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| Justin Rose, Winner 2007 Volvo Masters. |
Golf News 2007
Golf News in 2007 for Costa del Sol and Andalucia. Keep up to date with the news highlights from the world of golf on the Costa del Sol and Andalucia, Spain.
VOLVO MASTERS 2007 - Tornament at Valderrama
Justin Rose of England wins the 2007 Volvo Masters and the European Tour Order of Merit.
The man with a clear four shot overnight lead allowed it to be slowly eroded away to finish one under par along with Simon Dyson (England) and Soren Kjeldson (Denmark), an outsider who surprised everybody by scoring four birdies on the way out.
The three leaders are had to endure a two hole play off. This is the fifth year in succession that a play off has been necessary to decide the winner at Valderrama, this time it was three not two players. All three scored a par on the 18th and Rose was the only one to birdie the 10th, securing his victory.
Before the final day Rose was still only quietly optimistic, "A four shot lead is nothing to get excited about, it can evaporate very quickly." Padraig Harrington, current British Open Champion, was in second place overnight. When asked if it is easier to be the chaser he replied. "If I was leading by four shots I would be telling you how difficult it is".
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| Golf's English Rose triumphant at Valderrama. |
The Volvo Masters, the Grand Finale of the European Tour season, celebrated its twentieth anniversary from Thursday 1st to Sunday 4th November 2007 at Club de Golf Valderrama, in Sotogrande .
Open to the top 60 players on the European Tour, the Volvo Masters is unique in that there is no halfway cut, all the golfers play all four rounds. The format is stroke play, with the player having the lowest aggregate score at the end of four rounds and 72 holes of golf becoming the Volvo Masters champion. In the event of one or more players finishing in an identical aggregate score after 72 holes, a sudden-death play-off would ensue until a clear winner emerges.
The Volvo Masters is also unique in another respect too; given that it is the final event of the season, the European Tour Order of Merit is still up for grabs. This year was no exception; Ernie Els (South Africa) was leading the merit earnings table by 200 thousand Euros is surprisingly not at Valderrama. He is playing in the Singapore Open due to a commitment to his sponsor. Allegations of tour mismanagement were denied by George O' Grady the Chief Executive of the European Tour, "It is unfortunate the date clashes". This left Padraig Harrington (Ireland) and Justin Rose (England) in the running. The tournament looked like a two horse race until the final day closed in. There are always surprises at Valderrama to excite the spectators. When Harrington holed the infamous par five 17th on his second shot the roar of the crowd could be heard miles away. He spoilt his chances on the next hole with a double bogie to finish one over par. Rose in the following pair will have known this when he bogied the 18th, he knew he had not won the tournament out-right but had secured the Order of Merit.
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| Justin Rose on the 18th at Valderrama. |
The home crowd's Spanish hope Miguel Angel Jiménez was seven over par overnight. This certainly did not encourage the local visitors to turn out in force and support their countryman on the final day. He finished only slightly better at five over par. He is the only Spaniard ever to win this tournament (in Montecastillo 1999) but never at Valderrama. The Spanish golfers have had to be satisfied with runners up, albeit after playoffs for the last four years. Sergio Garcia (Spain) runner up for the last three years and pre tournament favourite finished the tournament at 17 over par one stroke ahead of defending champion Jeev Singh (India).
In 2006 there were 45 thousand visitors to the tournament but this year looked down even for a bank holiday weekend. It is still a great event for golf fans and interested tourists alike. No other event offers the opportunity to walk around a golf course of this standing and be able to watch Europe's top golfers from just behind the ropes without fighting for a view. Read what the professionals say about Valderrama Golf Course.
THE XOLEUSSYO OPEN ANNOUNCED - NOV. 27-30, LA QUINTA GOLF, MARBELLA
Manuel Piñero at the Xoleussyo
Open press conference.
Emma Villacieros, the President of Royal Spanish Federation of Golf and Luis Alsina, the President of Xoleussyo signed an agreement to hold the Xoleussyo Open at La Quinta Golf in Marbella between the 27th and 30th of November, 2007. The tournament will pit eight teams (one from the federations of each autonomous region) and each team will be comprised by seven players, including a captain.
The Open will consist of a unique format: four games of Match-Play, two individual games and two games of our Fourballs, with each player receiving a point for each game won and one-half point for a tie.
Villacieros believes that this Open will not only help to popularise the game within the individual federations but will also be good for the professionals as well. Alsina was also proud to be part of this Open in particular and of Spanish golf in general, which he believed ".will soon be one of the most important industries in this country."
MEL PYATT, THE “FATHER” OF THE VOLVO MASTERS
The Volvo Masters, the Grand Finale of the European Tour season, will celebrate its twentieth anniversary from 1st to 4th November at Club de Golf Valderrama, in San Roque (Cádiz). Many have witnessed and have lived the event from its very first staging in 1988, but not many people know the story of how the tournament was born. Its “father” is the English golf professional Mel Pyatt, now President and Chief Executive Officer for Volvo Event Management, who, incidentally, will be retiring at the end of the year. Read more >
Successful Defence of the APG-Valle Romano Spanish Pairs Championship
The 2007 Doubles Champions
Miguel Ángel Jiménez and his doubles partner, Ándres Jiménez (no family relation) successfully defended their 2006 title as doubles champions of the 2007 APG-Valle Romano Spanish Pairs Championship. The team recorded an 18 under-par 270 over the three days of competition at the La Cala Resort’s Campo Asia. The winners shot final rounds of 66 and 69 respectively to better the rest and collect a payday of 11,000€ each.
Finishing second was the team of Eduardo de la Riva and Carlos de Corral with 16 under-par. They were followed by Txomin Hospital and José Romero who shot a very respectable 15 under-par over the tournament.
Miguel and Ándres have been good friends for 30 years, ever since they both started in the golf world as caddies. Miguel stated “We played very well, very solidly, leaving the ball very close all the time.” He also thanked the organisation at La Cala for their dedication to the sponsorship of golf tournaments as well as for the perfect state of the course.
This sentiment was repeated by Yago Beamonte, the President of the PGA in Spain. He called the tournament a “spectacular success” and complimented the professional organisation of the entire event.
Valle Romano Open of Andalucia 2007
May 10th, 2007 marks the beginning of the inaugural Valle Romano Open of Andalucia. It is being played at Aloha Golf in Nueva Andalucia, outside of Marbella. The field is comprised of 144 professionals (33 of them Spanish) are all vying for the championship. Tournament promoter and participant, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, told the press yesterday that he knows the course well. “It is a course I like a lot,” he stated. “I started here when I was young. It’s a short course but very tricky…” More>
Lee Westwood Wins Open of Andalucia 2007
British golfer, Lee Westwood, won the Valle Romano Andalucian Open yesterday at Aloha Golf with a final tally of 20 strokes under-par. The victory was the 34 year-old Westwood's 17th win on the European circuit and his 27th overall, with wins in the United States, China, Japan, South Africa, and Australia. The victory keeps Westwood in the realm of Europe's premier golfers as well as moving him among the top 50 players in the world More>