After a few weeks touring Great Britain, the European circuit heads to Spain for the 97th edition of the Spanish Open.
Club de Campo Villa de Madrid will play host for the 10th time in tournament history. The historic Madrid track stretches to 7,154 yards and will play to a par 71.
Spain’s national open championship will be headlined by three-time winner Jon Rahm, alongside marquee names such as Tyrrell Hatton, Patrick Reed, Shane Lowry, and Tommy Fleetwood.
Below are more details to get you primed for this week’s Spanish Open (or Open de España).
The Skinny
Name: Spanish Open
Dates: Sep. 26-29, 2024
Course: Club de Campo Villa de Madrid
Where: Madrid, Spain
Stats: Par 71, 7154 yards
Debut Edition: 1912
Euro Tour Debut: 1972
Format: 144 Players, Stroke-play, 54-hole cut
Purse: $3.25 million
Win Share: $585k
2023 Winner: Matthieu Pavon
Watch & Follow: Spanish Open
GOLF CHANNEL: Thu: 8-11 a.m.; Fri: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sat: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sun: 7 a.m.-12 p.m.
NBC SPORTS APP: Thu: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; Fri: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sat: 7:30 a.m.-12 p.m.; Sun: 7 a.m.-12 p.m.
All times EST. All TV broadcasts on GOLF Channel. Streams via NBC Sports App.
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Spanish Open History
The Acciona Open de España (or the Spanish Open) is the national open golf championship of Spain. The tournament was founded in 1912 and has been part of the European Tour’s schedule since the inception of the tour in 1972.
For most of the tournament’s history, it was contested in April or May, other than a five-year period in the early 1980s. Starting with the 2019 edition, the tournament moved to the September/October as part of the DP World Tour’s fall swing of its signature European championships (British Masters, Swiss Masters, Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship, Spanish Open, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, French Open, and Andalucia Masters).
Former Spanish Open champions include all-time greats such as Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo and Jon Rahm. Other historic names who’ve hoisted the trophy include Peter Allis, Sam Torrance, Peter Thomson, Colin Montgomerie, Pádraig Harrington, Thomas Bjørn, Sergio García, Charl Schwartzel, and Francesco Molinari, among others.
The tournament has been organized by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation. In April 2019, a partnership between the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, the European Tour, and Madrid Trophy Promotion (MTP) was announced. MTP is also the organizer of the Mutua Madrid Open, a professional tennis tournament.
The tournament’s maiden title sponsor was Benson & Hedges, which ran from 1980 to 1985. French car company Peugeot then titled the event for the next 15 editions (1986-2000).
The current title sponsor, Acciona, is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. It’s held the title marquee since 2021. The company’s headquarters is in Alcobendas, Community of Madrid, Spain.
History: Records
Wins
5 – Ángel de la Torre (1916-17, 1919, 1923, 1925)
3 – Arnaud Massy (1912, 1927-28)
4 – Gabriel González (1932-33, 1940, 1942)
3 – Marcelino Morcillo (1946, 1948,-49)
3 – Max Faulkner (1952-53, 1957)
3 – Sebastián Miguel (1954, 1960, 1967)
3 – Seve Ballesteros (1981, 1985, 1995)
3 – Jon Rahm (2018-19, 2022)
Scoring
259 (−25) – Jon Rahm (2022)
Vault: 2023 Spanish Open
Matthieu Pavon fired a final-round 64 at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid to capture his maiden European Tour title at the 95th Spanish Open.
The 30-year-old Frenchman entered the day in the pole position and after an opening-hole birdie, he never relinquished the lead.
Pavon finished his final 18 with a clean card, highlighted by seven birdies, including three gains in a four-hole span at the turn (Nos. 10, 12 and 13) to put a strangle hold on the title.
“A part of my heart is here in Spain for sure,” said Pavon. “My grandfather was from here. I really thought about him on the course today and it was really hard to keep the tears inside, now I can let them go a little bit.”
He added: “That was a long wait, seven years on the DP World Tour and I didn’t have a win yet, hadn’t won on the Challenge Tour before so that was a long wait but it really was worth it.
“We really stayed in the present moment and really focused: we tried to move on hole after hole, tried to hit fairways, tried to hit greens, make putts and managing my emotions the last two days was a very big accomplishment for me.”
South African Zander Lombard also shot 64 to secure the second spot on 19 under, one clear of England’s Nathan Kimsey (67).
Germany’s Marcel Siem produced a tournament-low 61 on Sunday to jump 30 spots up the leaderboard, landing at T4 on 17 under, alongside Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti (64).
Final Top-5
Pos-Player-To Par-(Final Rd)
1. Matthieu Pavon -23 (-7)
2. Zander Lombard -19 (-7)
2. Nathan Kimsey -18 (-4)
4. Fabrizio Zanotti -17 (-7)
4. Marcel Siem -17 (-10)
Spanish Open Field
The field in Madrid is features five of Europe’s 2023 Ryder Cup teammates in Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, and Shane Lowry.
Leading the way is three-time Spanish Open winner Rahm who will enter his country’s national open a week after he withdrew from the LIV Golf team championship, citing a flu. The 29-year-old Spaniard is a two-time major winner.
Rahm is the heavy betting favorite at 3-1. The 29-year-old Spaniard enters off a win at the LIV Golf Chicago event two weeks ago.
Hatton and Fleetwood were next at 10-1 while Aaron Rai was 12-1. Lowry rounded out the top-5 betting favs at 16-1.
Other marquee names among the bookmakers’ top 10 include Matt Wallace (18-1), Matteo Manassero (25-1), Patrick Reed (25-1) Matthieu Pavon (28-1), Sepp Straka (30-1), and Victor Perez (30-1).
Top-5 Betting Favorites
Pos-Player (Odds)
1. Jon Rahm (3-1)
2. Tyrrell Hatton (10-1)
3. Tommy Fleetwood (10-1)
4. Aaron Rai (12-1)
5. Shane Lowry (16-1)
Full Field & Odds
Credit: European Tour Media, Getty Images
