Tournament History
The Open de España dates all the way back to 1912 and apart from 2017, when it was missing from the schedule, and 2020, when it was lost to the pandemic, it's been a regular on the DP World Tour since its inception in 1972.
Venue
Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid
Course Details
Par 71, 7112 yards
Stroke Average in 2021 69.39
The Club de Campo Villa de Madrid is a traditional inland course that sits 2,500 feet above sea level. It's a hilly course with sloping tree-lined fairways and well-bunkered, undulating greens.
Club de Campo Villa de Madrid has been the host course for the last two editions of this event (2019 & 2021) prior to that it was last seen on the DP World Tour back in 2008 when it hosted the first of four editions of the now defunct Madrid Masters, won by Charl Schwartzel.
It was also the venue for the now defunct Open de Madrid between 2001 and 2005 and it also hosted this event in 1996, as well as the final edition of another now defunct event, the Turespaña Masters in 2000.
It's a short track and in benign conditions, it can succumb to some very low scores. Ross McGowan opened up last year's edition with a ten-under-par 61 and Jon Rahm reached 22-under-par for the week when winning here in 2019.
Dave Tindall spoke to Spanish pro, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, prior to the event three years ago and he told Dave that the course had been lengthened a bit prior to the 2019 edition.
"The course is in great condition. They added some length to it. I would say 30 yards on the 1st and 2nd, 13 and 17 are longer as well. Does it play harder? I don't think so, given the changes in technology since 2008. The course is in great shape - a little soft as, in the summer, they have to put a lot of water on the fairways and greens. I think the scoring is going to be low, maybe similar to the last time here (-19). I think it's going to be a two-man race between Jon and Sergio." Gonzo also added. "Not too much rough".
TV Coverage
Live on Sky Sports all four days, starting at 12:30 on Thursday UK time
Last Six Winners with Pre-event Exchange Prices
2021 - Rafa Cabrera-Bello -19 (playoff) 110.0109/1
2020 - Tournament Cancelled
2019 - Jon Rahm -22 4.03/1
2018 - Jon Rahm -20 5.04/1
2017 - No Tournament
2016 - Andrew Johnston +1 140.0139/1
2015 - James Morrison -10 500.0499/1
What Will it Take to Win the Open de España?
Here's the last ten course winners, together with their winning scores and whatever stats I could obtain.
2021 Open de España
Rafa Cabrera-Bello -19 DD: 52, DA: 20, GIR: 25, Scr: 2, PA: 22
2019 Open de España
Jon Rahm -22 DD: 1, DA: 3, GIR: 12, Scr: 3, PA: 1
2008 Madrid Masters
Charl Schwartzel -19 DD: 21, DA: 10, GIR: 2, Scr: 6, PA: 20
2005 Open de Madrid
Raphael Jacquelin -23 DD: 10, DA: 23, GIR: 34, Scr: 10, PA: 1
2004 Open de Madrid
Richard Sterne -18 DD: 2, DA: 61, GIR: 22, Scr: 14, PA: 5
2003 Open de Madrid
Ricardo Gonzalez -14 DD: 4, DA: 66, GIR: 10, Scr: n/a, PA: n/a
2002 Open de Madrid
Steen Tinning -19 DD: 60, DA: 1, GIR: 2, Scr: n/a, PA: n/a
2001 Open de Madrid
Retief Goosen -20 DD: 26, DA: 55, GIR: 1, Scr: n/a, PA: n/a
2000 Turespaña Masters
Padraig Harrington -17 DD: 13, DA: 94, GIR: 19, Scr: n/a, PA: n/a
1996 Open de España
Padraig Harrington -16 No Stats
DD = Diving Distance
DA = Driving Accuracy
GIR = Greens In Regulation
Scr = Scrambling
PA = Putting Average
Jon Rahm did everything well three years ago and it's no surprise to see that he won by five strokes. He hit it further than anyone else off the tee and only three players in the field were straighter, but Rafa Cabrera-Bello won last year ranking only 52nd for DD and 20th for DA. The next four on the leaderboard ranked 66th, 78th, 55th and 41st for DA!
Looking at all the other winners, some winners have been long off the tee and others accurate, so I'd ignore the driving stats and Greens in Regulation and Scrambling look more important than either of the driving metrics.
Is There an Angle In?
Last year's result is as good a guide as any given course form stands up really well here - Cabrera-Bello beat Adri Arnaus in extra time and the pair had finished second and fourth behind Rahm in the 2019 edition.
Padraig Harrington won here twice, and he was second behind Ricardo Gonzalez in 2003 before Gonzalez finished second to Charl Schwartzel in 2008. Rafael Jacquelin was fourth the year before he won here, Retief Goosen has course form figures reading 11-1-7, Brian Davis finished third in 2001 and second in 2002 and Paul Lawrie played here six times and finished inside the top-six three times.
Is There an Identikit Winner?
Although two Spaniards contested the playoff last year and Jon Rahm won the two editions before that, Spaniards don't have a terrific record in the event and since Seve won his third and final Open de España way back in 1995, only five Spaniards have taken the title and they've all been straight out of the top-drawer.
In addition to Rahm and Cabrera-Bello, Sergio Garcia won it in 2002, Alvaro Quiros in 2010 and Miguel Angel Jimenez's 21st and final DP World Tour title came in this tournament in 2014. If you've picked out a couple of low-profile Spaniards, previous results suggest you better think again.
An Englishman has won two of the last five renewals and British and Irish players have a decent record in this event, but three South Africans have won at this venue.
Retief Goosen was the 9/1 favourite when he won here in 2001 but Charl Schwartzel wasn't particularly well-fancied in 2008 and the four winners in-between those two all went off at triple-figure prices.
In-Play Tactics
Jon Rahm was inside the top-four places all week in 2019 and the two course winners before him were both within two of the lead after round one and in front after rounds two and three. And Padraig Harrington was never headed after 36 holes in both 1996 and 2000 but a slow start can be overcome.
Last year's playoff protagonists both trailed by six after round one, as did Ricardo Gonzalez (2003) and Richard Sterne (2004) and Gonzalez trailed by 11 at halfway and by six with a round to go!
The first three holes all averaged over-par in both 2019 and 2021 so it's a slightly tricky start but only seven holes averaged over-par for the week last year and the last six holes all averaged below par. It's not a tough track by any means and a fast finish is possible.
Grant Forrest flew home at the end last year, playing the last seven holes in seven-under-par to grab a share of third so it's the sort of venue at which a late run can be made.
Market Leaders
Jon Rahm is a very firm favourite at around the 5/2 mark but given the strength of the field, his recent form, and the fact that he's already won here previously, I wouldn't want to lay him at that price.
He was a very strong 4/1 favourite when winning the event in 2018 at Centro Nacional de Golf and he was a 3/1 chance three years ago when making a successful defence here.
Last year's he was backed form 4.216/5 to 3.211/5 before the off and he was then matched at odds-on after only four completed holes of round one! He hit a low of 1.645/8, after he'd played his first eight holes in six-under-par.
He slowed up a bit after that, but he still went into the weekend trading at around 1.75/7 despite trailing the halfway leader, Will Besseling, by a stroke. He began round three one and two strokes ahead of the eventual playoff protagonists, Adri Arnaus and Rafa Cabrera-Bello, but rounds of 72-69 saw him drift out of contention and he eventually finished tied for 17th.
Tommy Fleetwood is making his first appearance at the venue and he was a bit disappointing last week in a tournament in which he's thrived so I'm happy to swerve him but I can't say the same of the third favourite, Adri Arnaus...
Arnaus was very unlucky not to win 12 months ago (matched at a low of 1.232/9) when Cabrera-Bello received a somewhat dubious drop in extra time but he clearly loves the track (also fourth in 2019) and he has a very good record in his homeland.
Arnaus won the Catalunya Championship back in May and he's finished inside the top-eight on six of the 11 occasions he's played in Spain on the DP World Tour with the highlights including a second in the 2019 Andalucía Masters and a fourth in the Canary Islands Championship last year.
Selections
Last week's tied 22nd at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship was a fair performance by Adri Arnaus considering he sat 90th after shooting 80 in the awful weather on Friday and his top-ten finish at the European Masters at the end of August is eye-catching too.
Matt Cooper likes the chances of the European Masters winner, Thriston Lawrence, and I can see why. As Matt points out, there are strong form links between here and Crans and Arnaus is one of the many players to cement that link. He was sixth on debut in the Swiss mountains back in 2019, a month before finishing fourth here.
I was happy to play Arnaus modestly at 22.021/1 and I've also had a small bet on Lawrence. He was one of my Find me a 100 Winner picks last week and he started nicely on Thursday (shot five-under-par around Carnoustie) but missed the cut on Saturday due to shooting 80 on Friday in the awful weather.
Selections:
Adri Arnaus @ 22.021/1
Thriston Lawrence @ 46.045/1
I'll be back later with my Shriners Children's Open preview.
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