DP World Tour winners Ángel Hidalgo, Adrián Otaegui, Rasmus Højgaard, Matteo Manassero and Niklas Nørgaard will visit Real Club de Golf Sotogrande to play this year’s Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters from October 17-20.
They will join two-time Major Champion Jon Rahm, Rolex Series winners Victor Perez, Thorbjørn Olesen and Rafa Cabrera Bello and PGA TOUR winner Matt Wallace in the penultimate event of the DP World Tour’s ‘Back 9’ as players hope to secure their spot in the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
Hidalgo recently won the hearts of his nation after holding off three-time champion Rahm in a play-off to win the 2024 acciona Open de España presented by Madrid.
The Spaniard will return to the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, a tournament of which he has the fondest memories, having finished solo fourth at Real Club Valderrama in 2022 to secure his DP World Tour card for the following season. This proved to be a major turning point in a career recently boosted by his win at the acciona Open de España.
Otaegui claimed his fifth DP World Tour victory at the Volvo China Open earlier this year after overturning a five-shot deficit thanks to a brilliant final round of 65 to win by one stroke. It was his first victory since the 2022 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters at Real Club Valderrama.
The 31-year-old will fight again for the title in Sotogrande, in which he won the bronze medal at the Teams competition in the European Nations Championship – Sotogrande Cup.
Højgaard claimed his fifth DP World Tour title at the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down last month. The Dane posted a superb closing 65 with four birdies in the last five holes to finish one-shot ahead of World Number Three Rory McIlroy.
The 23-year-old finished fifth at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters in 2022 and he now returns to Spain sitting fourth on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, in a strong position to join twin brother Nicolai on the PGA Tour in 2025.
Manassero made a remarkable career comeback and ended his near 11-year wait for a fifth DP World Tour title with an emotional triumph at the Jonsson Workwear Open in March.
When he lifted the trophy at the 2013 BMW PGA Championship, it seemed impossible to think he would not win on the DP World Tour for another 3,942 days. After a win on the Alps Tour in 2020 served as a boost to his confidence, last season he won twice on the European Challenge Tour to reclaim his DP World Tour card after five years away. His win in South Africa served again as a springboard to the Italian player.
Manassero has a very close relationship with Spain and became the DP World Tour’s youngest winner at the age of 17 years and 188 days at the 2010 Castelló Masters Costa Azahar – a record he still holds.
Nørgaard recently won his maiden DP World Tour title at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo after tense finish at The Belfry. The 32-year-old secured the 50th win by a Danish player on the DP World Tour.
Having turned professional in late 2015, he won the order of merit on the Nordic Golf League in 2019 to earn promotion to the Challenge Tour, from which he got a DP World Tour card in 2021.
Nørgaard is enjoying a dream season and he’s currently eighth in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and fourth in the European Qualification Rankings for the Ryder Cup.
Tickets are already available, with discounts for members of the federation (and their families/friends) and free access for children under 13, and can be purchased here.
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, an event in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai made possible by the essential contribution of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Junta de Andalucía, jointly funded by the EU and was declared Event of Exceptional Public Interest by the Government of Spain.