The Andalucía Masters is the second of a two stops in Spain as the European tour’s 2024 season winds down.
Contested at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande on Spain’s southern coast, this will be the 10th edition of the Andalucía Masters.
The tournament headliner is Jon Rahm, a native son of Spain. He will be joined by compatriots David Puig and Angel Hidalgo, fresh off a win at the Open de Espana three weeks ago in Madrid.
Other marquee names include Victor Perez, Rasmus Hojgaard, and Thorbjorn Olesen.
The Skinny
Andalucía Masters
Title Sponsor: Estrella Damm N.A.
Tour Debut: 2010
Edition: 10th
Dates: Oct. 17-20, 2024
Where: San Roque, Andalucia, Spain
Course: Real Club de Golf Sotogrande
Distance: Par 72, 7,101 yards
Architect: Robert Trent Jones (1964)
Restoration: Roger Rulewich (2016)
Field: 126 players
Format: 36 cut/72 hole
Purse: $3,250,000
Winning Share: $550k
R2D/OWGR Points: 5,000/24
2023 Champion: Adrian Meronk
Headliner: Jon Rahm
How to Follow the Andalucía Masters
TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 6 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Sat-Sun: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (GOLF Channel)
Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
History: Andalucía Masters
The Andalucía Masters is an old but newer event on the European tour, contested at the venerable Real Club de Golf Sotogrande on Spain’s southern coast. This marks the tenth installment of Spain’s “Masters” tournament.
The event, however, can trace its roots back to the former Volvo Masters which was contested at Valderrama for a couple of decades, eventually ending in 2008. Two years later, in 2010, the “Masters” returned to the same venue, but with Andalucía in the title. Graeme McDowell won the 2010 title.
Native son Sergio Garcia took home the trophy the following year (2011) but due to government budget cuts, among other political issues, the 2012 competition was removed from the European Tour’s schedule.
The new Masters tournament returned in 2017 with Garcia successfully defending his 2011 title. He went on to “three-peat” in 2018.
The 2022 tournament was the final edition contested at Valderrama due to LIV Golf acquiring rights to the venue for its LIV Golf League stop in Spain. Having signed a five-year deal with LIV Golf, the European Tour removed Valderrama as its host venue.
In July 2023, it was announced that Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, a nice resort facility but not nearly as iconic as Valderrama, would be the new host venue for the Andalucía Masters.
History: Tournament Names
- Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters (2019-24)
- Andalucía Valderrama Masters (2017-18)
- Andalucía Masters (2011)
- Andalucía Valderrama Masters (2010)
History: Winners
2023: Adrian Meronk (-16)
2022: Adrián Otaegui (-19)
2021: Matt Fitzpatrick (-6)
2020: John Catlin (+2)
2019: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (-10)
2018: Sergio Garcia (-12)
2017: Sergio Garcia (-12)
2011: Sergio Garcia (-6)
2010: Graeme McDowell (-3)
History: Wins
3 – Sergio Garcia (2011, 2017-18)
The Course: Real Club de Golf Sotogrande
The course Real Club de Golf Sotogrande is considered as one of the masterpieces of Robert Trent Jones who listed it as one of his five favorites from more than 500 courses he designed worldwide.
Officially opened in 1964, Sotogrande was the first course Trent Jones designed in Europe and is blessed with his design philosophy, which consists of building courses perfectly integrated with the natural surroundings which are a great challenge to the better players, but accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
It is a fascinating course for players of any level which retains all the natural beauty of the land on which it was built only 500 feet from the Mediterranean.
The course has a par of 72 and measures 7,101 yards. It offers long tees, wide fairways and elevated greens delicately molded and very fast, which embody the biggest difficulty of the course. Of the 100 or so bunkers on the course, 69 are placed around the greens.
The variety of holes is another characteristic of Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, variety not only in shape and distances but in its vegetation: the mixture of cork oaks, pine trees, palm trees and an abundance of other species, provide the course with a wonderful personality and beauty.
A round of golf on Real Club de Golf Sotogrande is very well balanced. On the front nine, holes 4 and 7 will highlight good examples of the risk factor which Trent Jones rewards by asking the players to choose whether a hole should be a difficult par or an easy bogey. These can also be said of holes 13 and 15 on the back.
The quality of the course is very well reflected by the quality of the champions over a period of many years, which includes, among others, major winners Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Roberto de Vicenzo, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy.
Credit: Golf Sotogrande
The Field
Two-time major winner Jon Rahm headlines the field in his native country. Three of the 29-year-old’s eight European tour victories have come on Spanish soil, and Rahm is the heavy favorite to capture a fourth.
Joining Rahm will be compatriots David Puig and newly minted Open de Espana champion, Angel Hidalgo, who beat Rahm in a playoff last month in Madrid.
Other marquee names include Victor Perez, Jordan Smith, Matt Wallace, Bernd Wiesberger, Matteo Manassero, Kevin Chappell, Rasmus Hojgaard, Nicolai Hojgaard, Thriston Lawrence, and Thorbjorn Olesen, among others.
Top-10 Betting Favorites
1. Jon Rahm (3-1)
2. Rasmus Hojgaard (16-1)
3. David Puig (18-1)
3. Thorbjorn Olesen (18-1)
5. Matt Wallace (22-1)
5. Tom McKibbin (22-1)
7. Jordan Smith (25-1)
7. Thriston Lawrence (25-1)
7. Niklas Norgaard (25-1)
10. Victor Perez (30-1)
10. Nicolai Hojgaard (30-1)
10. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (30-1)
Field: Rank and Odds
Andalucía Masters | Real Club de Golf Sotogrande | San Roque, Andalucia, Spain | Oct. 17-20, 2024
Up Next
The European tour heads to Asia for the Genesis Championship – the final stop on its Back 9 Swing. The new tournament is a merger of the European tour’s Korean Championship presented by Genesis, which debuted in 2023, and the Korean Tour’s Genesis Championship.
It will be co-sanctioned by both tours, and contested October 24-27, 2024 at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, South Korea.
2024 European Tour Schedule
- 10/24-27: Genesis Championship
- 11/07-10: Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
- 11/14-17: DP World Tour Championship
