Three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington has become the latest addition to the field at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, as the Irishman targets a place in the final Rolex Series events of the 2018 Race to Dubai.

Harrington has been on a strong run of form of late, with three top tens in his past five events, and he made a late decision to travel to the Andalucia region of Spain in order to build on that momentum on a golf course upon which he has enjoyed some strong results.

The Dubliner has a string of good performances at the famous venue of The 1997 Ryder Cup, including a runner-up finish in the Volvo Masters in 1999 and a top five in the 2000 WGC-American Express Championship.

Having registered a top 30 finish last year as his fellow Major winner Sergio Garcia claimed a glorious victory, Harrington is relishing the opportunity to return to the renowned Robert Trent Jones Sr-designed course.

“Valderrama is one of the best golf courses we have in Europe,” said Harrington, who was one of the five Vice Captains in the winning European team for The 2018 Ryder Cup. “It’s a great tournament venue and a really good course to play.

“I’m just outside the automatic qualifying spots for the Turkish Airlines Open, so I need to make a few more points to get to Turkey. So it’s a great opportunity for me to go to a course I’m very familiar with, and get a bit of sun on my back too, so I’m looking forward to it.

“My form has been good, so hopefully I can take that form into the week, because I certainly need a decent performance. I thought I would finish better at Walton Heath but I left a few shots out on the golf course. Hopefully I can play well this week at Valderrama and get the points that I need.”

Last year, Garcia delighted Spanish fans with an emotional victory in Sotogrande, as he sealed his third win of the season to add to his maiden Major title at Augusta National as well as the Omega Dubai Desert Classic trophy.

Garcia will return to defend his title as he plays for the first time since becoming the record points-scorer in The Ryder Cup, beating Sir Nick Faldo's record by a half a point with a total of 25.5.

Harrington also joins the victorious 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn in the field, as well as two more of the Vice Captains - 23-time European Tour winner Lee Westwood and another former European Tour Number One Robert Karlsson.

This year’s tournament, which takes place from October 18-21, will once again be sponsored by the Autonomous Government of Andalusia with the support of the Sergio Garcia Foundation.

The Spaniard set up his charitable foundation in 2002 for the purpose of contributing to the social inclusion of economically-deprived children through social assistance benefits and the practice of sport as free-time activity.

Tickets for the 2018 Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation start at €15 for the Pro-Am on Wednesday October 17, €20 for Thursday and Friday and €30 on Saturday and Sunday. Children aged under 14 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticket holding adult. Tickets are available now HERE

The Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation is sponsored by the Council of Tourism and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía through the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, with the added institutional support of the Diputación de Cádiz, the San Roque City Council and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation. It also enjoys the support of La Reserva de Sotogrande, Rolex, Heineken, Dubai Duty Free, Santander Private Banking, Shell, Exterior Plus and Samsic Iberia. Only Water, Grupo Hospitalario Quirónsalud, Coca-Cola, Varma and Korporate Technologies Group are official suppliers.

Victorious Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn will be reunited with Europe’s all-time leading Ryder Cup points scorer when he tees it up at the Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation on October 18-21, 2018.

Bjørn will join defending champion Garcia at Real Club Valderrama just three weeks after captaining Europe to a 17.5 – 10.5 win over the United States in Paris, where the 2017 Masters Tournament winner overtook Sir Nick Faldo at the top of the European points list.

As well as seeing Bjørn and Garcia in action, fans will also have the opportunity to get up close to the famous Ryder Cup trophy, which will be on site throughout tournament week.

It will be a third appearance at the Andalucía Valderrama Masters for the Dane, who has an impressive record at the event, finishing in fifth position in 2010, followed by a 15^th place finish the following year. Real Club Valderrama has added significance as the venue where Bjørn made his Ryder Cup debut in 1997 as part of the team – captained by the late, great Seve Ballesteros – which won the first of the biennial events to be held in continental Europe. 

Bjørn said: “This is a tournament where I have played well in the past and I’m looking forward to coming back to Real Club Valderrama next week. It’s a place that holds Ryder Cup memories for so many people, myself included, and it will be quite special to see the trophy back where I made my debut as a player.

“It will be great to be a part of what is a big week for Sergio both as host and defending champion, as he returns to home soil after making Ryder Cup history. The last few weeks have been a lot of fun for all of us involved in the win at Le Golf National, and now I’m looking forward to playing golf in this fantastic venue again.”

Tickets for the 2018 Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation are available HERE. Children under 14 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.

The Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation is sponsored by the Council of Tourism and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía through the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, with the added institutional support of the Diputación de Cádiz, the San Roque City Council and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation. It also enjoys the support of La Reserva de Sotogrande, Rolex, Heineken, Dubai Duty Free, Santander Private Banking, Shell, Exterior Plus and Samsic Iberia. Only Water, Grupo Hospitalario Quirónsalud, Coca-Cola, Varma and Korporate Technologies Group are official suppliers.

Sergio García will defend his Andalucía Valderrama Masters title from October 18-21 in the wake of becoming all-time Ryder Cup points leader at the Golf National. This feat is the result of nearly two decades of steady success in an event focused on team action rather than individual performance.

Sergio made this point very clearly at the start of the week in Paris: “I’m not concerned by records, I’m not even thinking about that. If I managed to beat that record, but we lost the Ryder Cup, it would be worthless to me. I’m only interested in adding points to the team so that we win back together the Cup for Europe. Only the team counts this week.”

It was Sergio’s ninth appearance in the showdown against the US, one more than his childhood hero Seve Ballesteros. He made his debut at Brookline (3-1-1) where Europe lost, but the Spanish rookie exhibited the blend of talent, courage and team spirit that would enable him to take up the torch as one of the pillars of the European side. While Seve revitalized the event by opening its doors to continental Europe and inspiring the team to new heights, Sergio has made a vital contribution to consolidating European dominance over the last two decades.

After a disappointing season this year, the 38-year-old arrived at the Albatros Course as a risky captain’s pick, but by week’s end he had cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players of the biennial event. His Sunday singles victory over Rickie Fowler capped a 3-1 week in which he was key to Europe’s sixth consecutive victory on home soil, and pushed his career Ryder Cup record to a sparkling 22-12-7 in his nine appearances, the 25.5 total points breaking the previous record.

It was a glorious and emotional moment after his win on Sunday: "Yeah, I don't usually cry, but I couldn't help it. What a week! It's been a rough year, but you know, we fought hard. Obviously so thankful for Thomas to pick me and believe in me, and so happy, so happy to get the Cup back here in Paris and in Europe and for everyone to enjoy it as much as they did."

But the team was definitely on the front of his mind: "Yeah, it means a lot but at the end of the day, I've always said it. It's about the team and I'm happy that I was able to help with some of the points. It's a bonus. It's something that I never thought I would have the possibility of doing, and now that it's happened, I'm just so happy. I mean, these guys are unbelievable."

Next week at Real Club Valderrama, one of his favourite courses, Sergio will look to build on this positive momentum as he fights, this time individually, for his third Andalucía Valderrama Masters title.

Tickets for the 2018 Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation are available HERE. Children under 14 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticket holding adult.

The Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation is sponsored by the Council of Tourism and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía through the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, with the added institutional support of the Diputación de Cádiz, the San Roque City Council and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation. It also enjoys the support of La Reserva de Sotogrande, Rolex, Heineken, Dubai Duty Free, Santander Private Banking, Shell, Exterior Plus and Samsic Iberia. Only Water, Grupo Hospitalario Quirónsalud, Coca-Cola, Varma and Korporate Technologies Group are official suppliers.

Once again this year, the Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation, scheduled for October 18-21 at Real Club Valderrama, will become the key promotional initiative of the Junta de Andalucía for professional golf, as it showcases the region’s sports and tourism potential.

The arrival of 450,000 golf visitors from all over the world over the past year to Andalusia – spending three times more than regular tourists – highlights the importance of golf for the development of the area. Golf is a major industry in Andalusia and priority strategic sector for the Tourism and Sports Council.

With the purpose of reinforcing its attractiveness, Turismo Andaluz has set up a number of promotional actions in various regions – France, Central Europe or the Nordic countries – designed to supplement the involvement of Junta de Andalucía in top tier professional golf events such as the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9, the women’s Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España and, last but not least, the Andalucía Valderrama Masters, the final stop in the European Tour regular schedule.

During the official tournament presentation recently held at Valderrama, Antonio Fernández, Secretary General for sports of the Junta de Andalucía said: “Sports and tourism, tourism and sports are the perfect combination in order to promote development and wealth creation. What is the worth of reaching 400 million homes, the actual outreach of the Andalucía Valderrama Masters? A huge figure that reinforces the commitment and longstanding support of the Junta de Andalucía for this golf tournament. These big international events provide the perfect showcase for our wonderful region as they associate Andalusia with quality and excellence. ”

The presence of 41,494 spectators attending last year’s edition underlines the impact of these events, both direct and through the media. As the Andalucía Valderrama Masters is viewed in 400 million homes worldwide, it showcases the appeal of Andalusia, its climate, its golf courses and its rich complementary offer.

On the other hand, hosting a top-class event boosts the efforts of the Sports Council as it works to bring the game of golf to the general public. Andalusia is the Spanish autonomous region that offers the greatest number of golf courses, the second, only behind Madrid, in number of golf licenses, and boasts the greatest number of golf facilities per square metre in Continental Europe.

Statistics confirm the great job that is being done at the public golf schools fostered by the Council in order to make golf accessible to all, coupled with an increasing number of initiatives aimed at promoting the game among youngsters, women and families.

From October 18-21, all of them will have the opportunity to witness first-hand the excitement of the Andalucía Valderrama Masters, an outstanding golf event that culminates the efforts of the Junta de Andalucía in the field of professional golf.

Tickets for the 2018 Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation are available HERE. Children under 14 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticket holding adult.

The Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation is sponsored by the Council of Tourism and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía through the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, with the added institutional support of the Diputación de Cádiz, the San Roque City Council and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation. It also enjoys the support of La Reserva de Sotogrande, Rolex, Heineken, Dubai Duty Free, Santander Private Banking, Shell, Exterior Plus and Samsic Iberia. Only Water, Grupo Hospitalario Quirónsalud, Coca-Cola, Varma and Korporate Technologies Group are official suppliers.