The Spanish Armada

During the glory days of Spanish golf in the late 1970s and 1980s, a veritable armada of talent cut a successful swathe through the European Tour, with Severiano Ballesteros, Antonio Garrido, José María Cañizares, Manuel Piñero and José Rivero all regular winners. José María Olazabal joined them in the late 1980s but, moving into the 1990s, the conquests became less frequent as the old guard sailed into the sunset.

Then, a new guard began to take over the helm, piloted first by Miguel Angel Martín with his victory in the 1992 French Open and later by Miguel Angel Jimenez (1992 Piaget Open and 1994 Heineken Dutch Open), before they were joined in 1995 by capable young lieutenant Santiago Luna (Madeira Island Open), in 1996 by Diego Borrego (Turengaña Masters in Valencia) and in 1997 by Antonio Garrido’s son, Ignacio (Volvo German Open). Martín also added to his tally that same year (Heineken Classic in Australia), and Jimenez (Ballesteros’s vice captain in the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama) used the experience to good effect the following season (1998) by winning the Turengaña Masters (in Mallorca) and the prestigious Trophée Lancôme.

By 1999, the Spanish fleet was once again under full sail. Jimenez began by winning the Turengaña Masters at the Parador - close to his Málaga birthplace - Pedro Linhart broke through one week later for his debut tour win (Madeira Island Open), Olazabal secured an emotional second US Masters triumph and Martín won the Moroccan Open. Then García matched Olazabal’s rookie season (1986) by collecting two titles (Murphy’s Irish Open and Linde German Masters), Jimenez, García and Olazabal teamed for Spain’s first’s Dunhill Cup trophy and Jimenez also made it a Spanish first in the Volvo Masters - before going within centimetres of upstaging Tiger Woods in the World Golf Championship at Valderrama.

Olazabal was the only winner of an official tour event in 2000, the Benson and Hedges International Open, but he also teamed with Jimenez and Martín in a successful Spanish defence of the Dunhill Cup.
In 2001, Olazabal was the first to taste success, in the French Open, but García moved the bar to a new level by winning twice on the US Tour within four starts, and then the Trophèe Lancôme in Paris. He thus joined Ballesteros and Olazabal in the elite group of European players who had won on both the US and European Tours in the same season.
Meanwhile, 2001 provided unprecedented success for Spain’s women golfers.

Already, in 2000, the first Spaniard to compete in the Solheim Cup (the women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup), Raquel Carriedo also became the first Spanish women golfer to top the Ladies European Tour order of merit, winning three tournaments along the way.
Rookie Paula Marti also won twice, to finish sixth in the order of merit, while Marina Arruti (winner of the 1999 Austrian Open) lost in a play-off in the final tournament of the year, but still finished ninth in the order of merit.

Following are profiles of Ballesteros and Olazabal (the only Spaniards to have won “major championships”); as well as the new elder statesman of the Spanish contingent, Jimenez; prodigal son García; Martín, Garrido, Luna and Linhart; and from the women’s tour, Carriedo, Marti and Arruti.