This Sunday at noon you can be very relaxed. Make all sorts of plans. The Joburg Open, a tournament on the DP World Tour starting this Thursday, will not get in your way. If you were thinking of saving those hours to watch the final round hoping for a Spanish victory, well, forget it. If there’s one thing we are sure of, it’s that there won’t be a victory for our players in South Africa this week. The Joburg Open is a stumbling block for the Armada. It’s the big blemish on Spanish history.
The history is clear. There have been 17 editions of this tournament and Spain has only achieved three top 10 finishes: Ángel Hidalgo, Álvaro Quirós, and Adrián Otaegui. Never has a position among the top four been achieved. It’s easy to say. A total of 42 Spaniards have participated at least once in this tournament in Johannesburg and only 13 top 25 finishes have been seen.
Don’t think it’s the fault of a single course, far from it. After all, the Joburg has been held at three different venues throughout history and we’ve done poorly at all of them. It’s more than just a pebble in the shoe. This year, as in the previous three editions, it’s being held at the Hougthon Golf Club. It’s enough to make you shiver. Manu Elvira achieved a feat in 2023 by finishing in twelfth place. The next best was a 30th by Alex del Rey and a cascade of missed cuts.
The most recent precedent is even more dismal. Last year’s Joburg Open, the first to be played entirely in March, yielded a very poor result for the Spaniards. Alfredo García Heredia was the only one to make the cut and finished in 57th place. The balance was so poor that it was the worst of the entire last season. Of the 42 tournaments on the DP World Tour calendar, including the Majors, the best-worst result for the Armada was that 57th by the Asturian. It’s a stumbling block for us.
If it doesn’t reach the level of a curse, the Joburg Open is certainly close. This year we have 10 Spaniards competing. Of all of them, the one who has played this tournament the most is Jorge Campillo (six editions). Debuting are Ángel Ayora, who in previous years travelled to Puerto Rico with invitations and this year has decided to focus on the DP World Tour, Rocco Repetto, and Quim Vidal. Additionally, there are Rafa Cabrera Bello, Manu Elvira, Alex del Rey, Ángel Hidalgo, Iván Cantero, and Sebas García Rodríguez.
Will this be the year the Armada turns its history around in the Joburg Open? Hopefully, it will be, and next year we can block our plans for Sunday in Johannesburg again.
