35 years of history and 25 individual events of the European Tour held in its impeccable course. This simple phrase could summarize the trajectory of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, a tournament held from September 3 to 6 on its course, but the figures fall short when it comes to conveying the importance that Real Club Valderrama has had for Andalusian, Spanish and European golf.
Founded in 1985 thanks to the determination and efforts of Jaime Ortiz Patiño, who commissioned the remodeling of the old Las Aves course and the adjoining land to Robert Trent Jones Sr. with the intention of turning the course into the best in continental Europe, Valderrama did not take long to debut as a host club for top-level tournaments. In fact, as early as 1988 it hosted the Volvo Masters, the European Tour’s culminating event, which always brought together the best players on the circuit.
A quick glance at its list of winners (from Sir Nick Faldo, its first champion, to world-class figures such as Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Ian Poulter or Justin Rose, among others) is enough to understand its importance. On the fairways and greens of Valderrama, unforgettable moments such as the tie between Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie in 2002, the albatross of Miguel Angel Jimenez in 1994 or the thrilling playoffs between Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia in 2004 or Fredrik Jacobson and Carlos Rodiles the previous year. In total, 16 editions in which the Real Club Valderrama acted as a fair but demanding judge in the Volvo Masters.
The Sotogrande club, which has been crowned with well-deserved glory and international prominence for the Ryder Cup held in 1997, in which Seve Ballesteros captained the European team to victory, hosted another key event in the international calendar, the WGC American Express Championship. The protagonists, once again, unbeatable. In 1999, the world number one, Tiger Woods, had to go all the way to the playoff to get rid of a rival of stature carried by the local public, Miguel Angel Jimenez, while in 2000 he won the test all a winner of the Masters at Augusta, Mike Weir.
The Andalucía Masters, currently sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Junta de Andalucía, became the continuation of the great tradition of elite competitions at Valderrama and in 2010 its first edition was held with the victory of Graeme McDowell, another brand-new winner of a major (the 2010 U.S. Open). It was not until 2011 that the long-awaited first Spanish victory at the Real Club Valderrama arrived, and it was won by Sergio García after settling an intense duel with Miguel Ángel Jiménez.
In 2016 the Open de España took over and its participants were faced with a Valderrama that, as always, made few concessions. This time it was Andrew Johnston, the beloved “Beef”, who won the title but failed to beat Valderrama by finishing above par, something that had not happened since Sandy Lyle won with +3 in the 1992 Volvo Masters.
In the following two years, Sergio García continued his idyll with the Real Club Valderrama by winning the title in two consecutive editions of the Andalucía Masters, becoming the first player to obtain three individual victories at the course. The golfer from Borriol accumulates 14 top ten results in the 15 tournaments he has played at Valderrama (two in the American Express Championship, seven in the Volvo Masters and five in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters), an impressive record.
The Spaniard’s streak was broken by South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who managed to win the 2019 edition despite the resistance of the Spanish players, who took five of the first seven places.
The 2020 winner, therefore, will have the honor of being crowned in the 25th European Tour tournament played at Valderrama and will undoubtedly be a worthy heir to the tradition that so many illustrious international champions have so far written with their talent on one of the best courses in the world.
YEAR TOURNAMENT WINNER RESULT BEST SPANISH
1988 Volvo Masters Nick Faldo 74-71-71-68=284(-4) 2nd Seve Ballesteros (-2)
1989 Volvo Masters Ronan Rafferty 72-69-70-71=282(-6) 3rd José Mª Olazábal (-1)
1990 Volvo Masters Mike Harwood 70-72-73-71=286(+2) 4th José Mª Olazábal (+4)
1991 Volvo Masters Rodger Davis 68-73-68-71=280(-4) 4th Seve Ballesteros (Par)
1992 Volvo Masters Sandy Lyle 72-70-72-73=287(+3) 6th Jose Mª Olazabal (+7)
1993 Volvo Masters Colin Montgomerie 69-70-67-68=274(-10) 10th Miguel A. Jiménez (+3)
1994 Volvo Masters Bernhard Langer 71-62-73-70=276(-8) 2nd Seve Ballesteros (-7)
1995 Volvo Masters Alexander Cejka 74-66-72-70=282(-2) 5th José Rivero (+2)
1996 Volvo Masters Mark McNulty 72-69-67-68=276(-8) 13th Carlos Suneson (+3)
1997 Ryder Cup EUROPE 14½ – 13½
1999 WGC-Amex Tiger Woods 71-69-70-68=278(-6) 2nd Miguel A. Jiménez (-6)
2000 WGC-Amex Mike Weir 68-75-65-69=277(-11) 5th Sergio García (-7)
2002 Volvo Masters Bernhard Langer & C. Montgomerie 71-71-72-67=281(-3) – 70-69-72-70=281(-3) 7th Sergio García (+3)
2003 Volvo Masters Fredrik Jacobson 64-71-71-70=276(-12) 2nd Carlos Rodiles (-12)
2004 Volvo Masters Ian Poulter 71-67-69-70=277(-11) 2nd Sergio García (-11)
2005 Volvo Masters Paul McGinley 74-68-65-67=274(-10) 2nd Sergio García (-9)
2006 Volvo Masters Jeev Milkha Singh 71-71-68-72=282(-2) 2nd Sergio García (-1)
2007 Volvo Masters Justin Rose 70-68-71-74=283(-1) 7th M. A. Jiménez (+5)
2008 Volvo Masters Søren Kjeldsen 65-71-69-71=276 (-8) 4th Sergio García (-4)
2010 Andalucía Masters Graeme McDowell 68-67-72-74=281(-3) 7th Miguel A. Jiménez (+1)
2011 Andalucía Masters Sergio García 70-70-67-71=278(-6)
2016 Open de España Andrew Johnston 67-74-74-70=285(+1) 3rd Sergio García (+3)
2017 Andalucía Masters Sergio García 66-71-68-67=272(-12)
2018 Andalucía Masters Sergio García 68-64-69=201(-12)
2019 Andalucía Masters Christiaan Bezuidenhout 66-68-69-71=274(-10) 2nd J. Rahm, A. Arnaus, E. de la Riva, Á. Quirós, (-4)
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, a European Tour tournament valid for the Race to Dubai that is 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 and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation.
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