The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, a spectacular tournament fully established in the DP World Tour schedule, changes venue and arrives at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande. The historic club, inextricably linked to the development of golf, hosts the ninth edition of a tournament won last year by the Spaniard Adrian Otaegui and that will take place from October 19-22.
The demanding greens of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande graduated some of the best European golfers in the past, since the Sotogrande jewel hosts the prestigious Sotogrande Cup whose winners include Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Francesco Molinari. Undoubtedly, the timing of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, in the decisive stage of the Race to Dubai, will allow a good number of golfers who faced the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande in their amateur days to compete again in its spectacular design.
In addition, Real Club de Golf Sotogrande pedigree also extends to the professional level, as explained by Mr. Jaime Salaverri Aguilar, President of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande.
“I would like to start by expressing our gratitude for the invitation from DPWT to host the EDAM tournament at our Club. Although our focus as a Club is predominantly amateur – for over 50 years, we have been organizing the prestigious European Nations Championship - Sotogrande Cup – we are delighted to return to professional golf, which we enjoyed in the early years of this Club with Roberto de Vicenzo's victory in the 1964 Spanish Open and later with Severiano Ballesteros' triumph in the 1987 Spanish Professional Championship.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to showcase the magnificent design of Robert Trent Jones – his first work in Europe – nestled in a beautiful cork oak forest located just 150 meters from the Mediterranean Sea, in the incomparable setting of the Strait of Gibraltar with views of two continents. Our Club was at the origin of the urbanization of Sotogrande, and its course was the first American-style course built in Europe. It features wide fairways, elevated and spacious greens with gentle undulations that allow for speed, that combined with the prevailing winds in the area is the most challenging part of our course.”
The Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, about to reach its sixtieth anniversary, will impeccably host the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters thanks to the team led by its head greenkeeper Patrick Allende and the work carried out during the last decade.
“Between 2015 and 2017, the 18-hole course and the rest of the playing and practice facilities underwent a complete restoration with the advice of American architect Roger Rulewich, who worked with Robert Trent Jones for many years, and his colleague David Fleury. The restoration kept the original design with minimal changes and brought back the traditional quality of Bermuda 419 grass on tees, fairways, and roughs, and Agrostis Penncross on the greens”, concluded Mr. Jaime Salaverri.
Its great field, the novelty of a spectacular stage and its location in the schedule are assets that, once again this year, will serve as a magnet for the public who will enjoy a new Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, a unique and ideal show for all audiences.
