He was 70 years old and could still burn rubber like there was no tomorrow. It was Sir Henry Cotton’s signature move when he was trying to impress friends and strangers alike in his day, as the first professional at Real Club Valderrama, venue of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation, which still was named ‘Las Aves’ at the time.

The true veterans still remember the image crystal clear, ingrained in their minds. Cotton would place a tire out on the Valderrama driving range and started hitting it with a golf club. It was his way of showing that his wrists and hands were still strong and solid. Because Cotton (the European Tour Rookie of the Year Award was named after him), was a real character, and through his life lessons, stories and peculiarities, he managed to live on through Valderrama forever.

He arrived to Sotogrande in his mid-70s. Just like so many other British people, he decided to spend the latter years of his life in the southern European sunshine. He settled down in Algarve, Portugal, but he left abruptly after the Carnation Revolution. His next stop was Sotogrande. That’s where he brought his knowledge, and a past full of interesting stories and unexpected events and experiences.

Cotton was a great cricket player when he was 16 years old, and inspired by his older brother, Leslie, he bet everything on golf. It was his second sport, but he thought it would be a more favorable way to earn a living. He hadn’t even turned 18 when he was working as an assistant on different courses in the UK. He was a living legacy, which lead down the path to Valderrama in last years.

It was the perfect fit. Pedigree. Luxury. Dandyism. The high life. Cotton won the British Open three times (1934, 1937 and 1948), participated in four Ryder Cups (in the 1947 edition as playing captain and in 1953, as non-playing captain) and he took home the victory in more than thirty European tournaments. But above all, he was a very unique individual, a rebel with a cause. He didn’t understand the bad perception professional golfers had and fought to the dire end so that it would be become recognized by society. He was the British equivalent of Walter Hagen. For example, when the clubs did not allow professionals to enter in the clubhouse nor, of course, to use the dressing rooms, the British golfer would pull up to the parking lot in a flashy Rolls-Royce, and he would change in the car. Afterward, he would lay a checkered tablecloth out on the floor, picnic style, and would eat right there in front of everyone. He liked to wear expensive, tailored clothes, he was a bon vivant, he would drink champagne and eat caviar every chance he got. It was a big effort and huge accomplishment for him to reach his status. He didn’t exactly have an easy childhood.

Not only did he leave a golf legacy, he also wrote more than ten books and designed many golf courses around the world. He donated to charities, to the point that he became one of the main benefactors of Red Cross by playing exhibition matches and events. He was a part of the Royal Air Force in World War II, thanks to his training as a pilot, and he received the The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire medal. He was even deemed a Knight Bachelor, the most important distinction someone can receive who is not royalty.

His influence in the world of golf is infinite. For example, in the Open Championship he won in 1934 at Royal St. George’s, he went into the last round with a ten-shot advantage after shooting a spectacular 65 in the second round. His score was so astounding that a well-known brand of golf balls came out with a new model with the number 65. In 1980, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Cotton is truly a unique figure in the history of golf, and his tracks can be traced all the way back to Valderrama... on one old tire, or another.

• • •

Tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters 2019 hosted by the Sergio García Foundation are on sale now at the event website, starting from just €7 for juniors and €18 for adults (free entry for children aged under 12 when accompanied by an adult). For more information, see the event website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation, an event in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai made possible by the essential contribution of the Real Club Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Consejería de Turismo, Regeneración, Justicia y Administración Local of the Junta de Andalucía, jointly funded by EU. This tournament is also supported by Diputación de Cádiz, Dubai Duty Free, Rolex, Exterior Plus, La Reserva Club de Sotogrande, Santander Private Banking and Shell. Callaway, Coca-Cola, Enterprise, Grupo Raga, ISDIN, Korporate Technologies Group, Marca, Maui Jim, the Hospital QuirónSalud Campo de Gibraltar, the Real Federación Andaluza de Golf and Volvo are official suppliers. 5J, Gadira, Grupo Joly and Varma collaborate in the event as well.

“If you want to win at Valderrama, you need to be patient and love this course”, said Sergio García, host of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation, soon after hoisting the 2017 trophy. It’s a concise and fitting summary of the relationship he has with a Real Club Valderrama that celebrates its “silver wedding” with the European Tour, since it will hold its 25^th tour event from June 26-30.

Some holes are remembered for the feats of certain golfers, such as the Hogan's Alley baptized in honor of the great Ben Hogan in Carnoustie, and there are a few groups of holes that go down in history due to the dominance displayed by outstanding players. A little bit further down the road we find courses fully identified with golf stars, such as Bay Hill, always associated with Arnold Palmer (although the eight wins Tiger Woods got there put him right at his side) or Muirfield Village, the house that Jack (Nicklaus) built. Nobody can accuse us of being wrong if we include Sergio García and Real Club Valderrama in this list of "golf marriages".

In golf, the phrase horses for courses alludes to the fact there are golfers that play best in certain golf courses, but in the aforementioned cases the ties between golfers and courses go far beyond the game. Their favourite courses are much more than a good luck charm: in good times are the best support; in bad times, a safe haven and a welcoming balm.

Although Sergio García took a long time in getting his first win at the Real Club Valderrama, his stats at the beautiful and manicured Sotogrande course are amazing, especially if we take into account how hard is the Robert Trent Jones’ design. The golfer from Borriol accumulates 13 top tens (2 in the American Express Championship, 7 in Volvo Masters, and 4 in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters) in the 14 European Tour events he played at Valderrama, and he is the first golfer with three individual wins in this course (2011, 2017 y 2018).

“I really like this course and everyone knows it's my favorite ... People may expect an automatic win every time I play at Valderrama, but it's a very challenging course. You have to hit all the shots, unlike many courses in which the driver is king. You have to use all the clubs in the bag," said García at the end of the 2018 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.

Although last year he managed to defend his title at Valderrama (and we could say he has three wins in a row with his 2011 win if we don’t count the third place of the 2016 Spanish Open), previously the Borriol star had a lot of close calls in the Volvo Masters and took him a long time to start winning at Valderrama.

After contending with Graeme McDowell for the 2010 title of the then-named Andalucía Valderrama Masters, García started imposing his sporting tyranny at the Cádiz course. A year later, García fought an exciting duel with Miguel Ángel Jiménez and, with a great up-and-down at the last hole, he managed to hoist his first Valderrama trophy. Sergio bent forward and clenched his fists in a celebration that, in time, we would see again at the 2017 Masters Tournament. Although he seemed to release a lot of stress back then, acceptance was the key in that win.

“I did not feel this course owed me anything. I’ve always tried to do my best here, but my opponents always played a little bit better”, said García. After that, he hasn’t had to use those words again.

García finished third in the 2016 Spanish Open, with just two strokes more than Andrew "Beef" Johnston, although he started the last round 7 shots behind, and later came the two titles won at the 2017 and 2018 Andalucia Valderrama Masters, keeping at bay players of the stature of Joost Luiten and Shane Lowry. Last year, Garcia astonished everybody with an impressive 64 on the second round in a tournament shortened to 54 holes because of bad weather. Sergio García and Real Club Valderrama ties keep strengthening.

“I love all the Valderrama holes, each one has its own appeal. This course gives you no respite and makes you think. You must keep focused from the first tee and put the ball always in the right place. Patience is essential. We all play it with a lot of respect,” explained the Spanish golfer.

From June 27, Sergio García will have the chance to extend his love relationship with Valderrama, although for that he will need to beat a great field led by Jon Rahm, best ranked Spanish player for the last 21 months.

Tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters 2019 hosted by the Sergio García Foundation are on sale now at the event website, starting from just €7 for juniors and €18 for adults (free entry for children aged under 12 when accompanied by an adult). For more information, see the event website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation, an event in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai made possible by the essential contribution of the Real Club Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Consejería de Turismo, Regeneración, Justicia y Administración Local of the Junta de Andalucía, jointly funded by EU and declared Event of Exceptional Public Interest by the Spanish Government. This tournament is also supported by Diputación de Cádiz, Dubai Duty Free, Santander Private Banking, Shell, Exterior Plus, La Reserva de Sotogrande, Rolex and the Real Federación Andaluza de Golf. Callaway, Enterprise, Maui Jim, Marca and Volvo are official suppliers. Coca-Cola, el Hospital QuirónSalud Campo de Gibraltar, Varma, Gadira, Grupo Raga, ISDIN and Korporate Technologies Group collaborate in the event as well.

The first time Tiger Woods visited Spain, he encountered a country in a state of shock. It was one hot weekend in July of 1997. There were 75 days left to go for the Ryder Cup at Valderrama and American captain, Tom Kite, had decided to visit the Sotogrande course with several other golfers. He had to break it in and get familiar with it before the grand battle against Europe. 

The goal was to get mentally prepared for the big duel on Spanish grounds, and it happened to be the most appropriate dates for the Americans, seeing as how just a few days later was the Open Championship. There was no better way to take advantage of the trip to the Old Continent. Ryder and British all in one. Fate willed that they came to a country which was anxiously counting down the hours...

María Acacia López Bachiller, chief press officer of the European Tour in Spain for 45 years, remembers that weekend as if were yesterday. “Neither Kite nor the golfers knew what was happening. Every time they turned on the TV, they would see the same images; when they picked up the paper, the same covers. All of Spain was out on the streets and they asked us what was happening”. Tiger and company visited Spain just when a young Basque councilman, Miguel Ángel Blanco, was kidnapped and murdered. Almost every Spaniard knows what they were doing during those fateful hours. It's one of the most shocking moments in Spain's recent history, and both Woods and a majority of the American Ryder team were there to witness it firsthand. 

Tiger played at Valderrama for the first time on July 13th, 1997, just a few hours after the threat was carried out and Miguel Ángel Blanco was murdered by his captors. It was a Sunday. He wore a black ribbon as a sign of respect. He and all the Americans.

Tiger Woods was a young, beaming and open golfer. He stopped to greet everyone, he made jokes, and he had a special connection with Mark O’Meara and Fred Couples. He was already a rising star, but he was still accessible. This story told by María Acacia shines light on how that Tiger Woods was: “The day prior to the competition, the golfers went out in pairs to talk to accredited journalists. Woods did so at the press center together with his good friend and support, Mark O’Meara. Just before that, it was Fred Couples' turn, who gave me a folded piece of paper for Tiger Woods. When he opened it, out of the corner of my eye, I could make out the joke Couples wrote: ‘I'm the blonde who's been watching you all morning. I'll be waiting for you in one hour next to the driving range’. Tiger folded it back up and put it in his pocket, a big smile spread across his face”. 

One of the days during that Ryder Cup, Seve Ballesteros, the European captain, went a bit mad. Nothing to do with golf, nor the rain, and most definitely not with the course preparation, which taught the whole world a lesson that weekend. Seve's anger came from something much more trivial. The Americans had refused the invitation for the dinner they would be served in the hotel, and they decided to satisfy their appetites with pizza and hamburgers. The Spaniard from Cantabria could not fathom how they could do something like that with Spanish food. “They have no idea”, he said.

Things didn't go well for Woods in that Ryder. Seve's Europe won on an unforgettable Sunday at Valderrama, and one of the key points, precisely, was Constantino Rocca's win against Tiger. However, Tiger was able to make up for it two years later. He took home the victory in the WGC-American Express after winning in a playoff against Miguel Ángel Jiménez. But that Woods was very different from the Woods of 1997. “He wasn't accessible anymore. He had become an hieratical and inexpressive superstar...he didn't smile anymore. He showed up with six bodyguards, a coach, a psychologist and surrounded by assistants...He was 23 years old.”, said Maria Acacia. 

But life is funny and the tides are always turning, often unexpectedly and, without a doubt, the Tiger Woods of today is much more similar to the version from 97 than the one from 99: more accessible, more bounce in his step and much more friendly. Who knows if we'll be seeing him sometime in the near future at the Real Club Valderrama, venue of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.

• • •

The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation, an event in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai held at the Real Club Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Consejería de Turismo, Regeneración, Justicia y Administración Local of the Junta de Andalucía, jointly funded by EU. This tournament is also supported by Diputación de Cádiz, Dubai Duty Free, Exterior Plus, La Reserva de Sotogrande, the Real Federación Andaluza de Golf, Rolex, Santander Private Banking y Shell. Callaway, Enterprise, Gadira, Grupo Raga, Isdin, Korporate Technologies Group, Maui Jim, the Hospital QuirónSalud Campo de Gibraltar, Varma and Volvo are official suppliers.

Estrella Damm, the iconic premium lager brand of the Spanish brewing company Damm, is today unveiled as the new title sponsor of the Andalucía Masters in a significant five-year deal.

Major champion Sergio Garcia heralded the new era for the event by confirming he will return to defend his title as well as host the event once again through his Foundation. He will be joined in the field by, amongst others, his 2018 Ryder Cup teammate and fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm.

As part of the new partnership, the prize fund for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation will rise to €3,000,000 - an increase of €1,000,000 from 2018.

The tournament, at Real Club Valderrama, is also supported by the Junta de Andalucía, and will take its place in a new summer date on the European Tour, from June 27-30, 2019. 

Jorge Villavecchia, Managing Director of Damm, said: “It is a real honour that one of the European Tour’s most important tournaments bears the name of Estrella Damm, our flagship brand. This will without doubt contribute to the internationalisation of the company, one of the pillars of our strategic plan. It is also a great privilege that the event is being held at the Real Club Valderrama, an unmatchable venue.

“Sport is in Damm’s DNA, which is why the sponsorship of the tournament not only highlights the company's commitment to golf, but also that of Damm to sport and society.”

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “We pride ourselves in being associated with some of the best and most prestigious companies across the world and Estrella Damm fits into that category. We thank them for their support of the European Tour in addition to everyone at the Junta de Andalucía and, of course, everyone at Valderrama.

“To have a tournament on the European Tour secured at one of the great and iconic courses in the world, not just in Europe, for the next five years, is terrific.

“We also pay tribute to Sergio Garcia not just for his skill inside the ropes, which will see him return this year as defending champion, but also for his commitment to the tournament outside the ropes through his wonderful Foundation.

“Players like Sergio and Jon Rahm are, of course, products of the Spanish Golf Federation who have done a fantastic job over the years in promoting golf in their home country and helping nurture young Spanish talent and advance it to the very top of the game. With seven Spanish players currently in the top 60 of our Race to Dubai, we look forward to seeing this trend continuing.”

Manuel Muñoz, General Secretary of Tourism for the Junta de Andalucía, said: “Today, Andalucía once again plays a leading role as a golfing destination, a benchmark for this sport in the south of Europe. Andalucía is the preferred destination for golfers traveling to Spain and the Andalucía Masters, which we have supported since its inception, has been an important part of that.”

Visconde de Pereira Machado, President of Real Club Valderrama, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Estrella Damm to our event at Real Club Valderrama. We have been working very hard to make our tournament one of the best on the European Tour schedule and we have no doubt that this new partnership will allow us to upgrade it further, to a new level.

“I would like to thank Estrella Damm for their great commitment and the European Tour for sharing with all of us at Valderrama our passion to grow the tournament. Our deepest thanks to Andalucía for their valued and continued support and to our member Sergio Garcia for his involvement through his Foundation.

“We look forward to welcoming players and fans from all over the world to Valderrama in June. Our golf course will be set to the highest standards of condition and will be a true test for some of the best golfers in the world.”

**President of CSD quote**

First brewed in 1876, Estrella Damm is the Mediterranean lager of Barcelona. To this day, Estrella Damm is brewed using the original recipe and 100% local and natural Mediterranean ingredients: barley malt, rice and hops. The link between Estrella Damm and sport dates back to the company's beginnings. Since then, the brand has been closely connected to sport in many ways, partnering many national and international sports clubs, teams and events. At the end of the 1990s Damm decided to support golf, at first through amateur clubs all over Spain and then, in 2017, sponsoring the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open, a professional golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour, in which Europe’s leading women golfers compete.

The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation returned to the European Tour schedule in 2017 after a six-year gap, with Garcia supporting the event through his foundation, which was set up in 2002 for the purpose of contributing to the social inclusion of economically deprived children and youths through social assistance benefits and the practice of sport as a free-time activity. 

After becoming the first Spaniard to win a stroke play event at Real Club Valderrama with a battling triumph at the event in 2011, the 2017 Masters Tournament champion and Europe’s record points scorer in The Ryder Cup, continued his love affair with the venue by taking the title for a second time on its return to the European Tour International Schedule.

Garcia continued his remarkable record at Valderrama last year by successfully defending his title and lifting the trophy for a third time at the venue steeped in Spanish golfing history, where the legendary Seve Ballesteros famously led Europe to victory in the 1997 Ryder Cup.

Garcia said: “I’m very excited to return to Valderrama, and especially with Jon coming along too. It was a dream come true to win the title again last year and I’m sure it’s going to be an amazing week this year, especially for Spanish golf fans.

“With our Foundation being so involved it makes it even more special, and hopefully we can raise more funds for people who need it. With Jon coming along again, and some of the other guys in the field this year, along with the exciting announcements, the tournament is getting even bigger. It’s going to be an awesome week.”

He will be joined in the field by World Number Eleven Rahm, who made his first professional appearance on Spanish soil at the event in 2017, and despite missing the cut at Valderrama, he went on to delight home fans by claiming his third European Tour title at the Open de España the following year.

Rahm said: “I’m excited to be back, and going to Valderrama in summer too – it’s the most beautiful time to be in the south of Spain. It’s a great part of the country and a great part of the world, actually.

“Last time I was there I didn’t have my best performance by missing the cut, so hopefully I can give Sergio a run for the title this year.

“We’re lucky to have two European Tour events in Spain, and one of them with a lot of thanks to Sergio and his Foundation. I will give as much support as I can and hopefully we have a good week and put on a show for the Spanish fans.”

Tickets for the 2019 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation are on sale now, starting from just €7 for juniors and €18 for adults on pro-am day. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.andaluciavalderramamasters.com