57 years have passed since the European golf elite gathered for the first and last time at the Real Club de Golf de Golf. Sotograndeit was in 1966 with the victory of the Argentine Roberto de Vicenzo at the Spanish Open.
It is striking that the first course in Europe designed by Trent Jones (1964) has only hosted one European Tour tournament before this week. With the Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters they will be two of the 65 DP World Tour tournaments that have been held throughout its history in Andalusia. It will be the second to be held at what is considered by many to be the best golf course in Spain.
The reason is none other than his rich cousin, the Royal Valderrama Golf Club, has monopolized throughout history all the focus of golf at the highest professional level, although his commitment to LIV Golf this year left the doors of the relay wide open. It was there where courses such as San Roque, the Reserva de Sotogrande or the Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, bid together with Real de Sotogrande to start this new stage of a tournament that has raised its prizes to almost four million euros.
Real won the tournament, although the dates are not ideal to present the field in the best conditions, the drought has greatly punished the grass on the course throughout the summer and the adverse weather conditions this week, which include almost hurricane wind For the first day, they have marked a much more benevolent preparation of the field.
Even so, the image of the tour, which had such well-known partners as Sean Connery, has ended up dazzling the two most illustrious guests of this edition of the tournament; the winner of the US Open and top-ten in the world ranking Wyndham Clark who is visiting Spain for the first time: “This is beautiful and I am having a great experience. The food is fantastic, the people are wonderful and the course has surprised me very pleasantly. I have not played much golf in such a beautiful environment, with these trees and this topography. I’m really enjoying it,” explained the player from Denver, a double winner on the PGA Tour.