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With just two days to go before the Andaluc\u00eda Valderrama Masters begins, the event is shaping up as an intriguing battle between a field highlighted by both established stars and rising newcomers.<\/p>\n
As co-host through his charity foundation, and current U.S. Masters champion, Sergio Garc\u00eda is the main drawcard, but it has also been confirmed that he will be joined by four other Grand Slam champions, Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Olaz\u00e1bal, Martin Kaymer, Padraig Harrington and Danny Willet.<\/p>\n
Accompanying them among the marquee groups will be Jon Rahm, ranked fifth in the world rankings in just his first season as a pro; Andrew \u201cBeef\u201d Johnston, who won the Spanish Open at the same course, Royal Valderrama, last year; and numerous other European Tour champions.<\/p>\n
Johnston divided his 2017 season between the European Tour and the U.S. PGA Tour. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to go back to Valderrama,\u201d he said on the eve of the tournament. \u201cMy win there last year was such a huge moment in my career and to do it on one of the most famous courses in Europe just made it even more special. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is such a tough course but players still love playing it. It is not all about birdies like most other courses and you really have to think your way around. It has such an incredible history and I think it is great that the European Tour is going back there. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have been struggling with an injury lately but hopefully a return to the course where I claimed my first European Tour victory can give me a boost and I can challenge for the title again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnston is not the only \u201cde facto defending champion\u201d this week as Garcia won the same tournament the last time it was played back in 2011. He plays on home soil for the first time since his famous triumph at Augusta National in April. <\/p>\n
Rahm, meanwhile, will make his first appearance in Spain since turning professional after a meteoric rise to the top of the game. The 22-year-old claimed his maiden professional title on the U.S. PGA Tour in January, then stormed to a dominant victory and his first European Tour win at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation. <\/p>\n
Padraig Harrington is playing on Spanish soil for the first time in nine years. The Irishman has not played competitively in Spain since his double major-winning season in 2008, when he claimed a top-15 finish at the Volvo Masters three months after winning the U.S. PGA Championship, his third and most recent major title. <\/p>\n
Harrington has enjoyed great success in Spain, having claimed his maiden European Tour victory in the 1996 Peugeot Spanish Open at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, before earning another win four years later, the BBVA Open Turespa\u00f1a Masters in Madrid. His third and latest Spanish triumph came in the 2001 Volvo Masters at Montecastillo Golf Resort. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to returning to Spain and especially to Valderrama,\u201d said the Dubliner. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those really special golf courses and obviously has a great history, being a former Ryder Cup venue. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always enjoyed playing in Spain and it\u2019s always nice to go back to a country where you\u2019ve been successful. The Spanish fans have always been great to me and I think that\u2019s one of the reasons why I\u2019ve managed to win three times there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Germany\u2019s Kaymer returns for the second successive season to a favourite course, \u201cone of the most iconic golf courses in Europe\u201d. Kaymer is a self-declared lover of Spain \u2013 including Iberian ham \u2013 and has often expressed his admiration for the prestigious southern Spanish layout. \u201cIf there is one course I can play for the rest of my life it would be Valderrama \u2013 it\u2019s so pretty. But you should never underestimate this golf course. It is a tricky golf course that you need a lot of respect for. The greens are very small so it is all about ball striking \u2013 it is never going to be a putting competition. You have to be very strategic and I really enjoy that. I\u2019ve done well here in the past too, so those are all good reasons to come back.\u201d <\/p>\n
In addition to these Grand Slam champions, current season winners on the European Tour teeing up at Valderrama will include England\u2019s Matt Wallace (Open de Portugal); Italian duo Edoardo Molinari (Trophee Hassan II) and Renato Paratore (Nordea Masters); American Julian Suri (Made in Denmark); France\u2019s Romain Wattel (KLM Open); and Argentina\u2019s Andr\u00e9s Romero (BMW International Open).<\/p>\n
A strong Swedish contingent is led by Robert Karlsson, Europe\u2019s number one in 2008 and the winner of 11 European Tour titles, who will be joined by Peter Hanson, Niclas Fasth and Johan Edfors.<\/p>\n
Dane S\u00f8ren Kjeldsen brings a great record to Valderrama \u2013 winner of the 2008 Volvo Masters, tied for second in the 2010 Andaluc\u00eda Valderrama Masters and joint fourth in last year\u2019s Open de Espa\u00f1a. Two of his four European Tour titles have come in Andaluc\u00eda (2008 Volvo Masters and 2009 Open de Andaluc\u00eda). <\/p>\n
Ireland\u2019s Shane Lowry, winner of the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and Holland\u2019s Joos Luiten, runner up to Johnston at the 2017 Open de Espa\u00f1a, are also expected to challenge for the title.<\/p>\n
For the 2016-2017 season, the Andaluc\u00eda Valderrama Masters is the only European Tour event being held in Spain, and the last tournament on European soil before the Tour moves on to its international grand finale series in China, Turkey, South Africa and Dubai.<\/p>\n
(Photos courtesy of RC Valderrama)<\/p>\n
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