Andalucia Masters 2019: Your course and current form guides for southern Spain

Sergio Garcia will once again take centre stage, as the European Tour pitches up in southern Spain for the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama.

Not only is the 39-year-old hosting this week's event, he is also the two-time defending champion on a course where he has tasted victory three times before.

In 14 starts at Valderrama, Garcia has stood on the podium seven times, and only once failed to finish inside the top 10.

Even withstanding his run of three missed cuts from his most recent four starts, the 2017 champion from Augusta National remains the man to beat around this layout.

Check out the latest odds ahead of the Andalucia Masters

Spaniards Out In Force

Four of the top-eight ranked golfers teeing-up in Sotogrande are from Spain, with world No 11 Jon Rahm leading the way.

Rahm, who teamed-up with Ryan Palmer to win this year's Zurich Classic on the PGA Tour, arrives on home soil following his podium finish at this month's US Open.

Jorge Campillo and Adrian Otaegui are the next two leading Spaniards in the field, with the former highly ranked in the European Tour's Greens in Regulation (GiR) chart.

Among those with solid course histories are Joost Luiten, Ross Fisher and Soren Kjeldsen.

In five visits to Valderrama, Luiten has twice finished second, once fifth, plus 11th last year. The Dutchman is another golfer with a current high ranking for GiR.

Kjeldsen, meanwhile, has stood on the podium three times, including once as champion.

As for those further down the pecking order, who have enjoyed reasonable levels of consistency at the course in the past, read the names Robert Rock, Richie Ramsay, Oliver Fisher and Ashley Chesters.

Of this quartet, Ramsey and Chesters may be worth keeping an eye on this week.

Good Current Form

In-form Matthew Fitzpatrick goes again, as does the rapidly improving Matthias Schwab.

The Austrian has posted three top-10s, from his last six starts, including a podium position in Germany on Sunday.

He is also a respectable top-40 for Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, a category worth checking out ahead of Thursday's opening round.

Valderrama's Majestic History

Arguably Spain's most famous course, Valderrama never fails to provide a stiff test for those who tee-up here.

This year's instalment witnesses a change of dates, after the past two Andalucia Masters took place during October.

Designed by Robert Trent Jones, the course started life as Sotogrande New in 1974, before being renamed Las Aves, and this later became Valderrama.

In 1988 it made its debut on the European Tour, staging the prestigious Volvo Masters for the first time.

It has also hosted the WGC-American Express Championship, Spanish Open and, in 1997, the Ryder Cup.

More than 20 top tier events have been held at Valderrama over the past 30 years, including 18 season-ending finales on the European Tour.

The course has always demanded great accuracy from tee-to-green, probably one of the reasons why Garcia usually plays well here.

Cork trees line the narrow fairways and, although water hazards are only present on three holes, the venue's small, fast and undulating greens allow for little margin of error.

Twitter: Andy Swales@GolfStatsAlive

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List contains leading reserves