The extraordinary victory of Alejandro del Rey this Sunday at the Ras al Khaimah Championship brings a ton of good things for the Madrid player and, of course, for Spanish golf as a whole. Let’s put it in black and white. The triumph, in numbers.
– It is Alex del Rey’s first victory on the DP World Tour, which immediately grants him a two-year exemption on the European Circuit.
– He is now seventh in the Race to Dubai. There is still a long way to go, but he is fully in the fight for one of the ten PGA Tour cards. We insist, there is still a lot to go, but right now he would have one of them.
– Del Rey becomes the 35th different Spanish player to win on the European Tour. He is also the second to debut consecutively after the Malaga-born Ángel Hidalgo at the Acciona Open de España last October. The first was Antonio Garrido in 1972. Therefore, 35 Spaniards in 53 years.
– It is the 209th victory in the history of Spanish golf on the DP World Tour. Only England and the United States have more than Spain. It is the seventeenth since the pandemic. Good streak.
– Spain has now secured nine consecutive years of winning at least one tournament on the European Circuit per year. The last year without victories was 2016.
– It is the first triumph of a golfer born in Madrid since Alejandro Cañizares in 2014 at the Hassan II Trophy in Morocco.
– Del Rey will catapult in the world golf ranking. He will move from the 310th position he held before starting the Ras al Khaimah Championship to the top 160, approaching the top 150, which means he is setting his sights on qualifying for the PGA Championship. To do this, he should be among the top 100 before May.
– The United Arab Emirates continues to be Spanish territory. Del Rey’s triumph is the twelfth in this country. It’s said quickly. We have only had more Spanish victories in Spain, the United States, England, and France. The other eleven victories in the Emirates are: Jon Rahm (3 DP World Tour Championship), Álvaro Quirós (1 DP World Tour Championship and 1 Hero Dubai Desert Classic), Seve Ballesteros (1 Hero Dubai Desert Classic), José María Olazábal (1 Hero Dubai Desert Classic), Sergio García (1 Hero Dubai Desert Classic), Miguel Ángel Jiménez (1 Hero Dubai Desert Classic), Rafa Cabrera Bello (1 Hero Dubai Desert Classic), Pablo Larrazábal (1 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship) and now Alejandro del Rey in Ras al Khaimah. Three of the seven United Arab Emirates have already been conquered. The three where tournaments have been played.
