The DP World Tour arrives in Europe for the first time this season and does so at the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship, a competition played from 7 to 10 May at the Real Club de Golf El Prat (Barcelona). Tickets (with a 25% discount for federation members, 50% for youths aged 13 to 17 and free entry for under‑13s) can be purchased here or at the course ticket office throughout the tournament
– This is the first edition of the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship, a tournament that launches the European Swing of the DP World Tour and kicks off the Road to the 2031 Ryder Cup. The five editions of this tournament will be the ideal prologue to the 2031 Ryder Cup to be held at the Camiral resort
– The Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship brings together 156 participants and awards $2,750,000 in prize money and 3,500 Race to Dubai points (585 for the winner)
– The opening day of the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship, on 7 May, will coincide with the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Severiano Ballesteros. On that date Seve will be honoured, an essential figure who transformed the history of golf. His death also coincided with the staging of the Open de España 2011 at the Real Club de Golf El Prat
Players will honour the ace from Pedreña by wearing navy blue and white, the colours with which Ballesteros produced some of the most memorable moments of his career, such as his victory in the Open Championship of 1984 at St. Andrews. In addition, before the first tee on Thursday the starter will say a few words in his memory
The tribute to Seve will also be visible at various points around the course, with images placed on the tee of hole 1, on the 18th green, in several strategic areas of the course and in the practice area. From Monday to Thursday the flags on holes 9 and 18 will be dedicated to Seve and, from Thursday, hole 5 will recall his major victories: Open Championship (1979, 1984 and 1988) and Masters de Augusta (1980 and 1983)
– The Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship begins its journey on the Rosa course of the flagship clubs of Spanish golf: the Real Club de Golf El Prat. This Greg Norman design is a par 72 measuring 6,453 metres
– With more than a century of history and host to over 250 amateur and professional tournaments, the Real Club de Golf El Prat once again welcomes the DP World Tour, firmly established as a European benchmark
The facilities at El Prat have been the venue for ten editions of the Open de España, with winners such as Peter Alliss (1956), Peter Thompson (1959), Guy Wolstenholme (1963), Dale Hayes (1971), Brian Barnes (1978), Severiano Ballesteros (1981), Thomas Bjørn (1998), Jarmo Sandelin (1999), Thomas Aiken (2011) and James Morrison (2015)
These tournaments were joined by other international events in which the best players of the time competed, such as Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Raymond Floyd, Tony Jacklin, Tom Watson and Severiano Ballesteros. Some of these events included the Copa Barcelona 1977 (Tom Watson) and the two editions of the invitation tournament Johnnie Walker Trophy won by Lee Trevino and Peter Jacobsen in 1980 and 1982
In the 1980s, the Real Club de Golf El Prat maintained a very prominent presence on the European Tour/DP World Tour calendar thanks also to the Sanyo Open, held between 1983 and 1986, with Des Smyth, Sam Torrance, Severiano Ballesteros and José María Olazábal as winners; and the Torras Hostench Barcelona Open, won by David Whelan in 1988
– Since 1972, the year of the official creation of the European Tour/DP World Tour, Catalonia has hosted a total of 28 tournaments, half of them in Barcelona
– The 156 players represent 29 different countries from the five continents: 108 from Europe, 18 from Africa, 12 from Asia, 11 from the Americas and 7 from Oceania
– The country with the greatest representation is Great Britain with 28 (19 golfers from England and 9 from Scotland), Spain with 24, South Africa with 17, France with 14, Sweden with 10 and Italy with 9
– Notable local players include the following, all winners of titles on the DP World Tour (number of circuit titles in parentheses): Pablo Larrazábal (9), Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (7), Adrián Otaegui (5), Rafa Cabrera Bello (4), Jorge Campillo (3), Nacho Elvira (3), Adri Arnaus (1), Ángel Hidalgo (1), Alejandro del Rey (1) and Eugenio Chacarra (1)
– Also noteworthy is the presence of Málaga’s Ángel Ayora, a star in his brief professional career. With ten top‑10s on the DP World Tour in 2025, Ayora finished second in the Sir Henry Cotton Award classification for the circuit’s best rookie of the year and ended as the top Spaniard in the Race to Dubai in 20th place
– Also included in the field are the Spaniards Albert Boneta, Alfredo García-Heredia, Iván Cantero, Joel Moscatel, Jose María Serra, Manuel Elvira, Pablo Ereño, Quim Vidal, Rocco Repetto Taylor, Santiago Tarrío, Sebastián García, Vicente Mestre Carceller and Víctor Pastor
– If any of the Spanish golfers achieves victory it would be Spain’s 214th win in the history of the DP World Tour
– Five players who have defended European colours in the Ryder Cup will compete in the tournament: Francesco Molinari, Bernd Wiesberger, Ross Fisher, Edoardo Molinari and Rafa Cabrera Bello
– Also playing in the tournament are five golfers who have won Rolex Series events: Rafa Cabrera Bello (Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open 2017), Francesco Molinari (BMW PGA Championship 2018), Brandon Stone (Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open 2018), Bernd Wiesberger (Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, Italian Open 2019) and Paul Waring (Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship 2024)
– The Real Club de Golf El Prat brings together six winners this season on the DP World Tour: Jayden Schaper (Alfred Dunhill Championship and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open), Nacho Elvira (Dubai Invitational), Freddy Schott (Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship), Dan Bradbury (Joburg Open), Bernd Wiesberger (Volvo China Open) and Mikael Lindberg (Turkish Airlines Open)
– In the field for the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship we find 14 winners of European Tour/DP World Tour tournaments held in Spain
Richard Sterne (Open de Madrid 2004)
Ross Fisher (Volvo World Match Play Championship 2009)
Matteo Manassero (Castelló Masters Costa Azahar 2010)
Francesco Molinari (Reale Seguros Open de España 2012)
James Morrison (Open de España 2015)
Andrew Johnston (Real Club Valderrama Open de España 2016)
Rafa Cabrera Bello (Acciona Open de España 2021)
Jeff Winther (Mallorca Golf Open 2021)
Pablo Larrazábal (ISPS Handa Championship in Spain 2022)
Adri Arnaus (Catalunya Championship 2022)
Adrián Otaegui (Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters 2022)
Yannik Paul (Mallorca Golf Open)
Ángel Hidalgo (Acciona Open de España presented by Madrid 2024)
Julien Guerrier (Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters 2024)
– Seven players who took part in the Seve Trophy, a team event pitting Great Britain and Ireland against Continental Europe, will compete in the tournament. They are Ross Fisher (2009, 2011), Scott Jamieson (2011, 2013), Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (2007, 2009, 2013), Pablo Larrazábal (2011), Joost Luiten (2013), Matteo Manassero (2011, 2013) and Francesco Molinari (2009, 2011, 2013)
– There are 70 players in the tournament who have won DP World Tour events (number of victories in parentheses)
Pablo Larrazábal (9), Bernd Wiesberger (9), Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (7), Francesco Molinari (6), Joost Luiten (6), Marcel Siem (6), Richard Sterne (6), Adrián Otaegui (5), Matteo Manassero (5), Ross Fisher (5), Alexander Levy (5), Rafa Cabrera Bello (4), Guido Migliozzi (4), Richie Ramsay (4), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (4), Jorge Campillo (3), Nacho Elvira (3), Edoardo Molinari (3), Ewen Ferguson (3), Antoine Rozner (3), Dan Bradbury (3), Dylan Frittelli (3), Brandon Stone (3), Daniel Gavins (2), Eddie Pepperell (2), Paul Waring (2), James Morrison (2), Renato Paratore (2), Grant Forrest (2), Johannes Veerman (2), Shubhankar Sharma (2), Lucas Bjerregaard (2), Fabrizio Zanotti (2), Jayden Schaper (2), Ockie Strydom (2), Shaun Norris (2), Adri Arnaus (1), Ángel Hidalgo (1), Alejandro del Rey (1), Eugenio Chacarra (1), Freddy Schott (1), Maximilian Kieffer (1), Nicolai Von Dellingshausen (1), Yannik Paul (1), Junghwan Lee (1), Jeff Winther (1), Niklas Nørgaard (1), David Law (1), Matthew Baldwin (1), Scott Jamieson (1), Ryggs Johnston (1), Sean Crocker (1), David Ravetto (1), Julien Guerrier (1), Martin Couvra (1), Romain Langasque (1), Andrew Johnston (1), Marcus Armitage (1), Todd Clements (1), Rikuya Hoshino (1), Yuto Katsuragawa (1), Darius Van Driel (1), Daniel Van Tonder (1), Dylan Naidoo (1), Jacques Kruyswijk (1), Joakim Lagergren (1), Marcus Kinhult (1), Mikael Lindberg (1), Sebastian Söderberg (1) and Simon Forsström (1)
– The Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship features one Major champion (Francesco Molinari, Open Championship 2018) and two PGA Tour winners (Francesco Molinari himself, with three victories, and Luke List, with two)
Francesco Molinari (Quicken Loans National 2018, The Open Championship 2018, Arnold Palmer Invitational 2019)
Luke List (Farmers Insurance Open 2022, Sanderson Farms Championship 2023)
– This week there will be 9 winners of elite tournaments (amateur or professional) at the Real Club de Golf El Prat: Pablo Larrazabal (Campeonato de Barcelona 2002) Nacho Elvira (Campeonato de España Absoluto 2007), James Morrison (Open de España 2015), Iván Cantero (Campeonato de Barcelona 2016 and Interautonómico Absoluto Masculino por equipos 2016), Manuel Elvira (Interautonómico Absoluto Masculino por equipos 2016), Joel Moscatel (Campeonato de Barcelona 2015 and Campeonato de Cataluña Absoluto 2020), Ángel Hidalgo (PGA Open de Barcelona hosted by Pablo Larrazábal 2022), Quim Vidal (Campeonato de Catalunya de Profesionales 2024) and Vicente Mestre (Campeonato de España Interclubes 2024)
– In addition, six golfers who are members of the Real Club de Golf El Prat will play in the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship: Pablo Larrazábal, Quim Vidal, Joel Moscatel, Albert Boneta, Vicente Mestre Carceller and Josep Maria “Pep” Serra
The Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship, a DP World Tour event counting towards the Race to Dubai and the first test of the European Swing, takes place thanks to the indispensable collaboration of the Real Club de Golf El Prat, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and will mark the start of the Road to the 2031 Ryder Cup, the journey that will conclude at the 2031 Ryder Cup to be held at Camiral
