Thomas Bjørn and Lee Westwood, heroes of the Ryder Cup, will return to the course where they made their debut in the biennial confrontation between Europe and the United States, as they have confirmed their participation in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters – Sergio García Foundation to be held between April 30 and May 3.
This award-winning pair of golfers made their debut in the 1997 Ryder Cup at the Real Club Valderrama, the first edition of this competition to be played in continental Europe. The European team, captained by the sadly departed Seve Ballesteros, defended the title by winning by 14½ to 13½ and had a large Spanish representation, as Miguel Angel Jimenez served as vice-captain and Ignacio Garrido and Jose Maria Olazabal played in the ranks of the European team in the Sotogrande course.
In 1997, Westwood and Bjørn contributed 3.5 points to the European cause, as the Englishman won two points with Nick Faldo in the foursomes and four-ball matches, and the Dane managed to draw Sunday’s singles match against Justin Leonard, a half-point to add to the one he scored with Ian Woosnam against Leonard and Brad Faxon.
Westwood aspires to equal the record of participations of a European player in the Ryder Cup, since if he plays in this year’s edition of Whistling Straits he would total eleven, the same record held by Nick Faldo. In addition, in Valderrama he will coincide with Sergio Garcia, the player who has scored the most points in the history of this team competition and the youngest Ryder debutant. This year Westwood, 46, is second in the standings of the Race to Dubai sponsored by Rolex thanks to his victory in January in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA.
“What can we add about Valderrama that hasn’t already been said,” Westwood declared. “It’s a fantastic golf course and 1997 was very special because I made my Ryder Cup debut there and then went on to win the Volvo Masters a few weeks later.”
“It is an incredibly demanding course and the fact that it has hardly changed in the last 30 years is testament to the quality of Robert Trent Jones’ design. We all enjoy playing it and thanks must go to Sergio Garcia and his foundation for helping to put on the tournament for the past four years.”
His good friend Bjørn is also looking forward to returning to the course where he took his first steps in the Ryder, a journey that culminated in his victorious captaincy two years ago at Le Golf National, Paris.
“Valderrama is a splendid golf course and we all enjoyed playing it again,” explained the winner of fifteen European Tour tournaments, who turned 49 this month. “Making my Ryder Cup debut in a team captained by Seve, in his country and at a world-class venue was incredibly special.”
The two will meet South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout, defending champion, and Sergio Garcia, host and three-time champion at the tournament, in what promises to be another very special week at Real Club Valderrama.
Tickets are already on sale from 7 € for young people and 15 € for adults (access is free for accompanied children under 12 years). There are also available weekly passes (at € 30 for young people and € 75 for adults) and weekend passes (€ 15 and € 40). On the website www.estrelladammandaluciamasters.golf it is possible to buy tickets for the tournament, as well as consult all prices and sales periods.
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters – Sergio García Foundation, a European Tour tournament valid for the Race to Dubai and held thanks to the essential collaboration of the Real Club Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Ministry of Tourism, Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration of the Andalusian Regional Government, as well as being co-financed with European funds, declared an event of exceptional public interest by the Spanish Government, and supported by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation. The tournament is also supported by Dubai Duty Free, Exterior Plus, La Reserva Club de Sotogrande, Rolex, Santander Private Banking and Shell. Callaway, Enterprise, Grupo Raga, Kyocera, Maui Jim, Quirón Salud and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation are official suppliers.
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