The DP World Tour remains in Spain for the second of its four-week Iberian Swing as Real Club Valderrama hosts the 2022 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters. Here are your five things to know.
Fitzpatrick defends
Matt Fitzpatrick arrives in Sotogrande as the defending champion, aiming to add another memorable chapter to his career-best season. Last year, the Englishman began the final round three shots off the lead but posted a determined bogey-free 69, which included 15 consecutive pars, to finish three shots clear of Australian Min Woo Lee and Swede Sebastian Söderberg. Fitzpatrick has since gone on to become a Major Champion for the first time with his eighth DP World Tour title at the U.S. Open in June. He has recorded a further ten worldwide top tens in 2022, including a runner-up finish at the DS Automobiles Italian Open last month. At a career-high tenth in the Official World Golf Rankings, confidence will not be in short supply for the 28-year-old. He will be joined in the field by his brother Alex, who has registered three top-30 finishes in his first four events as a professional.
Fitzpatrick and Fox aim to reduce gap to McIlroy in DP World Tour Rankings race
The eighth edition of the Estrella Damm N.A. Valderrama Masters will offer 710 points to the winner in the DP World Tour Rankings in partnership with Rolex. With season-long rankings leader Rory McIlroy not in the field this week, opportunity arises for second-placed Fitzpatrick and third-placed Ryan Fox to make up ground on the Northern Irishman. New Zealander Fox soared to a career-high 25th in the world rankings with his second Tour title of the season at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. Both he and Fitzpatrick know a strong showing in Spain this week will keep the pressure up on four-time Major Champion McIlroy leading up to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship next month. With only three more events on the schedule before the Dubai finale, time is running out in the race to win the Harry Vardon Trophy.
A renowned venue
Valderrama is one of the most iconic venues on the DP World Tour’s International Schedule. The world-renowned club in southern Spain was established in 1985 and first played host to a Tour event three years later. It staged the season-ending event on 16 occasions between 1988 and 2008. In addition, it hosted a World Golf Championships event in 1999 and 2000, before it returned to the DP World Tour schedule in 2010 as host of the Andalucía Masters. However, it remains most remembered for its staging of the 1997 Ryder Cup, the first time the event was held on Continental Europe. Valderrama has a history of delivering great champions, with European greats Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Pádraig Harrington among the roll call of champions at the Sotogrande layout.
The G4D Tour returns
The inaugural season of the G4D Tour will visit a new venue this week as ten of the world’s best disability golfers head to Spain. Home inspiration Juan Postigo Arce, who stands third in the world rankings, will be among the players teeing it up at the same venue as the professional field over two rounds on Monday and Tuesday. This week marks the sixth and penultimate event of the season and is the final chance to seize one of the ten places available for the Series Finale, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next month. World Number Two Kipp Popert won the opening two events before he added a third title from the opening five events at the G4D Tour @ BMW PGA Championship. In between then, fellow Englishman Mike Browne won the G4D Tour @ Horizon Irish Open before Italian Tommaso Perrino claimed a commanding five-shot success at the G4D Tour @ ISPS Handa World Invitational Presented by Aviv Clinics in Northern Ireland.
Green Drive initiative
The tournament will continue to play its part in the DP World Tour’s Green Drive initiative, with the return of the popular beach clean. Last year, Spanish players Alejandro Cañizares and Santiago Tarrio joined volunteers and students from schools in the area to clean waste from nearby Torreguadiaro Beach. On Wednesday, seven-time DP World Tour winner Alvaro Quiros play his part in helping out, with the initiative backed by San Roque City Council. The aim behind the regular initiative which forms part of the Tour’s wider Golf for Good campaign is to engage and educate young people in local communities about plastic pollution and thus protecting local wildlife. Last year, more than 300 kilogrammes of waste was cleaned up from the beach, with the goal this year once again a simple but important one: to collect as much plastic and waste as possible.
