Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño is hoping for many happy returns this week as he looks to celebrate his birthday with a home town victory in Open de Madrid Valle Romano at Real Sociedad Hípica Española Club de Campo.
Fernandez-Castaño, born and bred in the Spanish capital, turns 27 on Saturday and would like nothing more than to win in his home city in a tournament promoted by his idol, Seve Ballesteros.
Two years ago Fernandez-Castaño followed in the footsteps of Ballesteros by claiming his maiden title in The KLM Open in The Netherlands, just as Ballesteros had done nearly two decades earlier in 1976. That victory helped Fernandez-Castaño claim the 2005 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award and he has subsequently pressed on to win another two titles on The European Tour International Schedule with victories in the 2006 BMW Asian Open and the Telecom Italia Open earlier this year. Now he has set his sights on winning on his own doorstep.
“Playing in my home town this week will be great – I am looking forward to playing on home soil,” he said. “This is my sixth week in a row and I am starting to feel tiredness but I won’t complain because one of the six weeks was the Seve Trophy and that was a great experience. Plus, Seve is organising the tournament this week, and you can’t say no to Seve.
“Everyone knows that he is everything for Spanish golf. He is my idol and you could probably say that I wouldn’t be playing golf if it wasn’t for Seve. Being in his team at the Seve Trophy was an amazing experience for me. To be able to pick his brains and see how he works and thinks was absolutely amazing, so I am looking forwrd to seeing him next week.
“It’s my birthday this Saturday as well, and I promised Seve that I would invite him to my birthday dinner in Madrid. We are going to my favourite restaurant, El Lando, which is run by a friend of mine, so it’s going to be a special week for me.”
Fernandez-Castaño leads the home challenge alongside other Spanish champions from the 2007 season José Manuel Lara (UBS Hong Kong Open), Pablo Martin (Estoril Open de Portugal), Alvaro Quiros (Alfred Dunhill Championship) and Carl Suneson (OPEN DE SAINT OMER – presented by NEUFLIZE OBC), while the majority of the international interest might well centre on 18 year old Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland who finished third in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
With The 2007 European Tour season now in the home straight, there is plenty to play for. Only four events remain of the season and players are chasing a place in the top 20 in the Order of Merit to earn a place in next year’s Open Championship, a top 60 place to get into the season-ending Volvo Masters and, for many in the field in Madrid, a place in the top 115 to secure their playing privileges for another season.
Players such as Ian Garbutt, Lee Slattery, Emanuele Canonica and Jarmo Sandelin are all hovering around the 115 mark, each needing one good week for safety.
Real Sociedad Hípica Española Club de Campo was built in 1901, attained Royal status in 1908 and was one of the founder members of the Spanish Golf Federation in 1932. Designed by renowned architect Robert Van Hagge, the course is naturally undulating with the changes of elevation sure to challenge the field.
