All eyes set on Costa del Golf for the European Tour

In April, Costa del Golf will become an international golf hub. From Thursday 14 to Friday 17, Real Club Valderrama is playing host to a new edition of the Spanish Open, a European Golf Tour event and the most important tournament at the national level this year. Golfer Sergio García will be one of the main attractions. Currently ranked 16^th among the world’s top players, he is one of the best golfers in Spanish history and a major figure at the global level.

• Sergio García and the Spanish Open are coming back to Valderrama Golf Club, the renowned setting where he won the Andalucía Masters in 2001.

• Málaga will be the gateway to this European Tour 2016 event.

Costa del Sol will thus become the gateway to this big golf event, to take place in the town of San Roque, in Cádiz. Málaga boasts the most efficient transport network in Southern Spain and a fully-fledged infrastructure to meet the tournament’s needs. The event being held on Costa del Golf is expected to have a direct positive effect on the Málaga tourism industry.

This will be the second time that the legendary golf course at Valderrama plays host to the Spanish Open – a tournament with a long history dating back to 1912, when it first took place at the Madrid Polo Golf. Since 1972, the Spanish Open has been part of the European Tour, past winners being some of the big names in the international golf scene. Among other top-level competitions, Valderrama hosted the Ryder Cup in 1997. On this occasion, the Spanish Open will have the special title ‘Open de España-Fundación Sergio García’.

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Former Spanish Open champions include winners of Majors like Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Pádraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer, Arnold Palmer or Charl Schwartzel, top European golfers such as Robert Karlsson or Colin Montgomerie, and four Spanish players besides Ballesteros, namely, Antonio Garrido (1972), Álvaro Quirós (2010), Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2014) and Sergio García himself (2002), who will be back this year as the main host. Born in Castellón, García has won 11 European Tour titles, another 14 international tournaments and has been a member of the Ryder Cup winning team five times. His involvement with the Spanish Open through the foundation he set up in 2002 and his commitment to the European Tour will be self-evident this season.

The Spanish Open delivers prizes for €2 million. It will be the first tournament to be played in Europe in 2016. Sponsors include the Spanish Royal Golf Federation and Real Club Valderrama.