues to mark the 50th anniversary of its first season, which began with his famous win.

“I feel different, I was less nervous then (winning in 1972) than I am now,” said Garrido, who received a warm ovation when he was introduced on the first tee ahead of the opening round at PGA Catalunya Golf and Wellness.

Born in Madrid in 1944, Garrido became one of the leading Spaniards in the formative years of the Tour and won a further four titles up to 1986. 

“The memories are so different that they cannot be explained. Nothing is the same, only one thing, the game itself,” he added as he reminisced about the first official event on Tour.

“In those moments you are not thinking about the future in 50 years, and I could never think that that could lead us to this moment”.

The Catalunya Championship is the second of back-to-back DP World Tour events in Spain, with fellow Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal winning his seventh title and first on home soil at last week’s ISPS Handa Championship in Spain. Garrido is in no doubt that another of his fellow countrymen could prevail at PGA Catalunya.

“We are at the same level as always,” he said. “In Spain there have always been players of a very high level and at any moment we can win.”