• John Catlin, leader of the tournament, and Adrián Otaegui, sixth, best Spanish
The data offered last Thursday by the European Tour was eloquent: if a player had finished on par in the 25 tournaments of the circuit that have passed through Real Club Valderrama, he would have achieved three victories and would have finished eighteen times in the top ten. Once 54 holes of the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters have been played and with the leader, the American John Catlin, as the only golfer capable of taking down two strokes from par on the course so far, it would not be surprising if that imaginary player is made on Sunday with his fourth title.
Valderrama, once again, acts as judge and party, beautiful and rigorous in equal parts. The daily screening is important, and only Catlin, fired in the Asian Tour (where he obtained four victories) has managed to partially beat the Sanroqueño tour. In addition to his good long game and the cool blood displayed on the firm greens of Sotogrande, Catlin stands out for his poise, an essential quality at the headquarters of the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters.
“The mental aspect is very important. Here you hit good shots that don’t end up in a good place, so you have to react and stay focused. Sometimes it is difficult, but I am proud of what has been achieved in that regard, “the American recapitulated.
Just two strokes away is a great rival who will share a stellar match with Catlin, Martin Kaymer. The European star of the Ryder Cup held in Medinah in 2014 has not raised a trophy in six years, but the passage through Valderrama, after his good performance last week in the last round of the British tour of the European Tour, could serve as a springboard ideal to redirect your career.
“Winning at Valderrama has always been one of my goals, one of my dreams. The first time I came, in 2007, I went out to play pulling the cart myself and it was one of the practice laps that I have enjoyed the most in my life because I was alone and Valderrama. Winning here would be very special ”, recapitulated Kaymer.
The main Spanish asset will be Donostiarra Adrián Otaegui, who in the third round was able to equal the best result of the tournament (68 strokes) and climb to sixth place. The progression of the Basque (from +6 on the first match of the second and -3 on the third) invites optimism, although caution must prevail over the fairways and greens of Valderrama.
“I am very happy, any day at Valderrama is very good. It was a lap with very few failures, I have not given shots foolishly and everything that is to do pairs is very good this week ”, summarized Otaegui. “Every day is a world in this field, you have to go with a lot of patience. The wind is blowing similar these days and it is not that I have got the hang of the field, but I have a clear strategy ”.
Nor should we forget other famous people such as the Welshman Jamie Donaldson, decisive in the 2014 Ryder Cup, and the Italian Lorenzo Gagli, who scored a hole in 1 at 12, who share third place three strokes behind Catlin, or the Finn Sami Välimäki, winner this year in Oman.
For the rest of the Spanish, a complicated day with some exceptions such as Pedro Oriol, who displayed a masterful capacity for recovery to climb to the twelfth place with +5 in the accumulated. Pablo Larrazábal, Jorge Campillo and Álvaro Quirós share the seventeenth place with +6; Alejandro Cañizares, Sebastián García Rodríguez, Nacho Elvira and Carlos Pigem are thirty-sixth with +9; Alfredo García-Heredia and Pep Andamientos, forty-ninth with +10; and Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, sixty-first with +12.
HeEstrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters , a European Tour tournament valid for the Race to Dubai that is held thanks to the essential collaboration of the Real Club Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Department of Tourism, Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration of the Board of Andalusia, in addition to being co-financed with European funds and declared an event of exceptional public interest by the Government of Spain. The tournament is also supported by Rolex, Exterior Plus, Santander Private Banking and Shell. Callaway, Coca-Cola, Enterprise, Grupo Raga, Kyocera, Marca, Maui Jim, the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, Riversa, Varma and Volvo are official suppliers.
