– It may be unheard of for the younger ones, but Spanish golf has a more than notable record in the BMW PGA Championship. The older ones do remember it. Throughout the history of the European Circuit’s franchise tournament, there have been six Spanish victories. A lot? A little? Well, it’s quite a lot. Only England has more victories in this tournament (19) and the only one that has us in sight is Scotland with five.
– However, the younger ones have reasons to be oblivious to this fact, as the truth is that a lot of time has passed since the last Spanish victory in the Wentworth tournament. Either they like to delve into history or, of course, they have not seen Spaniards lift the trophy. The first was Manolo Piñero (1977), followed by Seve Ballesteros (1983 and 1991), José María Olazábal (1994) won the fourth, Nacho Garrido (2003) came next and, for now, Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2008) has closed the account without anyone having picked up the baton so far.
– It has been 14 years since the last Spanish triumph in the BMW PGA Championship. The Armada has never had such a long drought. In theory, those who were called to take over were Sergio García and Jon Rahm. The former barely played this tournament five times and it didn’t go too well for him (a top 10), beyond starring in some controversial episode. Rahm did take the baton firmly. Although he has not yet been able to win it, his figures are spectacular. He has played in Wentworth three times and has finished second twice and fourth once. There are few buts to put on him. His average stroke, moreover, is amazing: 67.55. He also has, by far, the lowest round of a Spaniard: 62. In the history of the tournament only Talor Gooch presents a lower average (67), although only with three rounds played. Rahm has played eleven.
– It is obvious that Rahm did pick up the baton, although his signing for LIV Golf has frustrated his participation this year, as, beyond fines and resources, the BMW PGA Championship coincides this week with the LIV team final, so he would not have been able to play it either. So, the million dollar question is: Is there any Spanish player willing to step forward and pick up the baton from those who did win here six times in 34 years?
– The candidates this week to rewrite history are Nacho Elvira, Adrián Otaegui, Pablo Larrazábal, Jorge Campillo, Adri Arnaus, Santi Tarrio, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Ángel Hidalgo and Alejandro del Rey. By the way, the only debutant among them is the one from Madrid. He becomes the 66th Spaniard to play this tournament.
– Who could be the chosen one to pick up the baton? If we look at the most immediate form of those who are here, Nacho Elvira, Otaegui, Campillo and Del Rey are the ones who have been best in recent weeks. On the other hand, if we look at the results achieved in this tournament, the best bet is Rafa Cabrera Bello. He has the best stroke average (71.51 in 43 rounds) and has added three top 10s. Only José María Cañizares, José María Olazábal, Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Seve Ballesteros finished more times in the top ten in this tournament. Beyond Rafa, only Larrazábal has managed to finish once in the top 10. The balance, at first glance, is not very promising.
– Some of our players are in need of a good week to clarify their future. The BMW PGA Championship would be ideal. Santi Tarrio, Adri Arnaus and Rafa Cabrera Bello need a good push in their fight to keep the card. Larrazábal, Del Rey, Hidalgo and Campillo need to add up to get into the Dubai Final and Elvira and Otaegui would do very well with a good harvest of points in the fight for the PGA Tour cards.
– Speaking of picking up the baton and taking advantage of the fact that we are in a Rolex Series. It would also be good if some other Spaniard took over from Jon Rahm in this type of tournaments. The one from Barrika is the player who has won the most Rolex Series tournaments on the DP World Tour (5), one more than Tyrrell Hatton and two more than Rory McIlroy. Beyond him, only Rafa Cabrera Bello has one, the Scottish Open of 2017. The Spaniard who has played the most Rolex Series is Jorge Campillo. He will play his 43rd tournament of this type in London this week, one more than Otaegui, two more than Larrazábal and five more than Nacho Elvira.
