The Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters, which starts tomorrow at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, is undoubtedly one of the great events at the end of the DP World Tour season, but if there is one player who has the date well marked on his calendar it is Ángel Hidalgo. The brand-new winner of the Open de España has the 2022 edition engraved in his memory, in which he secured the tour card thanks to an epic performance.
Just a couple of years ago, the player from Malaga played the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, trying his last cartridges to get the rights to play in the DP World Tour and he only needed to finish among the first places to get it. Leader after the second round thanks to a card of 63 strokes, Hidalgo was able to handle the pressure and, supported by family and friends, finished the tournament in fourth position with the card in his pocket.
It was such an important step in his career that he does not hesitate to put it a step above his recent victory at the Spanish Open, his first DP World Tour title.
“The Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters is very special for me because it gave me the ultimate boost. The victory gives you a different status, but getting the card was even more important. Only I can understand what I lived in those two moments and that’s why I match them very much. The EDAM was the tournament in which I made the leap to play on Tour and that’s why I put it a step above”.
Hidalgo enjoys remembering those two sweet moments in his career, which he savors even more after his rough beginnings as a professional.
“It was very hard. The good results I had achieved as an amateur became a burden because logically I had very high expectations. In the Tour school I didn’t make it past PQ3, I went to the Alps and in the first ten tournaments I think I missed seven cuts. That’s when you realize that you are no longer an amateur, this is your job and if you don’t do it well, you can’t compete. I was hitting a wall and until I realized I had to start from scratch, I wasn’t able to get going.
Not even in the worst of times did Hidalgo think of throwing in the towel.
“I don’t know how to do anything else, it was either this or this. When you only have one option, you put a lot more effort into it, you give 120 percent. Even when things have gone very, very bad, I didn’t think about quitting.”
This week he will play again surrounded by friends and family, so he is looking forward to rounding off a great week.
“I’m in my homeland, on a field where I train from time to time and it’s very special. Playing at home obviously adds pressure and even more so after winning in Madrid. It can be good if I’m able to turn it into something positive, the problem is if the opposite happens, I’ll know that on Sunday”.
Although his first Tour win has boosted his confidence, he knows that a victory is a slow burner.
“I go out to compete with the desire to win the tournament, but it’s another thing to think already on Thursday that you’re going to win. I have been able to do it, I believe it, but a tournament is very long. If on Sunday I am able to be 9 holes away with options, it means that I am playing well enough to win. To go out on Thursday really convinced of winning is only done by one of the guys here, and that’s Jon”.
With the card well secured, Hidalgo is considering new and better goals, such as the jump to the PGA Tour next season or the Ryder Cup.
“The Ryder is my dream since I was a kid, after the victory opens a possibility that had never been on the table. Hopefully I can continue to play well and prove that I deserve to be on that team.”
Ambitious goals that can be approached with another outstanding performance in the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters. The challenge begins tomorrow at 9.35 am on the 10th tee of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande with none other than Jon Rahm and Rasmus Højgaard.
“I’ve never played with Jon before and now in three weeks I’m going to play a minimum of three days. With Rasmus Højgaard I have played a lot as an amateur and he has a spectacular career, I’m sure he will be in the next Ryders with his brother.”
Tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters are now available, with discounts for federated players and free access for children under 13, and can be purchased here.
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, a DP World Tour tournament valid for the Race to Dubai that is held thanks to the essential collaboration of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Junta de Andalucía, in addition to being co-financed with European funds and having been declared an event of exceptional public interest by the Government of Spain.
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