Many are missing Leopard Creek this week at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Beyond the course, one of the best of the year and with the most character on the DP World Tour, it always provides fantastic images of wild animals roaming freely in the bordering Kruger Park. Elephants and hippos are the stars. The temporary move to the Royal Johannesburg Club due to the ongoing work at the usual venue has been particularly disappointing for the Spanish Armada. It’s like going from heaven to hell. The story is devastating.
Spain has won four times at Leopard Creek with three different players: Álvaro Quirós, Pablo Martín (2), and Pablo Larrazábal. Additionally, they have achieved 13 more top 10 finishes in 19 visits. Only South Africa has been more successful than Spain at this venue. In contrast, the Royal Johannesburg Club, the alternative venue chosen for this year, is somewhat like the Christmas Grinch for the Armada. The results leave no room for doubt.
The Royal Johannesburg Club, formerly known as the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Club, has been the venue for the Joburg Open from its first edition in 2007 until 2017. In total, eleven tournaments. During this time, 28 different Spanish golfers have played there, amounting to 65 participations. The meagre balance shows two top 10 finishes, a fifth place by Álvaro Quirós in 2014 and a tenth by Adrián Otaegui in 2015, and four more top 20 finishes. In other words, there are six top 20 finishes in 65 appearances. The harvest is quite poor, bordering on mediocre.
The Spaniard who has played this course the most is the Valencian Carlos del Moral, with nine appearances between 2007 and 2017. His numbers are not spectacular, but at least he holds one of the few top 20 finishes for our golf (18th in 2011). There are three Spaniards playing this week who already know the course. One is Jorge Campillo, with five participations, another is Nacho Elvira with three, and finally Pablo Larrazábal played once back in 2008. The results are very mixed. Campillo has a 16th place as his best result, Larrazábal finished 21st in his only appearance, and Nacho Elvira has missed the cut all three times he has visited this course.
It should be noted that most of these editions of the Joburg Open were played on two courses, with more than 200 players, in a Pro Am format, and with a very demanding cut of 65 and ties. This is nothing like this week, a more usual event: it is played only on the East course of the complex, with 156 players participating, and the cut remains at 65 and ties.
Another factor in favour of the Armada this week is that most of the participants are debutants. They do not, therefore, have those potentially negative memories. They will face this particular Grinch for the first time: Eugenio Chacarra, Alex del Rey, Ángel Hidalgo, Ángel Ayora, Manu Elvira, Iván Cantero, Sebas García, Quim Vidal, and Rocco Repetto. Adri Arnaus, the third reserve for the tournament, could be added to this list if there are any withdrawals in the coming hours.
By the way, as a curiosity, Brooks Koepka also played at this Royal Johannesburg Club in 2013 and also missed the cut. We will see if the Armada can defeat their Grinch on this occasion and secure the second victory of the season.
