The fourteen Spaniards who will compete this week in the Andalucía Masters are already in Valderrama preparing thoroughly to finally achieve a local victory in the legendary San Roque course. With a great family photo at the driving range, they have kicked off the second edition of the Andalucía Masters.
Good humor and jokes were constant during the photo, especially when Miguel Ángel Jiménez insisted on having his picture taken on the fence and not behind it like the rest of his teammates. Some of them had the opportunity to congratulate Sergio García for his recent victory in Castellón and there was no lack of irony for the comfortable difference in strokes -eight- with the second classified, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño. “I was scared to death on the 18th putt…” Sergio jokingly replied.
The captain of the European team of the Ryder Cup 2012, José Mari Olazábal, has also received some messages: “here you have the team”, he has been told, to which he replied: “some of them had better be there…”.
The truth is that they all agree that Valderrama motivates them in a special way, and that they will give everything to be fighting for the victory in the Andalucía Masters next Sunday.
Miguel Ángel Jiménez: “Valderrama is an unforgiving course and you have to come in shape with all the clubs in the bag, it’s very demanding. What you need is for the hole to stay still and not move! I’m hitting the ball really well but I’m not at the top of my game. This season the victory locker is empty and it’s about time to fill it”.
Sergio García: “The victory in Castellón has given me a lot of confidence, I am happy. Valderrama is a course I love and I’m looking forward to, I’ve been second here three times and I would love to win a tournament like the Andalucía Masters. Although there are always things to improve, I’m happy and hitting the ball well”.
Álvaro Quirós: “When you play so close to home you feel a special motivation, my family and a lot of friends will come to follow me and I would not like to disappoint them, I hope things go better this year”.
José Mari Olazábal: “Coming to Valderrama is always very special although it is going to be a difficult tournament because I am not playing well. This course is very demanding, you have to be at the highest level and also very good players like McDowell, Sergio, etc. are participating. Sergio’s victory was a marvel, with so many strokes under par. It is certainly a very positive step forward for him.
“In any case, Valderrama is an added motivation, it is a course where great tournaments have been played and that is always an incentive. I will never forget the 97 Ryder Cup I played here with Seve, I treasure those moments, it was a very, very special week”.
Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño: “I face the Andalucía Masters with a lot of peace of mind, above all, having played well last week takes a load off my mind. I wanted to test if I was really back and it seems I am. I am very calm and very excited, because it is like playing at home. After six months of injury and the second place last week, now I’m very well.
“The truth is that we have a great atmosphere among all the Spaniards. We are still a big family, we travel together constantly and we have a great time that way. Every year that we play at Valderrama we take a photo of the Spaniards, and it’s a nice memory that I always keep.”
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