Sergio García, the best Spanish golfer in recent years, will be one of the main assets of the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, a tournament belonging to the European Tour to be held at the prestigious course in Cádiz from April 14 to 17. García will not miss this appointment of champions in which he will act as a “proud” host through his Foundation.
Sergio García: “I am very excited to return to Real Club Valderrama to play the Open de España, which will undoubtedly be a very special tournament. I have always felt very comfortable and at ease at Valderrama, one of my favorite courses, it has resisted me three times when I had the chance to win, until I finally got it!”.
The Spaniard, second in three consecutive editions of the Volvo Masters, from 2004 to 2006, eleventh in the inaugural edition of the Andalucía Masters in 2010 and winner in 2011, reveals his strategy to face the Robert Trent Jones layout: “Valderrama requires you to play with maximum concentration, you have to be patient and make the least mistakes. You have to have a lot of respect for him, otherwise… can catch you at any time. One of the things I like most about this course is that it allows you to use all the clubs in the bag.”
“I have very good memories of Valderrama. Winning the Andalucía Masters in 2011 was incredible, a victory a little more special than the others, because winning on this course has a plus. I will never forget the third round with Miguel Angel Jimenez, with all the public supporting us, on a spectacular sunny day and both of us playing well. Pisha” did not make it easy for me, he played fantastic during the whole tournament, forcing me to approach and putt to avoid the play-off. It was a moment of great pressure but at the same time very exciting.
Sergio founded the Foundation that bears his name in 2002, “with the aim of contributing to the social integration of economically disadvantaged children and young people through social assistance and the practice of sports as a leisure activity”.
The following year, the Sergio García and Deporte y Desafío foundations -presided by Jorge Pérez de Leza- joined forces to introduce Adapted Golf in our country, with the support and supervision of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, as well as the regional federations. Together they developed a program that pursued a dual purpose: to bring this sport to people with physical and mental disabilities, contributing to their integration into society, and at the same time to encourage and promote golf throughout Spain through training courses, aimed at professionals interested in teaching golf to students with different disabilities, which in the future would give continuity to this initiative.
During seven years, 23 Adapted Golf courses were given in Barcelona, Madrid, Castellón, Asturias, Málaga, Mallorca, Seville, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Pamplona, La Coruña, Cádiz, Salamanca and Tarragona, in which 821 students and 321 professionals took part. From 2010 to 2014, the Sergio García Foundation and the Royal Spanish Golf Federation continued to work together in the development of Adapted Golf, organizing one course per year. Thanks to the implementation of this project 982 students have approached golf and 445 professionals have received training.
The Sergio Garcia Foundation provides regular or occasional assistance to multiple humanitarian associations and NGOs. “Thanks to God, who has given me a gift for the sport of golf, I have been very fortunate and things have turned out very well for me. Golf and life have given me a lot and I had a pending account with society; therefore, with the support of my family, I decided to create the Foundation to help disadvantaged and troubled people. I have been very lucky in life and I want to offer others the same opportunities I had”, concludes the host of the Real Club Valderrama Open de España.
Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation: “My thanks to Sergio García for his contribution to the celebration of the Spanish Open at Valderrama. Sergio, once again, shows his generosity with golf and with Spain. An example of this is his involvement in the development of Adapted Golf, which has been decisive in the success that this category has achieved. Therefore, it is a real honor to have the Sergio Garcia Foundation as host of the Spanish Open.
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