Ángel Hidalgo was the very image of happiness during his media attention just after winning the Acciona Open de España. He couldn’t stop looking at the trophy with each answer, as if assuring himself that yes, it’s his and no one is going to take it away from him. He has cried and laughed and shared a thousand and one stories of his feelings and the final round. He is a genius and a character. Someone essential in Spanish golf.
The mistake in the putt of hole 72… “When I missed the putt on hole 72 I didn’t think anything, it didn’t affect me because it wasn’t a matter of nerves. It was a bad gesture. If I had been very nervous it would have affected me more, but it was like the mistake on hole 1. A bad movement. Putts can be missed. That it was on the 72 was a coincidence. I was very calm”.
What went through his head when he won in the playoff… “I don’t know what goes through other people’s heads, but my mind went blank. I just wanted to cry and hug my caddie and my family”.
The key moments of the round… “I hit some pretty bad shots. The shot from the bunker on the 2nd was important, but as I later hit bad shots, I would say not so much. On the tee of the 1st I felt very calm. I told Win (Gonzalo Vicente, his caddie), the same thing happened to me in the Open. I was very relaxed, I don’t know why. I hit the drive quite correctly, as if it was Thursday. Very happy because I felt very comfortable all day. Looking forward to more now. Hole 8 gave Jon and me wings. We saw that David could miss a shot because until then he had started by the book and we hadn’t started very well. If I had putted the 13th it would have been very important and key was the recovery of the 14th for birdie and that Jon didn’t putt the 15th”.
Calmer than he thought… “I had little stress, I found my caddie’s comment in the buggy going to the 18th at the start of the playoff funny, as worse we finish second. It’s true. It wasn’t any drama. I thought I was going to be very nervous. I had a great time. The crowd was incredible cheering, like in a Major”.
Any change of plans after this victory? “No change of plans. I planned to play nine weeks in a row and I will continue to do so. I will play and if I get the PGA Tour card, all the better”.
The spectacular balloon of hole 14… “Yes, that shot is like receiving a Miura at the door gayola, totally. Life or death. Luckily, I am much calmer than my caddie or my coach with those shots. I like them. I wanted to give myself a chance to make four and I knew that if I played to the centre of the green I was going to make six. Who does not risk, does not win.
The punishment to the hybrid… “I hit terrible shots on the par 5s. It was on the 4th and 7th. It’s true that on the 4th I slipped, but then I missed the 7th and I said, that’s it, the hybrid doesn’t come out of the bag anymore. Punished. I hit open 5 wood or tighter irons”.
The relationship with Jon Rahm during the round and the playoff… “In the first holes each one went to his own. When David had the problem on the 11th we started talking because we had about five minutes. I told him how imposing his caddie is. Much more than Jon. When he greeted me he said “hello, I’m Adam” and I, out of nerves, responded Adam. He must have thought I’m an idiot. I told Jon and he laughed. On the first playoff hole, after hitting the same drive as on hole 72, I said, what, you’ve done a copy paste. He laughed and congratulated me on my driver. I told him, yes, but I don’t have any more, you’re well off. Laughs and pleasant”.
What this victory in the Open de España means… “Everything changed a bit in Valderrama. It was my introduction to the world. This is the confirmation of what we are working on. I see myself as a different player than usual. You see Jon on the street and he imposes as he walks, I feed off the crowd, the laughter, bumping into the kids, I’m different from the conventional player and that’s why I’ve done so well here. I’m able to connect very well with the crowd. If I had lost today I would have also been very proud of how well I’ve felt, it’s a new situation for me. All I can say is that from now on, watch out for me…”.
The comparison with Real Madrid… “This has been like beating Manchester City on penalties and at their home. We’ve won the Champions and everyone’s so happy”.
The anecdote with Pavan in Crans… “I played with him and had a horrific tournament with the putt. Andrea told me: “Don’t worry, you’ll make the putts when you really need them”. It’s a fairy tale that has ended very well. I’m from the Disney generation”.
