The mythical par five of Valderrama was once again crucial in the outcome of the tournament. Sebastian Soderberg reached the 17th leading the tournament by two strokes, very close to finish a great day thanks to four birdies and an eagle for only two errors.
When it seemed that Soderberg was getting closer to his second victory on the European Tour, a bad tee shot on the 17th left the ball lost in a bushy area, which opened the door wide to his rivals in the final stretch of the round.
The Swede played a provisional ball and finished the hole with three putts for a painful 7, double bogey, which undermined his chances of victory. A new bogey on the 18th relegated him to second place tied with Min Woo Lee, three strokes behind the champion, Matt Fitzpatrick.
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Winners respond at Valderrama
The defending champion, John Catlin, said goodbye to Valderrama with a good taste in his mouth. Although he could not repeat last year’s success, the American delivered the best card of the day along with Gavin Green, 67 strokes (-4), with which he finished in eleventh place tied.
Another winner, Andrew Johnston, who took the Spanish Open on this course in 2016 finished his participation in the tournament with a round of 69 strokes (-2) in tied fifteenth place.
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Much more than a great kicker
If there is one thing Fitzpatrick has stood out for in recent times, it is for being one of the best players on the greens, and his habit of kicking most of the time with the flag on the green has attracted attention. At Valderrama it was clear that the Englishman has a lot of magic in his bag beyond the putter, and the irons worked wonders.
“My coach Mike Walker and I have been working a lot on my irons. Maybe I don’t give him enough credit but, in my opinion, he’s the best coach out there. He spends hours and hours looking at my swing, trying to get things right, finding little details that I can improve on, and that good work showed this week.”
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Decisive institutional support for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters
The Vice President of the Junta de Andalucía and Regional Minister of Tourism, Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration, Juan Marín, attended the last day of the tournament to show his support for an event that he considers fundamental to showcase Andalucía in the media around the world.
Marín highlighted the contribution of the tournament to the Andalusian economy for its ability to attract national and international tourists “of medium-high purchasing power, with a long stay and who usually travel several times a year and help us to fight seasonality”.
The vice president of the Junta de Andalucía considers that the golf sector is essential at a time of recovery of the tourism sector. “When others were betting on not holding certain events, we showed that they could go ahead despite the circumstances”, an effort that is now generating its returns by consolidating Andalusia as a venue for major competitions.
Marín has celebrated that, after a very complicated period, “the summer has been good and the autumn much better than we expected, and now we are reaching occupancy levels that even exceed expectations”, as reflected in the occupancy data of the recent Columbus Day long weekend, around 90% or 95% in coastal areas and above 78% in inland provinces.
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