After a globetrotting start to the 2007 season that has included visits to Africa, America, Asia and Australasia, The European Tour makes its first stop on home soil at the stunning hilltop venue of Santo da Serra Golf Club, where Frenchman Jean Van de Velde will defend the Madeira Islands Open BPI title after being crowned ‘King of the Mountains’ 12 months ago.
Van de Velde’s win in Madeira last year, his first since the 1993 Roma Masters, ended the third longest gap between victories in European Tour history, a wait of 12 years and 342 days, and capped his return to the top having endured an horrific serious of knee injuries that almost brought an end to his career.
Now re-established on The European Tour, Van de Velde will attempt to become the first man in the 15 year history of the Madeira Islands Open BPI to successfully defend the title this week.
With a field that includes Scotland’s Paul Lawrie, the man who beat Van de Velde in a play-off for the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie, Kenneth Ferrie of England, Welshman Bradley Dredge, Frenchman Jean-François Remesy, Sweden’s Jarmo Sandelin and some of European golf’s most exciting young players, Van de Velde will have to match the level of performance that elevated him to the winners enclosure last year.
With The Open returning to Carnoustie for the first time since Lawrie, Van de Velde and Justin Leonard of the USA contested a three man play-off for the Claret Jug eight years ago, both Lawrie and Van de Velde will find their names frequently mentioned in the same breath as the build up to The Open intensifies.
There are two main reasons why both men are inextricably linked to The Open at Carnoustie. Lawrie’s victory was the last time a European player won one of the four Majors, while Van de Velde’s famous, freakish triple bogey seven at the 72nd hole of the 1999 Championship ensured the Scot would have the chance to win in the play-off.
Dredge, currently 66th on the Official World Golf Ranking, is the highest ranked player in the field this week and returns to the scene of his maiden European Tour win in 2003. The Welshman has gone on to establish himself as one of Europe’s most consistent performers since winning at Santo da Serra Golf Club four year ago, adding a second title in the Omega European Masters last year in addition to partnering Stephen Dodd to victory in the WGC - World Cup for Wales in 2005.
With such a wealth of experience behind him, Dredge, will join Van de Velde and Lawrie among the pre-tournament favourites for the title in Madeira, but they will come up against many of The European Tour’s most promising in-form newcomers such as Rafael Echeniqe of Argentina, Germany’s Martin Kaymer.
Both 2006 Challenge Tour graduates, Echenique and Kaymer have been in fine form recently, with the Argentine taking second place at last week’s TCL Classic, while Kaymer produced a top 20 finish at the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters a fortnight ago.
Of all the players in the field for the Madeira Islands Open BPI, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari is arguably the form player, having won two events on the 2007 Challenge Tour Schedule in the last six weeks.
Molinari, who is joined in Madeira by his younger brother, the Telecom Italia Open champion Francesco, is currently leading the Challenge Tour Rankings having won the Club Colombia Masters and the Tusker Kenya Open.
