Juan Postigo has finished the first round of the G4D Tour in second place, five strokes behind leader Kipp Popert. The 26-year-old golfer from Santander is determined to fight for a first victory on the new WR4GD, featuring the top adaptive golfers in the world. This tournament will be a spectacular kick-off for next Thursday’s start of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.

Postigo’s two over card of 73 confirms his solid performance throughout the season, with four top ten in five events. He is currently fourth in the WR4GD rankings.

England’s Kipp Popert, leads brilliantly after a superb round of 68 (-3) highlighted by the first hole-in-one ever made on the G4D Tour. Popert’s feat on the 6th is also the first hole-in-one scored on that hole in Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters history, as the other two aces were recorded on the 12th.

Popert is targeting a fourth G4D Tour victory at Valderrama. A ten-week premature baby, the Englishman was later diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy called spastic diplegia that affects his lower body. In 2016 and 2018 he underwent complex surgeries to restructure his feet.

Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor, Sweden’s Rasmus Lia and Canadian Kurtis Barkley shot 74 (+3) to share third place, six strokes behind the leader.

This will be the last chance to earn one of the ten spots available for the circuit finale, the G4D Tour @ DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, to be held on November 18-19 prior to the DP World Tour Championship, the final tournament of the 2022 Rolex Series.

The G4D (Golf for the Disabled) Tour, launched in February to underscore the DP World Tour’s commitment to inclusivity in golf, hosts the world’s top-ranked players in adaptive golf (WR4GD), to highlight the inclusive nature of golf and encourage others to take up the game. Physical, sensory or intellectual diversity and a variety of genders and nationalities are defining features of the G4D Tour.

Enjoying the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters is easy, since individual day tickets, weekend tickets, for season tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters are on sale at experiences.dpworldtour.com/edam and at the box office at Real Club Valderrama (credit or debit card payment required).

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 Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Consejería de Turismo, Cultura y Deporte of the Junta de Andalucía, jointly funded by the EU and was declared Event of Exceptional Public Interest by the Government of Spain.

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The G4D Tour arrives in Spain with ten of the top 11 players in the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) set to tee it up at the sixth event of the season, a superb preamble for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters that will be held at the iconic Real Club Valderrama from October 13-16, 2022.

This 36-hole event in Andalucía is the final chance to seize one of the ten places available for the Series Finale at the G4D Tour @ DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on November 18-19 ahead of the final Rolex Series event of 2022, the DP World Tour Championship.

All eyes will be on Juan Postigo, who was born without much of his right leg and no knee, but since starting to play golf aged 12 has gone on to become World Number Three in the WR4GD.

He defended his individual men’s European Championship for Golfers with Disability title in 2021, after the biennial event was cancelled in 2020. Postigo claimed the top prizes in both the Gross and Nett divisions as the European Disabled Golf Association kicked off its 2022 campaign with the Vilamoura Open in February and will be eager to seal a win at Real Club Valderrama.

The 26-year-old comes from the same part of Spain as Ballesteros and Real Club Valderrama will always be synonymous with the 50-time DP World Tour winner.

Ballesteros led Europe to victory at Valderrama in 1997 as the Ryder Cup was held in continental Europe for the first time and the five-time Major Champion is often spoken of by his countrymen as a golfing inspiration.

That is certainly the case for Postigo but, after a second and a third on the G4D Tour this season, he is looking to make some history of his own.

“It's been a great season on the inaugural year of the G4D Tour,” he said. “We've played at great venues this season but playing at home, at Valderrama for the G4D @ Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters is going to be very special.”

“I come from northern Spain, from Pedreña, and it's the 25th anniversary of the first Ryder Cup in Spain led by Seve Ballesteros. There's a lot of things connected and I love the venue, I love the golf course, it's just one of the purest out there and I hope I can have a good week.”

“I'll be supported by some of my family and it looks to be a great week.”

 The G4D (Golf for the Disabled) Tour, launched in February as part of the DP World Tour’s commitment to inclusivity in golf, is aimed at the leading gross ranked players from the World Ranking for Golfers with a Disability to showcase the inclusive nature of golf and encourage others to take up the sport. Players will span all disabilities (physical, sensory, or intellectual), gender and nationality.

EDGA's development in Spain

The EDGA Development Team will visit the Real Spanish Federation of Golf (RFEG) on the 17th and 18th of October following the DP World Tour/G4D Tour Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters. Mark Taylor, EDGA Head of Development, Instruction & Education, will work with the RFEG and the PGA of Spain to deliver a two-day coach education programme. The programme takes place at the National Training Centre in Madrid. It provides practical and implicit learning opportunities for the coaches to increase their knowledge and skills to coach golf for the disabled.

“This EDGA coach training will provide a fantastic opportunity for coaches working within our member country of Spain to harness the momentum of the previous week's G4D Tour event in Valderrama. The programme will provide the coaches with an invaluable learning opportunity and increase the support available for over 130 registered WR4GD & Access pass holders living in Spain. Furthermore the training will help coaches deliver sampling opportunities for new golfers with a disability and help newcomers get into the game under the auspices of the National Federation”, said Mark Taylor.

EDGA is a not-for-profit volunteer-based association of the National Golf Federations from 34 countries worldwide. EDGA focuses on boosting awareness of the inclusive nature of golf, developing capacity within the golf industry, and providing opportunities for golfers with a disability at all levels throughout the player pathway. 

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 Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and Consejería de Turismo, Cultura y Deporte de la Junta de Andalucía, jointly funded by the EU and was declared Event of Exceptional Public Interest by the Government of Spain.

Enjoying the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters field is quite easy, since individual day tickets, weekend tickets, for season tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters are on sale at edamgolf.es, with preferential rates for federated golfers and free entry for children under 13.

The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, a DP World Tour event to be held from October 13th at Real Club Valderrama, will once again be the tangible proof of the union between Andalucía and golf, a close and fruitful relationship that has been going on for decades. The Spanish tournament with the best purse in the international schedule will once again bring together a stellar field, welcoming fans that will be able to enjoy the wide range of leisure, tourism and sporting options offered by this Spanish autonomous community, and who can purchase their tickets at edamgolf.es.

Andalusia, a leading golf destination and a world reference for anyone who wants to enjoy this sport, has more than a hundred golf courses (the largest offer in continental Europe), first class facilities and a powerful business model based on quality, prestige and diversity.

Andalusia has hosted 63 top international men's tournaments, the region in continental Europe with the most DP World Tour events. Since 1966, this community has welcomed 21 Volvo Masters, 11 Open de Andalucía, 11 Spanish Open, 8 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, 3 Volvo World Match Play Championships, 3 World Cups, 2 World Golf Championships and four other Open tournaments. As the icing on the cake, the 1997 Ryder Cup, also played at Real Club Valderrama, in which the European team beat the American team led by Tiger Woods thanks to the talent of its players and, above all, Seve Ballesteros, its captain. The 1997 event served to bring Andalusia to millions of homes around the world, in the same way the Solheim Cup, the women’s team championship between the United States and Europe, will do it in 2023. This event will be played at Finca Cortesín, Málaga, and will once again be a turning point for Andalusia and a focus of attention for fans and spectators.

Golf is an essential tourist and sports industry for the region, and for this reason the Junta de Andalucía consider it fundamental in its strategy. This activity attracts around 600,000 travellers a year, has great potential for development and has established itself as one of its economic driving forces. Precisely, its capacity to attract foreign visitors and its suitability for going beyond seasonal tourism and get quality tourism favour the creation of attractive products within the promotion and marketing programmes.

Within this framework, the golf promotion of this segment includes, together with the sponsorship of major tournaments such as the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters (which the Junta has supported since its first edition), other actions such as communication campaigns and agreements with tour operators.

The Junta’s Counsellor of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Arturo Bernal, said that the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters will once again bring together "some of the best players on the DP World Tour in a unique setting, helping to showcase the enviable Andalusian climate, the quality of our courses and our wide and diverse complementary offer".

Bernal emphasized that this great event "will once again put Andalusia in the world golfing spotlight" and will contribute "to consolidate golf tourism in a region which, today, is an indispensable destination for any player and spectator".

THE ROYAL ANDALUSIAN GOLF FEDERATION, AN ESSENTIAL LINK

In addition to the efforts of the Junta de Andalucía, the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation is also working to promote the sport, and that’s why Andalusia is one of the main breeding grounds for talent and has the second largest number of licences in Spain, according to the latest data published by the RFEG.

Among the almost 50,000 active golf licences, more than thirteen thousand are women’s, (almost 26%), making golf the leading sport in terms of the number of women's licences in Andalusia. In addition to the mixed events promoted by the RFGA, the Women's Committee successfully organises the Andalusian Women's Circuit and an Andalusian Ladies' Trophy to promote the sport exclusively among Andalusian women.

The RFGA collaborates with the RFEG in activities such as the Friends Cup; in initiation campaigns for different groups; or in the “golf in schools” initiative, thanks to which this sport reaches the students as part of the Physical Education subject. In addition, a programme of subsidies has been set up for children's golf schools in Andalusia whereby clubs receive financial aid for each federated child they have in their golf classes.

As a symbol of institutional collaboration and a breeding ground for sportsmen and women, the community has three facilities belonging to the Junta de Andalucía: La Cartuja in Seville, La Garza in Linares and El Toyo in Almería. There are also other municipal public courses ceded to clubs, such as La Cañada, Pozoblanco, Parador de Málaga de Golf, Alborán Golf, or the Angel course (Marbella).

The Boys and Junior Committee is another essential body for promoting grassroots sport, and in addition to organizing various Andalusian Championships and other events, it is worth mentioning their Circuito Juvenil y Benjamín (aimed at children who already have a national handicap) and, above all, the Pequecircuito, the gateway to golf for the youngest players. Players of the stature of Ángel Hidalgo, Enrique Marín, Scott Fernández, Mario Galiano, Álvaro Quirós, María Parra, Ana Peláez, Noemí Jiménez and Azahara Muñoz, all fully established among golfing elite, started on the Andalusian Pequecircuito.

This year, the finals of the Circuito Juvenil y Benjamín and the Pequecircuito will be held for the first time at Real Club Valderrama, an unforgettable experience for all the children who qualify for the 11th December grand final. In addition, the RFAG will once again have two tee-times in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters Pro-Am, so some of their promising players will be able to enjoy the venue of this DP World Tour tournament in advance. On the other hand, the amateur Ángel Ayora, a budding star from La Cañada who finished second in 2022 at the U18 Spanish International, the Spanish Amateur Championship and the Spanish Individual Championship, will be playing against the "seniors" and will face the tournament's qualified field from October 13th.

Enjoying Angel Ayora’s play and the rest of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters field is quite easy, since individual day tickets, weekend tickets, for season tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters are on sale at edamgolf.es, with preferential rates for federated golfers and free entry for children under 13.

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 Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and Consejería de Turismo, Cultura y Deporte de la Junta de Andalucía, jointly funded by the EU and was declared Event of Exceptional Public Interest by the Government of Spain.

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Ryder Cup player and Rolex Series winner Rafa Cabrera Bello is amongst the international stars who will tee it up at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters from October 13-16, 2022, and fans can secure tickets to now at experiences.dpworldtour.com/edam

The 38 year old is aiming for a first title at the iconic Real Club Valderrama and more success on home soil after securing his fourth DP World Tour win at the ACCONIA Open de España last season.

He joins a field that includes the defending champion and U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick of England and a host of fellow DP World Tour winners, including rising Spanish star Adri Arnaus, who claimed his maiden title this season at the Catalunya Championship.

There will be two sets of brothers teeing it up, with eight-time DP World Tour winner Fitzpatrick joined by his younger sibling Alex, who is playing in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters for the first time after making his professional debut this season. They are joined by talented Danish twins Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard, who now have five DP World Tour wins between them following Nicolai’s victory in Ras al Khaimah earlier this season.

The 1997 Ryder Cup course will also welcome two young players who have had recent success at host venues for golf’s greatest team competition. Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre claimed the DS Automobiles Italian Open title at upcoming 2023 course Marco Simone Golf and Country Club and was followed a week later by Guido Migliozzi of Italy, who triumphed in the Cazoo Open de France at Le Golf National - the scene of a memorable victory for Team Europe in 2018.

Further 2022 DP World Tour winners who will be in the field in Sotogrande include history-making Adrian Meronk - the first player from Poland to win on Tour - well-travelled stars Ryan Fox from New Zealand and China’s Wu Ashun, and two-time winners Thriston Lawrence of South Africa and Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson.

Rolex Series winners Min Woo Lee of Australia, South Africa’s Brandon Stone and Danish Ryder Cup player Thorbjørn Olesen, who recorded his sixth DP World Tour win this season at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, will also tee it up in Andalucía.

The exciting week of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters action will begin with the penultimate event in the G4D Tour season, as ten of the world’s best golfers with a disability - including Spain’s Juan Postigo Arce - take on the same set up as the professional field over two rounds on Monday and Tuesday. The seven-event series then concludes at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

The tournament will continue to play its part in the DP World Tour’s Green Drive initiative, with the return of the popular beach clean, which last year saw Spanish players Alejandro Cañizares and Santiago Tarrio join volunteers and students from schools in the area to clean waste from nearby Sotogrande Beach.

Individual day tickets, weekend tickets, or season tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters are on sale at: experiences.dpworldtour.com/edam. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets before midnight on Wednesday 5 October to save up to 20% per ticket.