Spain will have eight representatives in the Final of the DP World Tour School starting next Friday at the Lakes and Hills courses of Infinitum Golf, Tarragona. At first glance, the number seemed low, and history has confirmed that the feeling was correct.
The structure of the European Tour School, as we know it today, with its first phase, second, and final, began in 2001. Previously, there was also a school, but it had fewer phases, the final was played simultaneously on three different courses, or there was only one big final that awarded the cards.
Well, only on two occasions did Spanish golf have fewer players in the Final. Twice in 22 editions (in 2020 and 2021 it was not held due to the pandemic). We have to go back to the years 2017, not so long ago, and 2013. In both editions, we only had seven representatives, not far off. It is also true that those two finals were not an absolute disaster. In 2013, Carlos del Moral won the tournament, the only one who got the card, and in 2017, Gonzalo Fernández Castaño, also present in this edition, and Pep Anglés achieved it.
That said, it’s not a reason to beat ourselves up or curse our luck. There were also eight Spaniards in the 2019 and 2002 editions, and we had nine in 2012 and 2016. There’s no need to be dramatic, although most of the time we reach double digits. The record for Spaniards in a Final of the DP World Tour School was set in 2006 with 17 players, of whom eight got the card. These seem like figures we will hardly see again.
The eight Spaniards playing the Final this week are Gonzalo Fernández Castaño, Joseba Torres, Borja Virto, Luis Masaveu, Albert Boneta, Santi Tarrio, Adri Arnaus, and Sebas García Rodríguez. Torres, Masaveu, and Boneta are making their debut in these matters, while the rest already know what it means to play this all-or-nothing tournament. Last year, Sebas García Rodríguez and Alfredo García Heredia got the card through this route, while Joel Moscatel was left at the gates.
Speaking of participant numbers that draw attention, we must certainly look at the United States. This year, a total of 19 Americans will play at Infinitum Golf, an absolutely record number that reflects a clear trend. There are more and more golfers from across the Atlantic attempting the DP World Tour adventure. Last year there was already a record attendance with fourteen, and this year five more have joined. Nothing like those early 21st-century years when we had two, three, one, and even no Americans, as happened in the 2007 edition, the last final held at the San Roque Club in Cádiz.
Speaking of Americans, players like Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Peter Uihlein, Notah Begay III, or more recently, Eric Cole, have passed through the Final of the School. Interestingly, none of them got the card through this route.
By the way, speaking of nationalities, 31 different countries are represented in this year’s Final, although three more players are yet to be confirmed. If not, the list would be completed with three reserves in the second phase. None of the Spaniards who were left out would make it. The most represented country is England with 25, followed by the United States with 19. Notable is the presence of a player from Albania and two from Slovakia, as well as one from Hong Kong.
