The Real Club Valderrama Open de España-Fundación Sergio García will have an outstanding presence of Spanish players who will fight for the prestigious tournament to stay at home. Led by Rafael Cabrera-Bello, fourth classified in the Shell Houston Open of the North American Tour, and Sergio García, they will try to emulate the victories of Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2012) or Álvaro Quirós (2010), the last two Spanish winners of the tournament.
After his sensational fourth place at the Shell Houston Open of the PGA Tour, Rafa Cabrera-Bello has moved into the top 35 players in the world and is second in the Race to Dubai. The most in-form Spanish player of the moment is playing the Augusta Masters this week and only needs one victory to round off a spectacular start to the season: he was second in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters; eleventh in the WGC-Cadillac Championship and third in the WGC-Dell Match Play. “Valderrama is a very complete course that forces you to play all the clubs in the bag well. It always produces high quality winners”, Rafa assures.
Sergio Garcia, fifteenth in the world ranking, is also a clear contender for the title. He loves the demanding course of the Real Club Valderrama where he won the 2011 Andalucía Masters and will not be satisfied with being the host. He is having a good season in which his second place in the Honda Classic in February stands out.
Along with them, the amateurs will be able to see the professionals Pablo Larrazábal, Alejandro Cañizares, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Álvaro Quirós, Jorge Campillo, Nacho Elvira, Eduardo de la Riva, José Manuel Lara, Adrián Otaegui, Borja Virto, Carlos del Moral, Pedro Oriol, Javier Colomo, Xavier Guzmán, Carlos Pigem, Pablo Martín-Benavides, Borja Etchart and Pep Anglés. Mario Galiano and Iván Cantero will participate as amateur players.
Pablo Larrazábal: “We have to thank the European Tour for making it possible for the Open de España to remain on the calendar, as well as Sergio García for getting involved in the tournament and also Valderrama, because we are going to play on one of the most emblematic golf courses in Europe. It is important for Spanish golf to hold tournaments, for our history and for all the fans. When I started on the Tour we had seven and it is a pity they have been lost.
“I would be very excited to win, I was second in Seville, behind Francesco Molinari and I have been close on more occasions. It would be very exciting to win at home. Valderrama is a demanding golf course, a great challenge, if you are able to make four rounds around par, you will be fighting to win on Sunday. We all have memories of Valderrama, the Ryder Cup, the victory of Tiger Woods, Jimenez’s albatross on the 17th… the best players have won there, players who knew how to dominate all the shots.
Alejandro Cañizares: “I am delighted to play at Valderrama, one of my favorite courses. For me it’s playing at home, with my family, it’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m sure the course will be in magnificent condition, as always. Valderrama is very demanding, you have to put the ball not in the fairway, but on the good side of the fairway and try to leave it close to the flag on some greens.
“It’s a great step forward that we were able to hold the tournament, I hope we have more in the future, that more sponsors will emerge. It is a pity that we only have one and it is going through difficulties at the moment. The Spanish Open is the oldest tournament we have, the most important and it would have been a shame to lose it. I am very happy that it will finally be held and, moreover, in one of the best golf courses. It is going to be a spectacle. The fact that Sergio Garcia is involved in the tournament is very important, he is our best player, one of the best in the world and that gives more strength to the Open and can make the difference between a good tournament and a great tournament”.
The Real Club Valderrama Open de España-Fundación Sergio García, promoted by the European Tour, has the support of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation and the Consejo Superior de Deportes, as well as the sponsorship of several companies that make its celebration possible: Reale, Rolex, Avis, Canon, Heineken, Osborne, Solán de Cabras and Volvo.
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