![\"\"](\"\/\/www.golfinspain.es\/b\/cont\/uploads\/2017\/10\/semipano17_b1.jpg\")
<\/a>\n1975<\/strong><\/p>\n The Las Aves (“Sotogrande New”) new course – designed by Robert Trent Jones – is opened. Owned by former US Army man Joe McMicking, it was run more as a golfing facility than a club, with its Andalucian-style clubhouse also used as a cinema for local residents. During the Portugal revolution, three-times British Open champion Henry Cotton acted as golf director to help with the promotion of real estate (he was to be succeeded by Tony Jacklin).<\/p>\n 1984<\/strong><\/p>\n Retired banker Paul Jeanty suggests to Bolivian tin millionaire Jaime Ortiz-Pati\u00f1o, who had retired to live in Sotogrande and play golf, that he should buy the then Las Aves course and run it as an exclusive club for himself and friends. Concerned that the locals might be less than keen on a foreigner owning prime real estate, Sr Ortiz-Pati\u00f1o recommends that a consortium of eight high-powered businessmen – either living on the estate or frequent visitors – should buy the course.<\/p>\n Sep 1985<\/strong><\/p>\n The new club is incorporated. Trent-Jones is commissioned to redesign the course, which is renamed Valderrama<\/a>, after the finca (small country estate) originally purchased by McMicking.<\/p>\n Oct 1988<\/strong><\/p>\n Nick Faldo wins the inaugural Volvo Masters – season grand-finale of the European Tour – at Valderrama (subsequent winners, in order until 1996, were: Ronan Rafferty, Mike Harwood, Rodger Davis, Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Alexander Cejka, Mark McNulty).<\/p>\n Jun 1989<\/strong><\/p>\n Sr Ortiz-Pati\u00f1o assumes complete control, buying out the other shareholders.<\/p>\n Sep 1991<\/strong><\/p>\n Valderrama founder-president Jaime Ortiz-Pati\u00f1o attends the Ryder Cup match at Kiawah Island, where he becomes convinced his club would be able to host the 1997 competition just as well, if not better.<\/p>\n Apr 1992<\/strong><\/p>\n A surprise press conference is called at Valderrama, where it is announced that the club is officially applying to host the 1997 Ryder Cup. The application is reinforced by an exhaustive and elaborate presentation book outlining the advantages of holding the event at Valderrama. A press conference is also held the next day in London. Several other Spanish courses also subsequently announce their candidature. Severiano Ballesteros favours Novo Sancti Petri (C\u00e1diz), which he designed. The Spanish Golf Federation, based in Madrid, plumps for the Real Club de Madrid. The arguments become somewhat heated.<\/p>\n May 1994<\/strong><\/p>\n The European Tour announces Valderrama as the 1997 Ryder Cup venue. Executive director Ken Schofield says: \u201cThe five main criteria that went into choosing Valderrama were the preparation of the course, the quality of the course, the locality, the accessibility and the accommodation. We had a year-long review of nine venues. They are all excellent venues but only one could be chosen. The Ryder Cup Committee felt strongly that Valderrama fitted the bill in every way.\u201d<\/p>\n The other eight were: Real Club de Campo de Madrid, La Moraleja II and RACE (Madrid), El Saler (Valencia), La Manga (Murcia), Montecastillo (Jerez), Novo Sancti Petri and Real Golf de Sevilla. The final decision was taken from a short-list of El Saler, La Manga, La Moraleja II, Novo Sancti Petri and Valderrama.<\/p>\n Ballesteros offers a truce to Valderrama, noting: \u201cI think it is great that Spain will be the hosts of the 1997 Ryder Cup. It will take golf in my homeland to a new level of excitement and appreciation for all golfers, rich or poor. I know that all the other clubs who were hoping to be selected are greatly disappointed. I wanted Novo Sancti Petri but life sometimes is not sweet. We do not always get what we want. Everyone must forget hard feelings and work together in assisting Mr Pati\u00f1o, Valderrama and the Ryder Cup Committee to show the world that Spain is worthy of hosting this magnificent golf event.\u201d Ballesteros is commissioned by Sr Ortiz-Pati\u00f1o to re-design the contentious 17th.<\/p>\n Sep 1995<\/strong><\/p>\n After losses in 1991 and 1993, captain Bernard Gallacher leads Europe to victory over the US at Oak Hill and announces his retirement. Ballesteros is subsequently named as the first \u201cContinental\u201d captain in the history of the event.<\/p>\n May 1997<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking during the Spanish Open, Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Olaz\u00e1bal says he does not believe Tiger Woods will have as much impact as many people are predicting. \u201cThe Ryder Cup is a special tournament, it\u2019s a team of 12 players, not just one player; it\u2019s not played medal, but matchplay; it\u2019s not Augusta, but Valderrama. These are a series of combined factors that could mean the beast is not such a beast. You have to adapt to the team; you\u2019re not playing alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Ballesteros says he is pleased Tiger Woods will be in the team because he wants to see the best 12 American players. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to beat a team that wasn\u2019t strong.\u201d<\/p>\n Tiger Woods tries to deflect the attention centred on his Cup debut. Referring to his resounding Masters victory the month before, he says: \u201cI don\u2019t feel I have sent any type of message at all. It is difficult for one guy to send a message to a whole team. The Ryder Cup is totally different from the majors. When I play in a major I am just there for myself and representing the United States is a totally different experience. When the national anthems are played and the flags raised, a whole new situation develops; you are playing for others and not just yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n US captain Tom Kite also enters the Tiger debate, observing: \u201cI know Tiger is very excited about playing in the match. He said last November that his number one goal was to make the team. Matchplay against professionals, rather than amateurs, will be somewhat different but he has already proved he can handle just about any situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Jul 1997<\/strong><\/p>\n Accompanied by two bodyguards, Tiger Woods makes his much-awaited first appearance on the Coast for a practice session, pre British Open, with US captain Tom Kite and five other players. Before returning promptly to his private jet in Gibraltar, and the trip to Troon, Woods says he does not believe his long-hitting will be much of an advantage \u201cbecause positional play is important. The greens are small and fast, and I will be hitting mainly two irons and three woods off the tee\u201d.<\/p>\n Sep 1997<\/strong><\/p>\n Tiger Woods fails to deliver, winning just one and a half points out of a possible five (including defeat against Costantino Rocca in the final-day singles), as the Europeans win by the barest of margins, 14 and a half to 13 and a half.<\/p>\n Nov 1999<\/strong><\/p>\n In this inaugural year of the World Golf Championships \u2013 a series of lucrative tournaments aimed at establishing a global circuit \u2013 Valderrama reached a two-year agreement to host the final event, the American Express Championship.Several leading Americans, including David Duval and Mark O\u2019Meara, decide to miss the WGC, but the press is still able to savour a duel between Woods and Sergio Garcia, winner and runner-up, respectively, of the year\u2019s final major, the US PGA. Woods opens with an even-par 71 and Garcia a 74, as 1998 US PGA champion Vijay Singh leads with a 67. Unheralded Americans Chris Perry and Tim Herron lead at the halfway point on 137 (Woods 140; Garcia 143). Miguel Angel Jimenez, fresh from becoming the first Spanish winner of the Volvo Masters the week before at Montecastillo (Jerez), moves into a share of the third-round lead (on 209) with Perry (Woods 210; Garcia 212).<\/p>\n Woods seems to be heading for victory until an unfortunate triple bogey on the precarious 17th. He finishes on 278, as Jimenez prepares to tee off on the 18th needing just a par-four for victory.<\/p>\n The Spaniard narrowly misses a long putt for par, and joins Woods on the 10th tee for the first extra hole. Woods birdies the hole and is proclaimed champion. Garcia finishes seventh (285), and the other Spaniard in the field, Jose Maria Olazabal, 11th (286). Jimenez\u2019s consolation is a cheque for 341,276 euros (approximately 57 million pesetas) and fourth place in the final order of merit for the second consecutive year.<\/p>\n Jan 2000<\/strong><\/p>\n Valderrama is once again included in the schedule as the venue for the American Express Championship (November 9-12).<\/p>\n Nov 2002<\/strong>\n After one year of “rest” for the course, The Volvo Masters returns to Valderrama and gives the tournament an even more challenging flavour.<\/p>\n Colin Montgomerie said it was an \u201cappropriate\u201d result \u2013 and it was hard to disagree with him. When darkness descended on Valderrama, two holes into a play-off for the 2002 Volvo Masters Andaluc\u00eda title, Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer shook hands and agreed to share the trophy (a new one was made, so they actually have one each).<\/p>\n Oct \u00a02003<\/strong><\/p>\n Carlos Rodiles almost had the chance of becoming the first Spaniard to win at Valderrama (apart from the 1997 Ryder Cup) \u2013 and, more importantly, winning his first European Tour title. In the end, however, amidst intense Spanish disappointment, it was Fredrik Jacobson who took the Volvo Masters Andaluc\u00eda title and achieved various firsts of his own: the first Swede to win three official European Tour events in the same season; the first wire-to-wire winner of the Volvo Masters Andaluc\u00eda; and the first time he had won more than one million euros in a season. He also emulated fellow Swede Anders Forsbrand, who finished fourth on the 1992 Volvo Order of Merit (and who, ironically, used to represent Valderrama on the Tour). It had taken Jacobson 160 Tour events coming into 2003 before he won his first event, then he reeled off three in 18 starts.<\/p>\n Oct 2004<\/strong> Oct 2005<\/strong> Oct 2006<\/strong> Nov 2007<\/strong> Meanwhile, Graeme McDowell achieved that rarest of golfing birds, an albatross, on the 17th hole in the final round.<\/p>\n Nov 2008<\/strong> Oct 2010<\/strong> As for the event itself, Graeme McDowell held off the challenge of Gareth Maybin and Damien McGrane to claim a battling victory. Martin Kaymer\u2019s failure to claim a top-two finish ensured fellow Lee Westwood would displace Tiger Woods as world number one when the latest rankings were released on the Monday. There would be six Europeans in the top 10, with McDowell joining Westwood, Kaymer, Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy \u2013 compared to four Americans.<\/p>\n Oct 2011<\/strong> 2012-2015<\/strong> Apr 2016<\/strong> Andrew Johnston won his first European Tour title, the Real Club Valderrama Open de Espa\u00f1a, Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, and became the first man to win a Tour event with an over-par score since Justin Rose\u2019s victory in the U.S. Open at Merion in 2013. It had been 20 years since a regular event had been won over par, Ian Woosnam carding the same one-over score to win the Scottish Open at Carnoustie in 1996. “I came off the course and I just started crying with the emotion of it,\u201d said the charismatic Englishman who went on to become a global star popularly known as \u201cBeef\u201d.<\/p>\n Oct 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n The Andaluc\u00eda Valderrama Masters returned to the Costa del, following the signing of a five-year contract with the Junta de Andaluc\u00eda and with aspirations of eventually becoming one of the European Tour\u2019s Rolex Series events.<\/p>\n In the lead-up to the tournament, rising Spanish star Jon Rahm, who had risen to fifth in the world in just his first season as a pro, winning on both the US PGA Tour and European Tour, gained much of the media attention. (Check out our exclusive photo of Rahm when he was 10 years old and seeking autographs of his own at the Volvo Masters.<\/a>)<\/em> \u00a0However, he struggled with the fans\u2019 expectations and missed the cut, before tournament co-host and reigning US Masters champion Sergio Garc\u00eda went to seal a one-stroke victory over second-placed Dutchman Joost Luiten.<\/p>\n “It was amazing,” said Garc\u00eda after securing his 14th Tour title. “The people were unbelievable, amazing, so many people came out and supported, it was really a treat. I want to dedicate this one to my wife Angela and our little baby coming next year in March.”<\/p>\n Oct 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n Sergio Garc\u00eda successfully defended his Andaluc\u00eda Valderrama Masters title on Monday, after stormy conditions during the fourth round forced the suspension of play and extended the tournament into a fifth day. He ended up with a 12-under total, four ahead of second-placed Shane Lowry, who closed with a 66. “It’s amazing to be able to win here at Valderrama three times \u2013 it’s a dream come true,\u201d said Garc\u00eda. “It’s so difficult. This golf course is so challenging and for me to be able to go out there in the conditions we played in all week and shoot three rounds under par means a lot. I’m very proud of that and really excited about the week.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Jun 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Christiaan Bezuidenhout won his first European Tour by six shots in the newly-named Estrella Damm N.A. Andaluc\u00eda Masters at Valderrama. It was the culmination of an impressive rise by the South African, who had to overcome adversity from a young age. At just two years he mistakenly drank rat poison, which led to him developing a stammer. The beta blockers he took to combat his stammer, and the resulting anxiety, resulted in his failing a doping test at the 2014 Amateur Championship. His two year ban was reduced to nine months after officials adjudged he had not been seeking to gain a competitive advantage, but he missed out on representing his country at the Eisenhower Trophy. “I’m proud of myself hanging in there today,” he said at Valderrama. \u201cI was nervous. It’s a tough golf course, anything can happen, especially those last three holes playing into the wind. I’m really pleased with the way I played and to finish it off is unbelievable.”<\/span><\/p>\n Apr-May 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n American John Catlin secured a maiden maiden European Tour title, with a wire to wire victory at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters after a thrilling battle with former world number one Martin Kaymer right to the last hole. Catlin closed with a 75 but this was enough to give him a one-stroke victory over the German. A four-time winner on the Asian Tour, Catlin said, \u201cMy past experience was very helpful in that regard \u2013 I knew I had done it before. That was one of my goals in 2019 when I earned my card, to win on the European Tour, and I wasn\u2019t able to win in 2019 so it\u2019s very nice to get it done this week and especially on a beautiful golf course, and very demanding one. The calibre of play out here is fantastic so to win out here is amazing. Just look at the names I was playing against this week. To have beaten them is something I’m very, very proud of.”<\/span><\/p>\n Oct 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n In what was a true master class, Matt Fitzpatrick carded a brilliant final round of 69 to win his seventh European Tour title at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andaluc\u00eda Masters. The Englishman remained firm as others around him succumbed to the challenging Royal Valderramma test. Fitzpatrick made 15 straight pars then carded birdies on the 16th and 17th to eventually finish six under, three shots clear of Australian Min Woo Lee and Swede Sebastian Soderberg. “It’s on the bucket list to win round Valderrama with the history that it has,” he said. “To do it bogey-free on Sunday as well is extra special. I’m delighted. It’s amazing, particularly the way I did It \u2013 very patient all day, didn’t try to press anything, stuck to our targets and managed to hole the putts at the end. You can hit half decent shots and be behind a tree and you’re chipping out or you’ve got to manoeuvre something. It’s a true test and to be patient the whole 72 holes, I’m really pleased with the way my attitude was all week.”<\/span><\/p>\n 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2023, Real Club Valderrama embarked on a significant partnership with LIV Golf, securing a contract to host five tournaments over a span of seven years, ensuring the presence of elite-level competitions with substantial prize funds. The inaugural LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda tournament took place from June 30 to July 2, 2023. American golfer Talor Gooch emerged victorious, finishing with a 12-under par, narrowly edging out Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n The following year, from July 12 to 14, 2024, Valderrama once again hosted the LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda tournament. Spanish golfer Sergio Garc\u00eda delivered a remarkable performance, securing his first professional win in over four years. Garc\u00eda finished at 5-under par, forcing a playoff against Anirban Lahiri, which he ultimately won, much to the delight of the home crowd.<\/p>\n 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n As of the latest update to this article, the LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda tournament is scheduled to return to Real Club Valderrama in July 2025. Despite earlier uncertainties regarding a potential hiatus year, the event has been confirmed, continuing Valderrama’s tradition of hosting premier golf tournaments.<\/p>\n These developments underscore Valderrama’s ongoing commitment to bringing top-tier golf events to Spain, offering fans and players alike the opportunity to experience world-class competition in a historic setting.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n More on Real Club Valderrama? Book your green fees at Real club Valderrama<\/a>. Check our Valderrama aerial view<\/a>\u00a0 or all our valderrama tagged posts<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n
\n\n\nOne of the few left-handers on any of the major tours, Mike Weir dropped a shot on the last but still had a two-stroke cushion over Lee Westwood, who nevertheless had the ample consolation of overtaking Darren Clarke and finishing number one on the 2000 Volvo Order of Merit. Weir, the winner of just one previous tournament on the US Tour, the 1999 Air Canada Championship, collected a cheque for $1 million, while Westwood won one pound from a bet with Clarke in August (“after a few too many drinks”). The Englishman closed with a five-under-par 68 to finish on 279, nine clear of his Irish friend. Reigning US Masters champion Vijay Singh closed with a 68 to take a share of third with Duffy Waldorf on 280; and Sergio Garc\u00eda, Padraig Harrington, Nick Price and Tiger Woods were fifth on 281.<\/p>\n<\/a>\n
\nIan Poulter beat Sergio Garcia at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off to capture the Volvo Masters Andalucia at Valderrama. The European Tour report noted that, \u201cValderrama lived up to its nickname of \u2018Valde-drama\u2019 as, for the third successive year, the curtain fell on a European Tour season following the sudden-death excitement of a play-off.\u201d Ernie Els didn\u2019t tee up in the tournament, having already clinched number one spot on the order of merit.<\/p>\n\n
\nPaul McGinley captured the Volvo Masters in grand style and Colin Montgomerie claimed a record-breaking eighth order of merit crown. Montgomerie had led the tournament at one stage by six strokes and McGinley had been four over par early in his second round \u2013 but their fortunes were reversed during a thrilling final day which ended in the Scot topping the money list six years after the last of his seven consecutive order of merit titles.<\/p>\n
\nJeev Milkha Singh extended his love affair with Volvo, following up his victory in the Volvo China Open earlier in the year by capturing the European Tour\u2019s season-ending Volvo Masters on his debut appearance at Valderrama. A gripping sub-plot involved Padraig Harrington just edging out Paul Casey for the order of merit crown. For a third consecutive year, Sergio Garc\u00eda had to settle for second place.<\/p>\n
\nJustin Rose put the icing on the cake of his European Tour order of merit victory by winning a dramatic three-way play-off for the Volvo Masters at Valderrama. Simply securing a place in the sudden-death play-off with Simon Dyson and S\u00f8ren Kjeldsen was sufficient to guarantee Rose the Harry Vardon Trophy for the first time, but he made it a double celebration by beating his opponents at the second hole of sudden-death.<\/p>\n
\nIn what was to be the final of 21 Volvo Masters (16 of them at Valderrama), and the 20th anniversary of the first edition, S\u00f8ren Kjeldsen completed a wire-to-wire victory as Robert Karlsson became the first Swede to win the European Tour order of merit. Afterwards Kjeldsen said: \u201cWinning is not easy. There’s a lot of good players out here \u2013 apart from Tiger Woods, there’s not a lot of people that seem to win a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\nAfter a one-year hiatus, European Tour action returned to Europe\u2019s finest course with a new tournament, the Andaluc\u00eda Valderrama Masters \u2013 but not without controversy. The \u201cconsejero\u201d (tourism minister) of the Junta de Andaluc\u00eda (regional government) at the time showed his displeasure with IMG\u2019s decision to take the Volvo World Match Play Championship to another course the previous year by launching this new \u201cAndaluc\u00eda\u201d branded event with the slogan comment, \u201c\u2026It\u2019s now ours\u201d.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>\n
\nRemarkably, no Spaniard had ever won an event at Valderrama since its European Tour debut with the 1988 Volvo Masters (Miguel \u00c1ngel Jim\u00e9nez won the 1999 Volvo Masters when it was held at Montecastillo). Victorious the week before in the Castell\u00f3 Masters, and three times a runner-up at Valderrama (2004, 2005 and 2006), Sergio Garc\u00eda rectified that oversight, winning the Andaluc\u00eda Masters by one shot over Jim\u00e9nez, who had led for much of the front nine and then birdied 16 and 17 to re-ignite his challenge. \u201cIt\u2019s very, very special,\u201d said the 31-year-old. \u201cValderrama \u2013 I have so much history here and unfortunately it wasn\u2019t as good as this until now!”<\/p>\n
\nThese were relatively dark times for European Tour golf on the Costa del Sol, and throughout Spain in general, as the economic crisis bit hard, sponsors shied away from investing their money in tournaments, and the Junta de Andaluc\u00eda adjusted its tourist promotion policy to focus on overseas fairs and other initiatives. In spite of an ongoing contract with the European Tour, the regional government pulled out of the planned third edition of the Andaluc\u00eda Masters just a few months before it was scheduled to begin. The region\u2019s global star, Valderrama, then went into tournament hibernation as other Costa del Sol courses hosted a meagre handful of Tour events during this period.In 2015, in one of King Don Carlos I\u2019s last executive decisions before abdicating as Spanish monarch, he bestowed \u201cRoyal\u201d (\u201cReal\u201d) status on Valderrama Golf Club.<\/p>\n
\nValderrama was back in the limelight, taking on the floundering Spanish Open \u2013 which was in doubt because of lack of sponsorship interest \u2013 with the support of a regional government once again aware of the importance of hosting major tournaments in Andaluc\u00eda to spread the word about the region\u2019s golfing attractions. The late decision to host the event \u2013 the first one on the European Tour co-sponsored by the Sergio Garc\u00eda Foundation \u2013 was made just a couple of months before players hit the fairways.<\/p>\n\n<\/a>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>\n
![<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n(Photo of Matt Fitzpatrick supplied by European Tour\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1975 The Las Aves (“Sotogrande New”) new course – designed by Robert Trent Jones – is opened. Owned by former US Army man Joe McMicking, it was run more as a golfing facility than a club, with its Andalucian-style clubhouse also used as a cinema for local residents. During the Portugal revolution, three-times British Open […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":6707,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6277","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golfinspain.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"\/\/www.golfinspain.es\/b\/cont\/uploads\/2017\/10\/VAM17-Viernes-01.jpg\"){kind=link}