Talking about Valderrama, one of the most beautiful and complicated courses in the world, as a balm probably seems almost a joke to ninety percent of professional golfers who have ever faced the venue of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters – Sergio García Foundation, but the San Roque course has once again had a medicinal effect for Sergio García, defending champion. In the first round of the tournament, the 2017 Masters champion signed a bogey-free round of 66 strokes to place himself in second position just one shot behind Frenchman Victor Perez, the first leader.
Exhibiting the same weapons that have led him to become the king of the 1997 Ryder Cup venue, that is, an extreme solidity from tee to green (only two missed fairways out of fourteen attempts; only one missed green in the entire round) that made his work on the greens of Valderrama much easier, Garcia began his particular campaign of harassment and demolition of Robert Trent Jones’ design. As a result, six birdies without fail and a serious warning to all those who try to question his hegemony at Valderrama.
“It has been a very good day, especially in terms of sensations. I had been struggling a little bit and I felt that I hit the ball very well, taking a couple of strokes off. That’s what you have to do at Valderrama: hit well, drive well and take a lot of greens,” explained the champion from Castellón. “It is undoubtedly one of the best rounds of the season, especially in terms of sensations”.
Almost behind Sergio García, the best Spaniards in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters standings are Pablo Larrazábal and Adri Arnaus, two Catalan players who followed diametrically opposed paths to reach the same result. Larrazábal battled with the course and found in the putter his best ally to get out unscathed of his shocks, although he gave up two strokes in the last commitment. Arnaus, meanwhile, continues to learn in his first tournament at the Real Club Valderrama and tries to catch the air to the field pulling prudence and resorting to the help of his new caddie, the professional Pedro Linhart.
“As you play the course you know better how to do it. Tuesday was a very productive practice round and yesterday we went into competition with the Pro-Am. This was my third round [en Valderrama] and I am very happy to be able to start with so many birdies and such a good feeling,” said Arnaus.
As expected, another of the most followed matches by the public, which was close to nine thousand spectators on this first day of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, was the one shared by Jon Rahm, Jorge Campillo and Guido Migliozzi. The golfer from Barrika finished with a remarkable 69 in a round with some scares, although the great eagle signed on the 11th hole served as a turning point. In general, it seems that Rahm’s process of adaptation to Real Club Valderrama is progressing at a good pace.
“Anyone who goes out to play at Valderrama and makes under par is happy, it’s a very difficult course and the pars are good,” he said at the end of the day. “A couple of bad tee shots complicated my round, but until then I had played ten holes and felt good. The drive on the 11th changed the attitude and the tone. I hit the best drive of the day, the best second shot and the best third shot, it’s as simple as that”.
Leading the tournament is Frenchman Victor Perez, a young-old acquaintance of Rahm, as he finished second in the edition of the Eisenhower Trophy, the men’s amateur world championship, which the Basque player won beating the Jack Nicklaus scoring record. Perez, with a Spanish surname and native of the French Basque Country, won his first Challenge title also in Spain and is another of those who finished the day without bogeys and with a great 65. Behind, with Garcia, the Swede Anton Karlsson, the American Sihwan Kim, the South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and the Malaysian Galvin Green in a curious combination of players from four different continents.
As for the rest of the Spaniards, the local Álvaro Quirós and the Galician Santiago Tarrio, both ranked among the top 3, also went under par.
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters – Sergio García Foundation returned to the European Tour calendar in 2017 thanks to the support of the Junta de Andalucía and the Sergio García Foundation, and the addition of Estrella Damm, the Mediterranean beer brewed with 100% natural ingredients, as title sponsor for the next five years marks a new era for the tournament, which will distribute three million euros in prize money in 2019, one more than in the previous edition.
Tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters 2019 – Sergio García Foundation are now on sale on the tournament website. Access is free for accompanied children under 12 years old. More information on the tournament website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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 Consejería de Turismo, Regeneración, Justicia y Administración Local de la Junta de Andalucía, in addition to being co-financed with European funds. The tournament is also supported by the Diputación de Cádiz, Dubai Duty Free, Rolex, Exterior Plus, La Reserva Club de Sotogrande, Santander Private Banking and Shell. Callaway, Coca-Cola, Enterprise, Grupo Raga, ISDIN, Korporate Technologies Group, Marca, Maui Jim, Hospital QuirónSalud Campo de Gibraltar, the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation and Volvo are official suppliers. Also collaborating are 5J, Gadira, Grupo Joly and Varma.
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