It is never easy to win on The European Tour, but to go from Augusta National to Real Club Valderrama is a tough task for even the very best golfers in the world.
Sergio Garcia, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Martin Kaymer are among the players who have made the trip from the Masters Tournament straight to the Real Club Valderrama Open de España this week, as The European Tour hosts its first event of the season on European soil.
Augusta, renowned as one of the toughest tracks in the world thanks to its fast, undulating greens, proved an almighty test in the season’s first Major Championship, with just six players finishing the week under par.
Danny Willett, with whom Garcia played the first three rounds, eventually prevailed with a five under par total, and the Spaniard was delighted to see a European Tour Member claim victory for the first time since 2011.
“He played really well, very calm and very comfortable,” he said. “It was nice to see the way he played; he put himself in situation and he did what he had to do.
“It’s very good for European golf to have another Masters winner.
“I played really well the first two days and I played nicely on Sunday, but unfortunately I got myself in a hole on Saturday and couldn’t really get out of it. That’s what Augusta can do to you.
“It´s the kind of course that if you get in a roll you can really get in there, it happened to me on Thursday, but if you start catching the wrong side of the of the slope you can’t stop making bogeys.”
He now moves on to Valderrama, one of Europe’s great golf courses, which is hosting its 21st European Tour event this week, with just three winners having managed to get to double figures under par.
Garcia is something of an expert at the venue, winning the 2011 Andalucía Masters and recording ten top tens in 11 events but, after finishing in a tie for 34th last week, he is readying himself for another difficult test.
“The course looks amazing,” he said. “It’s playing hard, the rough is as thick as ever and the greens are great. They are rolling quite fast and they have a good firmness, not extremely firm, but they still release.
“With a little bit of breeze that’s just what we expect from Valderrama.”
Cabrera Bello entered the Masters as one of the form players on Tour having impressed on the Desert Swing and in the year’s opening two World Golf Championships events.
He finished in a tie for 17th after an impressive closing 70, and knows he will have to be near his best again to win on a course he grew up wanting to play.
“I was really hoping it would be a lot easier having played Augusta last week, but I played it today and it is still very tough,” he said. “It is tight off the tees and the greens are small and quick and the rough is up, so it will be very tough. But I’m looking forward to it.”
Kaymer has yet to register a top ten this season but is happy with the way his game is coming together, and would love a victory at an iconic venue.
It is a golf course you would like to win on during your career. Valderrama, Wentworth, St Andrews. These are the core of The European Tour, so I wanted to give it another go – Martin Kaymer
“I know the way I approached the game the last two months is not how I should score. But last week I played well and the golf course was fantastic. On the greens I struggled, but that is fine. If I continue the way I played, I should be fine.”