Andalucía Masters 2022: Course and current form stats

It's the second of two weeks on the Spanish mainland, as the DP World Tour travels 400 miles south, to tee-up at the iconic Valderrama course in Sotogrande.

Reigning US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick tops the bill at the Andalucía Masters which is once again sponsored by Estrella Damm.

Andalucia is one of the main tourist destinations in Spain, while Sotogrande is the largest privately-owned residential development in the region.

Located in the municipality of San Roque, this residential development covers approximately 25 square kilometres. It edges close to Gibraltar and stretches as far as the Mediterranean Sea.

Valderrama is laid out just over two miles from Spain's southern coastline. It is also one of the Tour's most frequent tournament venues, staging its maiden event 34 years ago.

This iconic club has hosted more DP World Tour events than any other Spanish course and in 1997 welcomed the Ryder Cup.

Valderrama sprang to life in 1974 when it was called Sotogrande New. It was later re-named Las Aves, before being acquired by Bolivian art collector Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, 38 years ago.

Robert Trent Jones, the original architect, returned to the club to re-design and expand the course ahead of staging top level professional tournaments. By the mid-1980s, the club had changed its name to Valderrama.

Course Characteristics

Valderrama has always demanded great accuracy from tee-to-green, and has an abundance of cork trees running alongside its narrow fairways.

Water hazards are only present on five holes, although the venue's small, fast and undulating greens allow for little margin of error.

Good course management is almost a prerequisite to performing well here.

Avoiding the many large bunkers is another significant test when playing Valderrama which has hosted more than 25 events on the DP World Tour.

To illustrate how difficult this venue is, check out Valderrama's cut history below:

Valderrama's Recent Cut History

Year ... Cut Total (To Par) ... Event
2021: 147 (+ 5) Andalucia Masters
2020: 150 (+ 8) Andalucia Masters
2019: 144 (+ 2) Andalucia Masters
2018: 146 (+ 4) Andalucia Masters
2017: 146 (+ 4) Andalucia Masters
2016: 151 (+ 9) Spanish Open
2011: 149 (+ 7) Andalucia Masters
2010: 147 (+ 5) Andalucia Masters
Avg: 147.5 (+ 5.5)

Note: Between January 1st, 2018 and December 31st, 2021, the average cut total on the DP World Tour was 142.65 (- 0.10). For courses that are par-71s - as is Valderrama - this average converts to 141.86 (- 0.14).

Latest betting for this week's Andalucia Masters

Stroke Averages

Lowest 10 At Valderrama (2016-21)
Average .... (Rounds)
71.13: Ashley Chesters (15)
71.30: Joost Luiten (23)
71.50: John Catlin (10)
71.67: Robert Rock (15)
71.71: Scott Jamieson (14)
72.13: Soren Kjeldsen (23)
72.25: Masahiro Kawamura (12)
72.30: Joachim B Hansen (10)
72.35: Alejandro Canizares (23)
72.35: Jorge Campillo (20)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Four To Watch

Matt Fitzpatrick: The defending champion who also won the US Open in June.

Thomas Detry: The Belgian tees-up in southern Spain on the back of three recent starts in the United States where he posted a brace of top-12 finishes. Is long overdue a maiden DP World Tour victory.

Min Woo Lee: Stood on the podium last week in Madrid. This was his best performance since finishing second at Valderrama 12 months ago.

Antoine Rozner: His most recent six starts on the DP World Tour have yielded five top-20 finishes. The Frenchman is a two-time winner on Tour, as well as a podium finisher at Valderrama (2020).

Latest betting for this season's Race to Dubai standings

Twitter: Golf Stats Alive

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves