The DP World Tour heads to Spain for the first of three Iberian swing tournaments, the Spanish Open at Club de Campo de Villa de Madrid.
Last year, local player Rafa Cabrero Bello won his first title in four years in the tournament, defeating compatriot Adri Arnaus, and both return this year as they attempt to harness the support of the home crowd. It’s another Spaniard whose appearance will garner much of the attention, though. World No.6 Jon Rahm is in the field for his first tournament since finishing runner-up in last month’s BMW PGA Championship.
Rahm has won the tournament twice, most recently in 2019 when he claimed victory by five shots ahead of Cabrero Bello and he’ll be confident of finding his best form as competition for the season-ending Race to Dubai gathers pace. If Rahm is to claim a hat-trick of wins in the tournament this week, he will become only the second player to do so. The first was Rahm’s hero Seve Ballesteros, who achieved the feat with his final victory on the Tour in 1995. Other Spaniards in the field who will be confident of performing well include Jorge Campillo, Nacho Elvira, Alejandro Cañizares and Alfredo Garcia-Heredia.
Another player in the world’s top 50, Tommy Fleetwood, is also in the field. The World No.30 is playing in back-to-back tournaments after finishing tied for 22nd in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Fellow Englishman James Morrison, who won the tournament in 2015, also plays as he looks to break a seven-year run without a win since then.
After hosting its first event on the Tour in 1990, the Club de Campo de Villa de Madrid has become a regular, and has also been the venue for the Open de Madrid and Madrid Masters. Players will need to get to grips with a tree-lined parkland course with some challenging elevations if they’re to challenge for the biggest prizes, which are increased from last year. The purse is €1.75m, up €250,000 on the 2021 event. The winner will earn €291,660, while the runner-up will win €194,440.
Below is the full field and prize breakdown for the 2022…
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